JPH10170123A - Cooling device for tank - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To cool swiftly the contents of a tank by providing an evaporator member and a cooling water passage on an exterior wall surface of a tank and setting up a temperature sensor and controlling the refrigerant which is fed to the evaporator member and the cooling water which is fed to the cooling water passage based on a detection temperature of this temperature sensor. SOLUTION: During the operation time of a cooling device of a tank which is suitable to fermentation or storage in terms of brewing of liquor or the like, the temperature of the contents of a tank 10 is detected with a temperature sensor 41 and its detection signal is output to a controller 60 where at first it is determined whether or not the detected temperature exceeds a storage temperature. In the case when the detected temperature exceeds the storage temperature, it is determined whether or not the detected temperature exceeds a set temperature. If it is determined as YES, a cooling supply water source 35 is operated, or in the case when it is determined as NO, a refrigeration unit 50 is operated. Or in the case when the detected temperature is less than the set temperature and exceeds the storage temperature, a refrigerant is fed to an evaporator member 21 from the refrigeration unit 50 so that the contents of the tank may be cooled with the evaporator member 21.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a cooling device for a tank suitable for fermentation and storage during brewing of alcoholic beverages, and more particularly to a cooling device for cooling a tank by using a refrigerator and cooling water together.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a cooling device for a tank used for storing alcoholic beverages such as sake, those described in Japanese Patent Publication Nos. 2-28787 and 4-16696 are known. For example, Japanese Patent Publication No. Hei 4-16696 discloses a method in which a plurality of tanks are installed in a refrigerator compartment, and a cooling section through which a refrigerant passes is provided on a part of the surface of each tank to cool the tanks. A cooling device that cools liquor in a tank is described as a heat exchange unit with a refrigerator compartment where the other part where the cooling unit is not provided is used.

[0003]

However, in the cooling device described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 4-16696, when the liquor in the tank is replaced to cool new liquor to a predetermined temperature, a cooling unit is required. However, when the temperature of the liquor is high, there is a problem in that a large load is applied to the brine cooler and the like. SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and has as its object to provide a tank cooling device that can reduce the load of a brown ink and the like and can quickly cool the contents of the tank such as sake. .

[0004]

In order to achieve the above object, a tank cooling device according to the present invention is provided with a plate-shaped evaporator member having a refrigerant passage formed on an outer wall surface of the tank, and the evaporator member is provided with a plate-shaped evaporator member. A cooling water passage is defined outside or on the outer wall surface of the tank in parallel with the evaporator member, and a refrigerant passage of the evaporator member is connected to a heat pump unit so that refrigerant can be recirculated, and the cooling water passage is used as a cooling water supply source. A cooling water supply mechanism for controlling the amount of cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply source to the cooling water passage, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the tank, and the heat pump based on a detection output of the temperature sensor. The unit and the water amount adjusting mechanism are configured to be controlled.

[0005] In the cooling device for a tank according to the present invention, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is equal to or higher than the first set temperature, the cooling water is supplied to the cooling water passage to reflux the tank, and the temperature of the tank is returned. When the temperature detected by the sensor is lower than the first set temperature and higher than the second set temperature, the tank is cooled by circulating a refrigerant from the heat pump unit to a refrigerant passage of the evaporator member. Further, the evaporator member is formed by joining a thin metal plate to define the refrigerant passage, and the evaporator member may be provided on an outer wall surface of the tank (claim 3). .

[0006] The cooling device according to the present invention is a tank in which it is desired to quickly cool the contents to a predetermined temperature and then maintain the temperature at a constant temperature, for example, the above-described liquor tank such as sake, beer tank, or food. Suitable for agitating tanks and cosmetics. In the tank, an evaporator member is provided on the entire or partial surface of the outer wall surface, and a cooling water passage is defined in a portion of the outer wall surface where the evaporator member is not provided or on the outer surface side of the evaporator member.

As the evaporator member, a member for forming a medium passage by joining thin sheets of aluminum or copper is used, and more specifically, a roll bond evaporator panel (Showa Aluminum Co., Ltd.) Manufacturing,
For example, a material that impregnates an epoxy resin, a polyester resin, or the like into a parabeam 3D (trade name, sold by Chori Co., Ltd.), which is a glass fiber having a three-dimensional hollow structure, to define a medium passage is used. The cooling water passage is composed of a water jacket or a water pipe provided on the outer wall surface of the tank. The cooling water passage is connected to a cooling water supply source, and the cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply source flows.

