JPH08266257A - High frequency thawing device - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To provide a high frequency thawing device capable of automatically setting a dielectric heating condition in response to the kind of a thawing material to always thaw the thawing material under a suitable condition for each of various kinds of the thawing materials. CONSTITUTION: A high frequency thawing device is provided with a feeding member 8 and a high frequency section (5) comprising a pair of upper and lower counter electrodes (55a, 55b). Further, a kind-detecting sensor 9 is disposed in the feeding member 8, and a lifting motor (56a) capable of changing the setting of a distance between the electrodes is disposed on the counter electrodes. When a kind of material to be thawed is thawed, the next material to be thawed is set in the feeding member, and the kind of the thawing material is detected. When the kind of the detected material is different from the thawing material F on the thawing treatment, a dielectric heating condition corresponding to the detected kind is read out from a table memory 10 to change the dielectric heating condition in the high frequency section (5).

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a high frequency defrosting apparatus having a defrosting section for performing dielectric heating on an object to be defrosted conveyed between upper and lower counter electrodes supplied with high frequency power.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been proposed a high-frequency defrosting device that enables rapid thawing by using a dielectric heating and thawing technique in which two opposed electrodes are arranged, frozen foods, etc. are placed between them and a high frequency is applied. (JP-B-51-15100, JP-B-55-46152, JP-B-60-09784, JP-A-58-61592, JP-B-62-3)
4386, Japanese Patent Publication No. 04-70757, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 04-325073, Japanese Patent Publication No. 05-08840.
Issue).

A high-frequency defrosting apparatus utilizing this dielectric heating and thawing technique has been put into practical use because it has the advantages of being capable of uniform thawing from the surface to the inside while being a quick thawing and having little drip loss. That is, the high frequency signal from the high frequency generation circuit is power-amplified by the transformer,
Further, a high-frequency electric field is generated between the opposed electrodes in a synchronized state to dielectrically heat the frozen food or the like interposed therein.

Further, in order to improve the work efficiency of thawing, a high-frequency thawing device which puts frozen food on a conveyor and enables continuous thawing has been proposed (Japanese Patent Publication No. 51-15).
No. 100, Japanese Patent Publication No. 55-46152).

[0005]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] Japanese Patent Publication Sho 55-4615
Although the conveyor-type high-frequency defroster described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 2 has a configuration that allows the upper electrode plate to move up and down, there is no description as to when and under what conditions this electrode plate is moved up and down.

The present invention has been made in view of the above,
It is an object of the present invention to provide a high-frequency defrosting device that automatically sets dielectric heating conditions according to the type of an object to be thawed and that enables various types of objects to be thawed to always be thawed under suitable conditions.

[0007]

The present invention relates to a high frequency defrosting apparatus having a defrosting unit for performing dielectric heating on an object to be defrosted conveyed between opposed electrodes to which high frequency power is supplied.
Feeding means for feeding the object to be thawed toward the counter electrode,
A type detection unit, which is disposed in the middle of the feeding unit, detects the type of the defrosted object, a storage unit that stores the type of the defrosted item and the dielectric heating condition in association with each other, and a dielectric for the defrosting unit. And a control means for operating the condition setting means so that the defrosting section has a dielectric heating condition corresponding to the type of the object to be defrosted detected by the type detecting means. (Claim 1).

Further, according to the present invention, the type of the object to be thawed is the thickness of the object to be thawed, the type detecting means is a sensor for detecting the thickness of the object to be thawed, and the condition setting means is the electrode of the counter electrode. The distance is set (claim 2).

Further, according to the present invention, at least two counter electrodes are arranged in parallel in the passage direction of the object to be defrosted, and the condition setting means changes and sets the inter-electrode distance for each counter electrode. When the type detecting means detects an object to be thawed having a different thickness, the control means,
Each time the object to be thawed passing between the opposed electrodes has finished passing between the opposed electrodes, the condition setting means is activated to change and set the distance between the electrodes (claim 3).

