JPH1163777A - Continuous processing wash whole freezer - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a continuous cooling or refrigerating wash whole freezer dealing with small quantity of variety foods in which the inside of the freezer can be washed whole and the washing can be performed easily and surely while confirming the washing conditions visually. SOLUTION: The continuous processing wash whole freezer comprises a laterally elongated housing 10 having a plurality of modules 11, and a conveyor 12 having a conveyor belt 12a extending on the bottom part of the housing from an inlet toward an outlet. The conveyor belt 12a defines a conveying space while mounting a work 30 and upper and lower jet flow parts 14, 15 are provided on the upper and lower surfaces thereof. A chill in the form of an impact jet flow touches the conveyor belt 12a the work 30, mounted thereon to transfer heat with high efficiency thus cooling or freezing a member.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a freezer suitable for continuous cooling or continuous freezing that can cope with a cooling load of food, and more particularly to a modularized continuous cooling or continuous freezing round freezer that can be washed.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional freezer, a conveyor for transporting a member to be treated is provided in a freezer chamber, and a plurality of cool air circulating devices each including a refrigerator unit, an air cooler, and a blower are provided above and below the conveyor. Arrange the base,
Cold air is introduced into the freezer room to the work conveyor surface.
Many are convectively circulated, and C.I. I. P
It is a large-sized one provided with a cleaning pipe so that cleaning and sterilization can be performed, and is configured to perform a large amount of cooling or freezing.

That is, since a convection circulation path is formed in the transport direction, it is not suitable for small-quantity, multi-product continuous production.

[0004] Regarding washing, in a freezer using a steel belt, since the brine is used on the back surface of the belt in consideration of heat transfer and lubrication, only the steel belt surface on the cooling and conveying surface side of the food is washed. In many cases, the other steel belt surface is not cleaned. Also, with a mesh freezer that does not use brine using a mesh belt, the inside of the freezer can be washed, but the gap between the mesh parts is difficult to wash, and the plate fin tube type is used for the heat exchanger, It was difficult to reliably wash every corner.

[0005]

In the conventional freezer in which a convection circulation path is formed with respect to the transfer surface of the processing work, there is no problem in cooling and freezing a large amount of the same food. It is difficult to cope with the cooling and freezing of varieties, and there is a strong demand for the appearance of a freezer that can appropriately and continuously produce even small-quantity and multi-kind processed workpieces.

Further, with the enforcement of the PL law (product liability law), there is a strong demand for prevention of contamination such as mixing of foreign substances into foods, adhesion, adhesion of microorganisms, proliferation, and the like. I. There is a demand for a structure that can be reliably and easily cleaned, in addition to being equipped with a P-cleaning and steam sterilization apparatus, and that allows visual observation of the cleaning status.

The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned problems, and has a compact structure that enables the whole inside of the freezer to be washed and cleaned, and that can easily and reliably perform the washing, and a structure that allows a user to visually check the state of the washing. In addition, it is intended to provide a whole-washing freezer that can be continuously cooled or frozen, corresponding to a small amount and a large variety of foods.

In order to enable the inside of the above-mentioned freezer to be cleaned, instead of bringing the lower surface of the conveyor belt on which the food is loaded into contact with the brine, heat transfer means comprising a collision jet of cool air is adopted on the front and back surfaces of the belt. By doing so, more efficient heat transfer is enabled, and the entire conveyor belt can be washed regardless of its front and back.

Further, the internal space of the housing of the freezer is divided into a plurality of serial spaces by modularization, and the interior of each module is divided into a cool air recirculation space and an exhaust re-cooling space centered on a cooling space surrounding the work. The cooling air recirculation space is provided with an external opening inspection door for externally inspecting the state of accumulation of dirt at the blow-out opening of the jet slit corresponding to the entrance of the cooling space. It is made possible.

The jet slit for forming the cool air jet and the front and back of the conveyor belt are washed by pushing a detergent (foam) from the cold air blowing side to the blowing side, thereby cleaning the jet slit itself and cleaning the conveyor belt surface. Also becomes possible.

In order to enable continuous operation irrespective of the size of the work and the variety of workpieces, the cooling or freezing space is divided into a plurality of modularized spaces, and the cooling air formed in each module space is circulated. Instead of forming a convection circulation path on the road with respect to the running surface of the conveyor, a circulation path crossing at right angles to the conveyor running direction is formed to form independent heat transfer spaces.