For the heat pump unit, a known refrigerator having a compressor, a condenser, a receiver, an expansion valve and the like is used when chlorofluorocarbon gas or the like is used as a refrigerant, and a brine cooler or the like is used when brine is used as a refrigerant. The cooling water supply source includes a water source and a refrigerator for cooling water, or a brine cooler for cooling brine. The cooling water supply source communicates with the evaporator member through forward and return piping, and circulates cooling water (brine) to cool the tank. The water amount adjusting mechanism includes a flow control valve or a pump controller interposed in the piping, and changes the amount of cooling water supplied to the water jacket.

The temperature sensor uses a thermocouple or the like, and detects the temperature of the contents of the tank, the temperature of the tank wall, and the like. The temperature sensor is connected to the controller and outputs a detected temperature signal to the controller. The controller controls the heat pump unit and the water amount adjusting mechanism based on the detection output of the temperature sensor and the like. As an example of specific control by this controller, as specified in claim 2, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is equal to or higher than the first set temperature, the cooling water is caused to flow through the cooling water passage to cool the tank. When the temperature is lower than the first set temperature and higher than the second set temperature, the tank is cooled by flowing a coolant through the evaporator member, or the cooling water passage is further cooled by flowing the cooling water through the cooling water passage and the evaporator member. Cool with both.

[0010]

The tank cooling device according to the present invention detects the temperature of the contents of the tank with a temperature sensor and controls the heat pump unit and the water amount adjusting mechanism based on the detection output of the temperature sensor. If it is high, control is performed such as increasing the amount of cooling water to obtain a large cooling capacity. For this reason, the contents of the tank can be quickly cooled, and adverse effects such as overcooling can be prevented.

The cooling device for the tank according to the second aspect of the present invention is characterized in that when the temperature of the tank contents is high, cooling water is used, and when the temperature of the tank contents is low, cooling is performed by an evaporator member. It is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied. In the tank cooling device according to the third aspect, the evaporator member is formed by joining thin metal plates, so that the size can be reduced.

[0012]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. 1 to 5 show a tank cooling device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the outline thereof, FIG. 2 is a sectional view of the tank, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view of a different portion, FIG. 4 is a piping diagram, and FIG.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a tank. The tank 10 has a shell 11 made of steel, stainless steel, fiber-reinforced resin, or the like, and stores liquor such as sake in the shell 11. This tank 10 has four shells 11
The two evaporator members 21 are disposed at appropriate intervals, and a jacket member 31 is provided at a predetermined dimension on the outer peripheral surface of the shell 11 where the evaporator member 21 is not provided. A temperature sensor 41 is provided.

As shown in FIGS. 2A and 2B, the evaporator member 21 joins a pair of metal plates 22 having excellent thermal conductivity to define a bent medium passage 23 between the metal plates 22, 22. Thus, for example, a roll bond panel is used. The method of manufacturing the evaporator member 21 includes:
A step of printing a predetermined pattern on one side of the metal plate 22 with an anti-pressing agent; and a step of superposing the other metal plate 22 on the pattern printing surface of the one metal plate 22 and rolling the non-pressed portion. Forming a laminated plate having the following steps: and disposing the laminated plate between the upper die and the lower die having the recess for forming a bulging space, and introducing a pressurized fluid into the non-press-bonded portion of the laminated plate to expand the tubular shape. And a step of forming a tubular hollow portion constituting a medium passage by ejecting the medium. The outer surfaces of these evaporator members 21 are covered with a heat insulating material 29 such as glass wool, and one end of each medium passage 23 is a pipe 24 of an equal length, and the other end is a pipe 25 at a refrigerating unit (heat pump unit) 5.
Connected to 0.

The refrigeration unit 50 is, as shown in FIG.
A well-known medium using freon gas or the like as a medium, and includes a pipe joint 51, a sight glass 52a, a compressor 53, a condenser 54, a receiver 55, and a sight glass 5
2b, a solenoid valve 56, an expansion valve 57, a pressure regulator valve 58, and a branch pipe joint 59. The pipe 25 is connected to the pipe joint 51, and each pipe 24 is connected to the branch pipe joint 59. Compressor 53
The solenoid valve 56 and the like are connected to a controller 60 described later, and are controlled by the controller. The hydraulic pressure of the pipe joint 51 is introduced to the regulator valve, and the refrigerant is released to the pipe joint 51 side in response to the liquid pressure. Note that other configurations of the refrigeration unit 50 are well known, and description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 3, the jacket member 31 defines a cooling water passage 32 between itself and the outer surface of the shell 11, and the outer surface is covered with a heat insulating material 29. The cooling water pipe 33 is connected to the jacket member 31 at the upper part on one side, and the cooling water pipe 34 is connected to the lower part at the other side. The cooling water passage 32 communicates with the cooling water supply source 35 by the water pipes 33 and 34. Although not shown, the cooling water supply source 35 includes a refrigerator for cooling water, a circulation pump for circulating cooling water, and the like.
Controlled by 0. The cooling water supply source 35 supplies cooling water cooled by the refrigerator to the jacket member 31 and circulates the cooling water.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cooling water passage 32 is provided with a jacket member 31 outside the evaporator member 21 at a distance from the outer surface of the evaporator member 21, and the inner surface of the jacket member 31 and the outer surface of the evaporator member 21. It is also possible to define between. Further, the cooling water supply source 35 can be configured only with a pump for discharging industrial water or groundwater without providing a refrigerator or the like.