[0010]

According to the first aspect of the present invention, the high frequency electric power is supplied to the counter electrode, and the high frequency electric field is generated between the electrodes. The material to be thawed passes between the electrodes at a required speed by a conveyor or the like, and is irradiated with a high-frequency electric field during this passage to be dielectrically heated. For example, the temperature rises from about -25 ° C to -2 ° C to -5 ° C. It is warmed (thawed). Feeding means is provided on the inlet side of the counter electrode, and the object to be thawed is fed to the counter electrode while being placed thereon. The type of the object to be defrosted is detected by the type detecting means during the feeding. As an element of the type, in the type in which the counter electrodes are arranged vertically (left and right), the height (width) of the defrosted object, that is, the so-called thickness. The thickness information is an element that most affects the conditions of dielectric heating. Further, as the type factor, the volume, weight, material (for example, type of meat) of the thawed material may be considered. There are various modes of dielectric heating conditions. For example, in addition to the distance between electrodes, the power level and the conveyor speed (electric field irradiation time) may be used, or an appropriate combination thereof may be used.

[0011] When a plurality of types of thawed objects are collected and fed for each type and thawed, the types of thawed objects currently being thawed (that is, moving between electrodes) are: Next, when the type detecting means detects that the thaw target to be thawed (on the feeding means) is a different type of thaw target, after the end of the current thaw, the next thaw target is set. The dielectric heating conditions are changed and set until the object to be thawed is carried between the opposing electrodes.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, when the type detecting means detects that the thickness of the next thawed object to be thawed is different from the thickness of the currently thawed object, the distance between the counter electrodes Is changed and set accordingly.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, when the type detecting means newly detects an object to be thawed having a different thickness, the object to be thawed which is currently passing between the counter electrodes passes between the counter electrodes. The distance between the electrodes is changed each time. According to this, without waiting until all the counter electrodes have passed, after passing through the first counter electrode, the next thaw target to be thawed can be carried in next, so the thaw work efficiency is improved. To improve.

[0014]

2 to 4 are schematic views showing an example of a high-frequency decompressor according to the present invention. FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view, FIG. 3 is a plan view, and FIG. 4 is a right side view. This high frequency defroster
Thawing section 30 having a thawing room having an entrance, a conveyor section 40 disposed in the thawing section from the entrance to the exit, and three high-frequency sections sequentially arranged from the entrance side along the moving direction of the conveyor section 40. It is equipped with 5, 6 and 7. Decompression unit 30
Is provided with a defrosting chamber 33 having an inlet 31 and an outlet 32, and having a predetermined vertical and horizontal dimensions between them, and preferably having a linearly formed inner space, so that an electromagnetic shield effect can be secured. There is.

The conveyor section 40 has, for example, an endless belt 41 made of a Teflon material or the like, and is made of a material having a strength that does not cause downward deflection due to the weight of the object to be defrosted. It is stretched so as to rotate at a constant speed between the outlet 32 and the exit 32. As shown in FIG. 2, the endless belt 41 is provided with reversing rollers 42 and 43 so that the direction can be reversed between the inlet 31 and the outlet 32, and the lower half portion between them is provided with a required tension. As many rollers 44 as necessary are arranged so as to alternately come into contact with the front and back surfaces of the endless belt 41 so as to provide tension so as to ensure rotation without slipping. In addition, the endless belt 41
Is a thin-layer insulating resin that has a width sufficient to mount an object to be thawed, which will be described later, and can be bent and deformed in the normal direction so that it can be reversed by the reversing rollers 42 and 43 and can be bent by the roller 44. (See Fig. 5), cylindrical members that are connected to each other in a bead shape on their peripheral surfaces so as to be able to revolve with each other, or meshed with connecting rods at the front and rear ends of a flat plate having a relatively short length or an endless double flat plate. It is formed so as to be connected in a beaded shape.

If the endless belt 41 has a rear surface groove structure as shown in FIG. 5, the reversing rollers 42, 43 and the roller 44 are provided with grooves at equal pitches on their peripheral surfaces to effectively prevent slipping. I am trying to Further, in the endless belt 41 composed of the cylindrical member or the flat plate described above, the sprocket is formed on both sides in the width direction, or the end members for that are provided, the reversing rollers 42, 43 are provided at this portion.
Also, the sprocket gears at both ends of the peripheral surface of the roller 44 may be engaged with each other so as to be synchronized with each other. Further, when the endless belt 41 goes around the lower half portion, a cleaning device for injecting a jet water stream may be provided to clean the surface of the endless belt. Alternatively, the endless belt 41 may be formed in a mesh shape.