[0012]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION A round-washing freezer capable of continuous cooling or freezing according to the present invention is configured as described below. That is, a work transfer conveyor is disposed in a longitudinal direction in a horizontally long casing surrounded by heat insulating walls to form a longitudinal transfer space, and a cool air including an air cooler and a blower is provided in the space via a refrigerator. In a continuous transfer type freezer provided with a circulating unit, which enables continuous processing of cooling or freezing of the work in the transfer space by an appropriate heat transfer unit, and in which the transfer space is provided with a heat transfer unit, A plurality of modules each including a cooling unit comprising a cooling air circulation means and a cooling air circulation means, wherein the heat transfer means includes a work on a conveyor belt and a jet slit for forming an impinging jet on the lower surface of the belt. The cold air circulating means comprises a cold air impinging jet flow path, and the cold air circulating means sucks the exhaust of the impinging jet in the lateral direction of the conveyor and recools it by an air cooler in order to circulate cool air through the cold air impinging jet flow path. And the cooling passage,
A cool air recirculation path for introducing and circulating re-cooled cool air into the jet slit is configured so as to traverse the transfer space at right angles in the transfer direction around the cooling space surrounding the work.

The module according to the first aspect of the present invention is divided into a closed sealed space including a cool air recirculation passage having a cooling space forming a cold air impinging jet passage as a through passage, and a closed sealed space including an exhaust recooling passage. The inspection gull wing door is provided on the outer wall of the closed airtight space including the cold air recirculation path, and a cleaning means including a plurality of cleaning slit nozzles is built in.

Further, the air cooler according to the first aspect is characterized by comprising a plate cooler.

Further, the impinging jet according to the first aspect is formed by blowing vertically to the belt surface from an elongated jet slit provided at right angles to the flow direction of the conveyor belt. A layer is formed.

[0016]

According to the present invention, the work transfer space is formed in series by modularizing a cooling unit provided with a heat transfer means and a cool air circulating means. The cooling status of each module can be individually adjusted and continuously processed in response to the fluctuation of the cooling load based on the above.

The heat transfer means of the cooling unit in the module is configured so that the impinging jet by the jet slit is formed on the work and the lower surface of the conveyor belt on which the work is mounted. The heat transfer efficiency can be promoted by forming a turbulent boundary layer on the lower surface of the belt on which the belt is mounted. Further, it is not necessary to bring the brine into direct contact with the cooling of the lower surface of the conveyor belt, and the entire conveyor belt can be washed.

Further, in the cross-sectional structure of the transport space, the exhaust of the impinging jet is sucked and re-cooled in the lateral direction of the conveyor, centering on the cooling space in which the impinging jet of the cool air acts on the work on the conveyor belt to perform required cooling. A cooling air circulation path composed of an exhaust re-cooling flow path to be cooled and a cooling air recirculation path for returning the re-cooled cool air to the cooling space is interposed, so that the cooling unit is configured in a cross section of the transfer space at right angles to the transfer direction. In addition, the transport space can be divided into a plurality of longitudinal spaces, and a cooling unit can be built in the space.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, each of the series modules constituting the casing of the freezer is provided with an air outlet of a blower and a cooling space in a cold air circulation path constituting a cooling unit incorporated therein. The cold air recirculation space and the cool air recirculation path, which are the entrances of the upper and lower jet slits, which are the entrances of the upper and lower air jets, are configured as a closed closed space, so that when cleaning the spouts of the jet slits where dirt easily accumulates, from the entrance side of each slit For example, if the blower is driven after cleaning with the foamed detergent, it is possible to easily clean the entire cool air circulation path including the collision jet flow path.

In this case, the opening for inspection and visual inspection from the outside can be freely opened by a gull wing door as needed. In addition, there is no place where filth easily accumulates in the cool air circuit,
A swirling cleaning slit nozzle is provided at a place where fine cleaning is required so that more reliable cleaning can be performed. In addition,
With a structure that can completely eliminate the cleaning liquid that enters during cleaning,
Because and are the Composition to withstand strong alkali and Cl ₂ wash, it is possible to be washed completely cleaned.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the air cooler is constituted by a plate cooler, the air cooler can be more reliably and quickly cleaned in place of a plate fin tube type which is conventionally used and is difficult to clean. Can be implemented.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, the impinging jet is formed by a plurality of elongated jet slits provided at a right angle in the longitudinal direction at an appropriate distance from the front side and the back side of the conveyor belt on which the workpiece is mounted and transported. The innumerable parallel jets formed are sprayed vertically toward the front and back of the belt to form a turbulent boundary layer on the sprayed surface, so that a high-efficiency cooling or freezing process can be performed. it can.