The temperature sensor 41 comprises a thermocouple or the like, and is installed so as to detect the temperature of the contents in the tank 10. The temperature sensor 41 is connected to the controller 60 and outputs a detection signal. Although illustration and detailed description are omitted, the controller 60 has a built-in computer and the like, and controls the above-described refrigeration unit 50 and the cooling water supply source 35 based on the detection output of the temperature sensor 41 and the like. A plurality of the temperature sensors 41 described above are installed in the tank 10 and the controller 60
It is also possible to control each detected temperature by performing calculations such as averaging.

In this embodiment, the temperature of the contents in the tank 10 is detected by the temperature sensor 41 and a detection signal is output to the controller 60. And the controller 6
0 controls the refrigeration unit 50 and the cooling water supply source 35 by performing the processing shown in the flowchart of FIG.

That is, first, at step S1, the detected temperature T of the temperature sensor 41 is read, and at step S2, it is determined whether or not the detected temperature T exceeds the storage temperature (second set temperature) T0. If the detected temperature T is equal to or lower than the storage temperature T0 in step S2, the processing from step S1 is repeated after a predetermined time has elapsed, and the detected temperature T
Is higher than the storage temperature T0, it is determined in step S3 whether the detected temperature T is equal to or higher than a set temperature (first set temperature) T1 (T1> T0).

If it is determined in step S3 that the detected temperature T exceeds the set temperature T1, the cooling water supply source 35 is operated in step S4, and it is determined that the detected temperature T is equal to or lower than the set temperature T1. And the refrigeration unit 5 in step S5
Drive 0. That is, when the detected temperature T is equal to or higher than the set temperature T1, the cooling water is supplied from the cooling water supply source 35 to the cooling water passage 32, and the cooling water flows back through the cooling water passage 32 to cool the tank contents. The detected temperature T is equal to the set temperature T.
When the temperature is less than 1 and exceeds the storage temperature T0, the refrigerant is supplied from the refrigeration unit 50 to the evaporator member 21, and the contents of the tank are cooled by the evaporator member 21.

As described above, in this embodiment, when the temperature of the contents of the tank 10 is high, it is cooled with cooling water, and when the temperature of the contents of the tank 10 decreases, the evaporator member is moved from the refrigeration unit 50 to the evaporator member. Since the tank contents are cooled by supplying the refrigerant to the evaporator member 21, an excessive load can be prevented from being applied to the refrigeration unit 50. In the above-described embodiment, control such as adjusting the supply flow rate of the cooling water or the supply flow rate of the coolant in accordance with the deviation between the storage temperature T0, which is the final target temperature, and the detected temperature T is also possible.

FIG. 7 shows a tank cooling apparatus according to another embodiment of the present invention, wherein a is a partially enlarged sectional view of the tank, and b is a perspective view schematically showing a main part. Note that, in this embodiment and the embodiment described later, the same portions as those in the above-described embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and description thereof will be omitted.

In this embodiment, a three-dimensional woven fabric, for example, the above-described parabeam 3D (trade name, sold by Chori Co., Ltd.), which is a glass fiber having a three-dimensional hollow structure, is impregnated with an epoxy resin or a polyester resin and cured. Thus, the evaporator member 71 is formed. In the evaporator member 71, a plurality of medium passages 71a are defined inside in a substantially air-tight (liquid-tight) manner substantially in parallel, and both sides of the medium passage 15a in the longitudinal direction are connected to the refrigeration unit 50 via joint members (not shown). contact.

Also in this embodiment, when the temperature of the contents of the tank 10 is high, the tank 10 is cooled by cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply source 35, and when the temperature of the contents becomes low, the refrigerant is supplied to the evaporator member 71. To supply the evaporator member 71
To cool. For this reason, when cooling by the evaporator member 71, it is possible to prevent an excessive load from being applied to the refrigeration unit 50.