Reference numeral 45 denotes a conveyor drive source such as a motor for applying a revolving rotational force to the endless belt 41.
By a, for example, the reversing roller 43 is coupled so as to rotate synchronously. An air blower 46 is arranged at a lower position on the inlet 31 side and blows warm air or blows air to dry the endless belt 41 wet by cleaning or the like.

The high frequency parts 5 to 7 have the same structure. Here, the structure of the high-frequency unit 5 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a casing 50 for accommodating a power supply unit is provided at the rear of the defrosting unit 30, and as shown in FIG. Flat plate-shaped upper electrode 55a and lower electrode 5
In addition to having 5b, it is provided with an elevating mechanism 56 capable of elevating the upper electrode 55a. Electric power is supplied to each of the electrodes 55a and 55b from a power source unit inside the housing 50. The lower electrode 55b is provided with a required number of insulative support members 155b that are erected on the lower surface of the lower electrode 55b, and the defrosting unit 30 is provided.
It is connected to the lower frame 35 and the like and is horizontally supported and fixed at a proper place below the thawing chamber 33. In addition, the support member 155
One in the center of b is formed in a tubular shape, for example,
By providing wiring inside the cylinder, a high frequency can be supplied to the lower electrode 55b. Alternatively, wiring may be simply performed along the supporting member 155b.

The distances between the opposing electrodes 55a and 55b, the opposing electrodes 65a and 65b, and the opposing electrodes 65a and 65b, and the opposing electrodes 75a and 75b, which are adjacent to each other, are determined by the power supply to the opposing electrodes and the intermittent driving. Considering that the phases may be different from each other, the distance is preferably set to about the opposing distance of each opposing electrode or more in order to structurally prevent the non-uniform heating due to the disturbance of the electric field distribution.

As shown in FIG. 5, the endless belt 41 moves toward the outlet 32 side so that the positions slightly separated from the upper surface of the lower electrode 55b face each other. The upper electrode 55a is coupled to the support plate 56e of the elevating mechanism 56 via a required number of insulating support members 155a provided on the upper surface of the upper electrode 55a.

The elevating mechanism 56 is attached to the upper frame 34 and includes an elevating motor 56a and the elevating motor 56.
a, a pair of left and right worm gear portions 56c, 56c for converting the rotational movement of the output shaft 56b into a linear movement, and a pair of lifting shafts 56d meshed with the output shaft 56b by the worm gear portions 56c, 56c and having their lower ends connected to the support plate 56e. , 56d. When the elevating motor 56a is driven to rotate, the height position of the elevating shafts 56d and 56d from the upper frame 34 is changed in accordance with the rotation amount and direction, whereby the upper electrode 55a maintains an integral and stable horizontal posture. It is designed to be lifted up and down.

A window 36 is formed on the front surface of the thawing unit 30 so that the inside of the thawing chamber 33 can be seen at each counter electrode position of the high frequency units 5, 6 and 7, and the thawing state can be monitored. It is designed to be able to.

FIGS. 5A and 5B are views showing the positional relationship between the object F to be thawed such as thawed food, the counter electrodes 55a and 55b, and the endless belt 41. FIG. 5A is a perspective view and FIG. ) A-
FIG.

The objects to be defrosted F placed in two rows on the endless belt 41 are conveyed as the endless belt 41 moves, and are heated and thawed by being irradiated with high frequency for a period between the opposing electrodes 55a and 55b. It Counter electrodes 55a, 55
b has a width and a length that are slightly larger than the mounting dimensions of the object to be defrosted F, and the electric field is evenly distributed inside the object to be defrosted F. If the width of the endless belt 41 is set to be at least wider than the width dimension of the counter electrodes 55a and 55b, it is possible to dispose guide rails or the like (not shown) at both ends of the endless belt 41.
Even a slight downward bending of the endless belt 41 at the position 55b can be prevented, the object F to be defrosted and the counter electrodes 55a and 55b can be kept equidistant from each other, and the endless belt 41 can be smoothly moved. . A low-friction support plate such as a roller that prevents downward deflection may be provided before and after the lower electrode 55b (in the moving direction of the endless belt 41) and at the same height position.

In order to uniformly heat and defrost the object to be thawed F, it is desirable to apply an electric field of equal strength to the upper surface and the lower surface of the object to be thawed F. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 5B, the distance d2 between the lower electrode 55b and the upper surface of the endless belt 41, that is, the bottom surface of the object F to be defrosted is fixed.
Therefore, the lifting motor 56a is driven to set the distance between the upper surface of the object to be defrosted F and the upper electrode 55a to d1. This distance d1 is set in consideration of the existence of the endless belt 41 which is an insulator, and for ensuring the smooth carry-in of the defrosted object F (to cope with the variation in the thickness dimension between the defrosted objects of the same kind). is there. It is also possible to dispose an insulator equivalent to a conveyor on the side of the upper electrode 55a and set d1 = d2. Further, the counter electrode 55b may also be provided with an elevating mechanism so that the distance to the lower surface of the object to be defrosted F can be adjusted.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing the construction of the carry-in section of the high-frequency defroster, and FIG. 7 is a front view of the carry-in section. Carry-in section 8
Is for automatically loading the object to be defrosted F onto the conveyor section 40, and is composed of a first feeding section 81 and a second feeding section 82. The first feeding section 81 is oriented in a direction orthogonal to the conveyor section 40, and the second feeding section 82 is arranged so as to be parallel and continuous with the conveyor section 40.

The first feeding portion 81 has a slight downward inclination toward the second feeding portion 82 side so as to slide down by utilizing the weight of the object to be defrosted F and the rotation of the roller as a whole. The conveyor is composed of a plurality of rollers 813 arranged in parallel between the parallel side plates 811 and 812. The roller 813 is arranged horizontally, and the driving means actively drives the roller 813 to increase the roller rotation speed (roller peripheral speed) near the second feeding portion 82 (for acceleration).
You may Then, the objects to be defrosted F which are sequentially arranged and mounted from the end of the first feeding section 81 are sequentially and suitably supplied to the second feeding section 82. This first feeding section 81
A type detection sensor 9 for detecting the type of the object to be defrosted F is provided midway in the feeding direction, preferably at a substantially intermediate position. The type detection sensor 9 may be a sensor that detects the thickness (height or width, that is, a dimension corresponding to the facing direction of the electrodes 55a and 55b) of the object to be defrosted F, a sensor that detects the volume, or a sensor that detects the weight.

The sensor for detecting the thickness includes an actuating piece which is swingable in a vertical plane parallel to the feeding direction above the object to be thawed F to be fed, and a swinging piece of the actuating piece on the base end side thereof. A potentiometer for detecting a moving angle is provided, and the amount of rotation when this rocking piece comes into contact with the upper surface of the object to be defrosted F to be rotated and is rotated is converted into a voltage by the potentiometer and obtained. It was done. When detecting the width, the sensor having the above configuration may be turned sideways. Alternatively, a light emitting element that emits light obliquely downward and a line that receives the light that is reflected on the upper surface of the object to be thawed F and returns obliquely upward are formed in the same plane as the surface formed by the emitted light and the reflected light. The light receiving elements may be arranged in a line, and the thickness of the object to be thawed F may be obtained depending on which light receiving sensor receives the reflected light in accordance with the height position of reflection.

The volume can be obtained by providing the sensor in both the height direction and the width direction (the dimension in the length direction is the detection duration of the sensor (the feeding speed is known)).

The weight of the roller 813 is urged from below by a spring or the like, which is compressed to such an extent that smooth feeding is not hindered, and the object to be defrosted F passes therethrough. By detecting the compression size of the spring when performing, it is possible to obtain the same principle as a so-called weight scale. Alternatively, when the object to be thawed is basically meat and there is almost no difference in specific gravity, the volume may be multiplied by the specific gravity. Conversely, it is also possible to convert the volume from the volume.