FIG. 8 is a sectional view showing a tank cooling device according to still another embodiment of the present invention, in which a part of the tank is enlarged. In this embodiment, the shell 1 of the tank 10 is used.
1 A cooling water pipe (cooling water passage) 72 such as a copper pipe or an aluminum pipe is provided to be bent on the outer surface, and the end of the cooling water pipe 72 is connected to the cooling water supply source 35 so that the temperature of the contents of the tank 10 is high. In this case, cooling water is supplied to the cooling water pipe 72 to cool the cooling water.

In the above-described embodiment, when the detected temperature T falls below the set temperature T1, cooling is performed only by the evaporator member 21. It is also possible to cool with.

Further, in each of the above-described embodiments, the evaporator member 21 forms the medium passage 23 by expanding and deforming the pair of metal plates 22, respectively, as shown in FIG.
One of the metal plates 22a is flat, that is, the other metal plate 22b is not expanded, and only the other metal plate 22b is expanded.
3 can also be configured.

[0029]

As described above, according to the tank cooling device of the present invention, both the evaporator member and the cooling water passage are provided on the outer wall surface of the tank, and the temperature sensor detects the temperature of the contents of the tank. To control the refrigerant supplied to the evaporator member and the cooling water supplied to the cooling water passage based on the temperature detected by the temperature sensor, so that the contents of the tank can be quickly cooled and the adverse effects such as overcooling can be prevented. The effect is obtained.

According to the tank cooling device of the present invention, when the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is high, the tank is cooled by cooling water, and when the temperature is low, the refrigerant is supplied from the heat pump unit to the evaporator member. As a result, excessive load can be prevented from being applied to the heat pump unit. Further, according to the cooling device for a tank according to the third aspect of the present invention, since the evaporator member is formed by joining metal plates having excellent heat conductivity, the evaporator member can be made thinner, and the increase in the size of the tank is suppressed. The effect that it can be obtained is obtained.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a view schematically showing an overall outline of a tank cooling device according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2A is a cross-sectional view in which a part of the tank is enlarged.
(B) is a top view of the evaporator member used for the same tank.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged sectional view of another part of the tank.

FIG. 4 is a piping diagram showing an outline of a heat pump unit of the cooling device.

FIG. 5 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing another embodiment of the tank.

FIG. 6 is a flowchart showing a control process of the cooling device.

FIG. 7 is a sectional view showing a tank cooling device according to another embodiment of the present invention, in which a part of the tank is enlarged.

FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a tank cooling device according to still another embodiment of the present invention, in which a part of the tank is enlarged.

FIG. 9 is a partially enlarged sectional view showing another embodiment of the evaporator member used for the tank cooling device according to the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

 Reference Signs List 10 tank 11 shell 21 evaporator member 22 metal thin plate 23 refrigerant passage 31 jacket member 32 cooling water passage 35 cooling water supply source 41 temperature sensor 50 refrigeration unit (heat pump unit) 60 controller 71 evaporator member 71a refrigerant passage 72 cooling water pipe

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Makoto Goto 1689-1 Negin, Hasuda-shi, Saitama Nippon Shokuhin Kogyo Co., Ltd. Inside the Hasuda Factory (72) Inventor Yu Ono 6, 224 Kaiyamacho, Sakai-shi, Osaka Showa Al Minium Co., Ltd.

Claims (3)

[Claims] An evaporator member having a coolant passage formed on an outer wall surface of a tank is provided, and a cooling water passage is defined outside the evaporator member or on an outer wall surface of the tank in parallel with the evaporator member. Connecting the refrigerant passage of the evaporator member to the heat pump unit so that the refrigerant can be recirculated, connecting the cooling water passage to a cooling water supply source, and adjusting the amount of cooling water supplied from the cooling water supply source to the cooling water passage. A cooling device for a tank, comprising a water amount adjusting mechanism, a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature in the tank, and controlling the heat pump unit and the water amount adjusting mechanism based on a detection output of the temperature sensor. 2. When the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is equal to or higher than a first set temperature, cooling water is supplied to the cooling water passage to reflux the tank, and the temperature detected by the temperature sensor is set to the first set temperature. 2. The tank cooling device according to claim 1, wherein when the temperature is lower than the temperature and exceeds the second set temperature, the tank is cooled by circulating a refrigerant from the heat pump unit to a refrigerant passage of the evaporator member. 3. 3. The cooling device for a tank according to claim 1, wherein the evaporator member is formed by joining a thin metal plate to define the refrigerant passage, and the evaporator member is provided on an outer wall surface of the tank.