The type detecting sensor 9 may detect the material itself in addition to the above information. For the detection of the material itself, for example, a magnetic or optical sensor that automatically reads a material mark, for example, a code, which is described in advance on the surface of the packaging material for packaging the object to be thawed can be used. Further, by applying the material mark method to the notation of the thickness, volume, and weight information of the object to be defrosted F, a mark reading sensor can be used instead of the sensor as described above, and the object to be defrosted is read from the read information. It is possible to know the type of the object F such as thickness, volume, and weight.

The stopper 814 is a plate-like member which is provided immediately downstream of the first feeding section 81 and which is movable between the rollers 813 and below the roller 813 by a driving means (not shown).
This is to temporarily stop the feeding of the object to be defrosted F during feeding. When the type detection sensor 9 detects different kinds of defrosted objects F, the stopper 814 defrosts the different kinds of defrosted objects F previously fed, and changes the dielectric heating condition by the high frequency unit 5. This is to prevent the next type of object to be defrosted F from being carried into the high-frequency unit 5 before being set. In order to be more certain, the stopper 814 may be released at the time when the last of the different objects to be thawed F of the previous different type has finished passing through the high frequency part 5 and the dielectric heating condition is changed and set.

In this way, the defrosting target F to be defrosted, which has been fed to the second feeding section 82, is fed toward the conveyor section 40 every time a predetermined number of pieces are fed. That is, the second feeding unit 82 has the placement table 821 that is flush with the first feeding unit.
And a rod-shaped pusher 822 at the rear end on the surface. The pusher 822 has the home position on the left side in FIG. 6, and is connected to a driving means 823 such as a motor capable of rotating in the forward and reverse directions and a part of a chain of two chains 824 stretched by the driving means 823. It can be reciprocated. Then, one or two or a plurality of objects to be thawed F that have been fed in parallel are pushed out to the conveyor section 40 side. A carry-in roller 825 is provided in the gap between the two chains 824 and on both sides thereof, and the pusher 822 extends the object F to be defrosted to at least this carry-in roller 825 (when the carry-in roller 825 is of a type driven to rotate). I try to push it out. If the carry-in roller 825 is of a type that is not rotationally driven, an extrusion stroke that allows it to be pushed to the conveyor section 40 is set. In this case, the carry-in roller 825 acts as alignment and alignment.

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a high frequency decompressor according to the present invention. Reference numeral 1 is a control circuit for comprehensively controlling the operation of the high-frequency decompressor, which fetches operation data input by an operator through the operation unit 2 or, based on read data from the table memory 10 as described later. The drive of each part and the power supply to the high frequency parts 5 to 7 are controlled.
The operation unit 2 includes start and stop buttons 2a and 2b for the apparatus, and up and down buttons 2 for rotating the lifting motor 56a forward and backward.
c, a speed setting button 2d of the conveyor drive source 45, and a power setting member 2e which is a power supply instruction button or adjustment dial for each of the high frequency units 5 to 7. The data input unit 3 includes, for example, a keyboard and the like, and writes required data in the table memory 10 in the control circuit 1. The table memory 10 of the control unit 1 stores the relationship between the types of objects to be thawed and the dielectric heating conditions according to each type. The contents of the table memory 10 may be written in advance, and the data input unit 3 is not always necessary.
No data entry has to be done in. Further, the table memory 10 may be written with reference tuning points corresponding to respective dielectric heating conditions. These points will be described later.

The high frequency sections 5 to 7 supply high frequencies to the counter electrodes as described above. Explaining the configuration of the high frequency unit 5, reference numeral 51 is a power supply circuit for supplying power, which converts, for example, a 220V commercial power supply into a DC power supply of a required level. Reference numeral 52 denotes a self-excited high-frequency generator circuit that generates a required level of high-frequency energy, which constitutes a high-frequency power supply section. 53 is a matching circuit for matching the high frequency generation circuit 52 and the load side, and has a transformer 54 for coupling with the output side circuit, a matching capacitor and the like not shown. The input side coil L1 of the transformer 54 is grounded at one end, while one end of the load side coil L2 is connected to the upper electrode 55a and the other end is connected to the lower electrode 55b, and a balanced circuit is adopted as the load side circuit. . The high frequency units 6 and 7 have the same configuration.

The table memory 10 of the control circuit 1 stores dielectric heating conditions (distance between electrodes, conveyor speed, power supply) for each type (thickness (height or width), volume, weight, material, etc.) of the object to be defrosted. Level) is written correspondingly. Corresponding dielectric heating conditions are determined in advance by performing a thawing experiment or the like for each type of object to be thawed. Dielectric heating is the size of the object to be thawed that is interposed between the opposing electrodes.
Especially, it is greatly influenced by the dimension in the direction between the electrodes. Therefore, the thickness can be adopted as an element of the type of the object to be thawed, and the distance between the electrodes can be adopted as the condition of the dielectric heating. In this case, when the thickness of the object to be defrosted is detected by the type detection sensor 9, the control circuit 1 reads out the inter-electrode distance data stored corresponding to the thickness detected this time from the table memory 10 to determine the current distance. The vertical direction and the vertical movement amount are obtained from the distance to be newly set, or the driving signal is sent to the vertical movement motor 56a (66a and 76a are the same) by the lowering amount corresponding to the inter-electrode distance after returning to the uppermost (reference) position once. Is output.

Further, when the volume is adopted as the element, it can be considered that it is similar to the thickness from the viewpoint of the shape of the object to be defrosted, and therefore the distance between the electrodes may be changed and set. When weight is adopted as an element, since the electric power per unit suitable for thawing is known in advance, it is set using the data, and is changed and set to the supplied electric power according to the weight,
Alternatively, the conveyor drive source 45 may be used to change and set the conveyor speed. When the material is adopted as the element, the electric power per unit suitable for thawing is known in advance, and therefore the distance between the electrodes, the supplied electric power or the conveyor speed may be changed and set.

The power supply can be set continuously or by intermittent drive. For example, when supplying a high frequency intermittently, by shortening the driving time, shortening the dwell time, or adjusting both,
The average power level can be set. Further, in the intermittent driving, the heat given during the driving period diffuses during the rest period, so that there is an advantage that the temperature distribution is made uniform, that is, uniform heating is performed.

Next, the control of the tuning point for each dielectric heating condition will be described using the tuning waveform corresponding to each dielectric heating condition shown in FIG. Thawed material F interposed between electrodes
When the distance between the electrodes is changed depending on the type, the capacitance component of the electrode portion changes accordingly. Therefore, in order to perform retuning for each type of the defrosted object, the matching circuit 53 performs automatic tuning (auto matching). ) Is done.

In FIG. 8, the sensitivity is too sensitive in the vicinity of the resonance points fc ₁ and fc ₂ , and therefore, an inclined portion having linearity is used for tuning control. The load current Ip under each dielectric heating condition is measured by a power meter (not shown) or the like at this time based on the current value or the like, and is monitored by the control circuit 1. When the distance between the electrodes is changed according to the type of the object to be defrosted and the tuning point is changed and controlled based on this, the tuning point fp is adjusted from the initial point (for example, the left end of each curve in FIG. 8) once the tuning is completely deviated. If you perform automatic tuning control to get closer to, it will take a long time to synchronize, and the next loading of the different kinds of defrosted objects to the high-frequency section 5 will be made to wait an additional amount (delay), and the defrosting work Is not preferable in terms of efficiency.

Therefore, for each type of object to be defrosted, a preferable tuning point experimentally obtained in advance is used as a reference frequency, and is written in the table memory 10 for each dielectric heating condition, for example, fp ₁ , fp ₂ ,. Every time the change setting of the inter-electrode distance is instructed, the matching circuit 53 reads the tuning point corresponding to the changed inter-electrode distance from the table memory 10, and the matching circuit 53 at the frequency of this tuning point. By starting up, it is possible to significantly shorten the time from the set reference frequency to the automatic tuning to the actual tuning frequency, which can speed up the loading of the next object to be defrosted. .

Next, the operation of changing and setting the dielectric heating condition during the thawing will be described. For convenience of explanation, the element of the type of the thawed material is the thickness, and the dielectric heating condition is the distance between the electrodes. First, when the activation button 2a is operated and the thickness of the required number (a group) of the objects to be thawed F placed on the first feeding section 81 is detected by the type detection sensor 9 during the feeding, The distance between the electrodes depending on the thickness is the lifting motor 56a,
It is set by 66a and 76a. Then, the object F to be defrosted is carried in through the second feeding section 82 toward the high frequency sections 5 to 7 at the set conveyor speed.

In the above, the items to be thawed are packed in a required size (prevention of dripping of boiling juice), and the items to be thawed of the same kind are usually formed in the same size. Therefore, for example, when preparing a hamburger by using a plurality of kinds of these thawed objects, it is necessary to thaw each kind of thawed object by the amount (each pack) corresponding to the production amount of the hamburger. In this case, the decompression process is performed collectively for each required pack of decompressed items.
Thawed products of the same type are processed as a group.

The object F to be defrosted is the counter electrode 55 of the high frequency section 5.
When it reaches a and 55b, it is heated sequentially from the tip side, and the whole is further heated. After this, the defrosted product F
Is continued to be heated until it passes through the counter electrodes 55a and 55b. The object to be thawed F is subsequently heated by the counter electrodes 65a, 65b of the second-stage high-frequency section 6 and further heated by the counter electrodes 75a, 75b of the third-stage high-frequency section 7, and then the outlet 3
It is carried out from 2. In this way, while the thawing process for the first group of objects to be thawed F is in progress, a group of objects to be thawed F to be defrosted next is placed on the first feeding unit, and the type detection is performed similarly. The type of detection is performed by the sensor 9.

As a result of the detection, it is determined whether the type of the object F to be thawed is currently the same as the type to be thawed. If they coincide with each other, the dielectric heating conditions are the same and the setting is not changed. On the other hand, when different, the dielectric heating condition according to the new type is read from the table memory 10. In this case, when the last thing to be defrosted of the previous type has passed through the high-frequency section 5, the lifting motor 56a starts changing and setting the inter-electrode distance. The stopper 814 separates the next type of object to be thawed F from the previous type of object to be thawed F, and the next type of object to be thawed completes the change setting of the dielectric heating condition (for example, change of the distance between electrodes). Before carrying out, it is for carrying out a standby process so as not to be carried into the high frequency section 5. Therefore, the stopper 814 is released before the time when the last thing to be thawed of the previous type has finished passing through the high-frequency unit 5, that is, the time when the last thing is to be passed and the time required for changing and setting the dielectric heating conditions. It may be performed at an earlier time point obtained by back calculation from.

When the change of the inter-electrode distance of the high-frequency section 5 is completed, the change of the inter-electrode distance for the high-frequency section 6 is set at the time when the object to be thawed F has finished passing through the high-frequency section 6. After that, the change setting is similarly performed on the high frequency section 7 when the object to be defrosted F has finished passing through the high frequency section 7. Monitoring of the time point when the object to be defrosted F passes through each high-frequency part is performed by the conveyor speed and time. That is, the pusher 82
The mechanical or optical passage sensor provided at the time of extrusion of No. 2 or at an appropriate position near the entrance of the high-frequency unit 5 is the object to be defrosted F.
The time elapsed from the reference time point such as the time point at which the passage of is detected is detected. Alternatively, if a passage sensor is provided at each of the outlets of the high frequency units 5 to 7 for direct detection, a timer becomes unnecessary and more reliable monitoring can be performed. Similarly, the power level can be changed and set every time the object to be defrosted F passes through the respective high frequency parts.

In this embodiment, three high-frequency units are used for description, but the number of high-frequency units may be one, or two or more required units.

Further, in the present embodiment, the type detection sensor 9 is used to detect the type of the thawed objects to be successively loaded. However, for the food to be thawed as in the case of the hamburger described above, for example. If the items to be thawed are loaded in a predetermined order, the type detection sensor 9 only has to determine whether the previously thawed substance and the thawed substance detected this time are different, If they are of different types, the dielectric heating conditions may be changed and set according to a preset order. Therefore, since it is not necessary to specify each type, simplification of the sensor can be expected.

Furthermore, if the amount and the order of defrosting of the type of food required for the type and amount of food to be thawed are associated in advance in a table, the food name (for example, hamburger) and its amount are input and set. It is also possible to change and set the dielectric heating conditions along with the loading of each object to be defrosted by simply sliding. In this case, as the type detection sensor 9, a type that simply counts the known number of packs of each decompressed object to be carried in may be used, and simplification of the sensor can be similarly expected.

[0050]

As described above, according to the present invention,
Feeding means for feeding the object to be thawed toward the counter electrode, type detecting means arranged in the middle of the feeding means to detect the type of the object to be thawed, type of the object to be thawed and dielectric heating conditions And a condition setting means for setting a dielectric heating condition for the defrosting unit, and a dielectric heating condition corresponding to the type of the defrosted object detected by the type detecting unit by the defrosting unit. Therefore, the dielectric heating condition is automatically set according to the type of the thawed object, and the control means for operating the condition setting means is provided, which is always suitable for various thawed objects. It can allow thawing under conditions.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the type of the thawed object is the thickness of the thawed object, the type detecting means is a sensor for detecting the thickness of the thawed object, and the dielectric heating condition is also the change of the distance between the electrodes. Since only this is required, the configuration can be simplified for the condition change setting.

According to the third aspect of the invention, each time the object to be thawed passing between at least two counter electrodes arranged side by side has finished passing between the counter electrodes, the condition setting means is operated to operate the electrodes. Since the distance is changed and set, the defrosting work efficiency can be improved.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a circuit diagram of a high-frequency decompression device according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially cutaway front view showing an example of the high-frequency defrosting device according to the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a plan view showing an example of a high-frequency decompression device according to the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a right side view showing an example of the high-frequency defrosting device according to the present invention.

5A and 5B are views showing the positional relationship between the object to be defrosted, the counter electrode and the endless belt, FIG. 5A being a perspective view and FIG.
FIG.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a configuration of a carry-in section of the high-frequency defroster.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing a configuration of a carry-in unit of the high-frequency defroster.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a tuning waveform corresponding to each dielectric heating condition.

[Explanation of symbols]

 1 Control Circuit (Control Means) 5, 6, 7 High Frequency Section 8 Feeding Section 81 First Feeding Section (Feeding Means) 82 Second Feeding Section (Feeding Means) 9 Type Detection Sensor (Type Detecting Means) 10 Table memory (storage means) 30 defrosting section 40 conveyor section 45 conveyor drive source (condition setting means) 51, 61, 71 power supply circuit (condition setting means) 52, 62, 72 high frequency oscillation circuit 53, 63, 73 matching circuit 54, 64,74 Transformers 55a, 65a, 75a Upper electrodes 55b, 65b, 75b Lower electrodes 56, 66, 76 Lifting mechanism (condition setting means) F Thawed material

Claims (3)

[Claims] 1. A high-frequency defrosting apparatus having a defrosting unit for performing dielectric heating on an object to be defrosted conveyed between opposed electrodes to which high-frequency power is supplied, wherein the object to be defrosted is fed toward the counter electrode. A feeding means, a type detecting means arranged in the middle of the feeding means, for detecting the type of the defrosted object, a storage means for storing the type of the defrosted object and the dielectric heating condition in association with each other, Setting means for setting a dielectric heating condition for a part and a control for operating the condition setting means so that the defrosting part has a dielectric heating condition corresponding to the type of the object to be defrosted detected by the type detecting means. And a high-frequency defrosting device. 2. The type of the object to be thawed is the thickness of the object to be thawed, the type detecting means is a sensor for detecting the thickness of the object to be thawed, and the condition setting means sets the inter-electrode distance of the counter electrodes. The high frequency defrosting device according to claim 1, wherein 3. The at least two counter electrodes are arranged side by side in the passage direction of the object to be thawed, and the condition setting means changes and sets the inter-electrode distance for each of the counter electrodes. When the type detecting means detects objects to be thawed having different thicknesses, the control means actuates the condition setting means each time the object to be thawed passing between the counter electrodes has finished passing between the counter electrodes. 3. The distance between the electrodes is set to be changed and set.
The described high-frequency defroster.