[0023]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below in detail with reference to an embodiment shown in the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the components described in this embodiment are not merely intended to limit the scope of the present invention, but are merely illustrative examples unless otherwise specified. Absent. FIG.
FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a round washing freezer capable of continuous processing according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view showing a configuration of the module of FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the round washing freezer capable of continuous processing according to the present invention comprises a horizontally long casing 10 comprising a plurality of modules 11, and a conveyor belt penetrating the bottom of the casing from an entrance to an exit. The conveyor belt 12a is provided with a work 30 as a processing member to form a transfer space, and upper and lower jetting portions 14 and 15 are provided on both upper and lower surfaces thereof. The turbulent cold air generated by the impinging jet is brought into contact with the conveyor belt 12a and the work 30 mounted thereon via the upper and lower jet sections 14, 15 having the jet slits 14a, 15a to form a high-efficiency cooling space. The work can be cooled or frozen by heat.

As shown in FIG. 2, the module 11 is a transfer space formed of a heat insulating member, and is configured to be branched into two closed closed spaces A and B at the upper right and lower left sides by a solid boundary line shown in the figure. . A cooling space is formed by providing upper and lower cold air impingement jet channels 22 sandwiching a conveyor belt 12a that penetrates the center between the oblique upper right space A and the oblique lower left space B to form a cooling space. An exhaust air re-cooling flow path 23 for re-cooling via an air cooler 16 and a blower 17 provided along the left inner wall is drawn out in the lateral direction of the exhaust gas from the injection flow path 22, and the diagonally upper right space A The cool air recirculation passage 21 branches the cool air recooled from the outlet of the exhaust recooling passage 23 into upper and lower fork return passages 21a and 21b and introduces the cooled air into the upper jet part 14 and the lower jet part 15 of the cooling space. And a gull wing door 13 for internal inspection is provided.

An exhaust re-cooling passage 23 including the air cooler 16 and the blower 17 and a cool air recirculation passage 21 form a cool air circulation passage, which is formed around a work 30 on the conveyor belt 12a. The cooling air circulating means is connected to the cooling space in which the cold air impinging jet channel 22 is built, and traverses the transporting space in a right-angled cross section in the transporting direction.

The cold air impinging jet channel 22 is formed by an elongated jet slit formed by an upper jet section 14 and a lower jet section 15 provided at right angles to the longitudinal direction of the conveyor belt 12a. 14a, 15a constitute a heat transfer means which is formed by vertical spraying on the belt surface, and after the collision with the belt surface, a turbulent boundary layer is formed to improve the heat transfer efficiency remarkably. I have to do it.

Since the cooling unit is formed by the cool air circulating means and the heat transfer means and is built in each module, cooling or freezing is performed in response to fluctuations in the cooling load based on differences in the processing amount and the type of processing. Continuous processing can be performed.

In each of the above modules, a gull wing door is provided in a closed enclosed space A containing the above-mentioned cold air recirculation path, and when cleaning the suction side of the jet slit in which dirt easily accumulates, the condition is visually confirmed while checking the condition. The cleaning of the conveyor belt as well as the cleaning of the entire area of the cold air impinging jet flow path and the cold air circulation flow path starting from the slit can be reliably performed through the drive of the blower and the conveyor motor. That is, at the time of the above-mentioned cleaning, the jet slit is filled with the foaming detergent from the entrance of the jet slit, and then the blower and the conveyor are operated, and the cleaning agent is spread over the entire area of the cool air circulation path and the conveyor belt, and the round washing is performed. It is configured to be possible.

As shown in FIG. 2, swirling washing slit nozzles 18, 19a and 19b are provided at the outlet of the blower 17 and at the junction between the inlet of the blower and the air cooler 16, and the upper and lower jet slit outlets are provided. Is the cleaning slit nozzle 2
0, and C.0 connected to them. I. P A cleaning pipe is provided, and inspection doors 24 and 25 are provided for checking the space B adjacent to the space A in which the cool air recirculation path 21 is built, so that there is no space that cannot be cleaned. Further, since the air cooler 16 uses a plate cooler instead of the conventional plate fin tube type which is generally used and is difficult to wash, the air cooler can be washed more reliably and quickly. For sterile cleaning, the material is made to withstand strong alkali cleaning and Cl ₂ cleaning.

[0031]

According to the above-mentioned structure, the whole inside of the freezer can be washed and washed, and the washing can be easily and surely performed, and the state of washing can be visually checked. Thus, it is possible to provide a modular round washing freezer capable of continuous cooling or freezing that saves space.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a round washing freezer capable of continuous processing according to an embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a sectional view showing a configuration of each module of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 Case 11 Module 12 Conveyor 13 Gull wing door 14 Upper jet part 15 Lower jet part 16 Air cooler 17 Blower 18, 19a, 19b Swirling cleaning slit nozzle 20 Cleaning slit nozzle 21 Cold air recirculation path 22 Cold air impingement jet path 23 Exhaust recooling Flow path 24, 25 Inspection door 30 Work

 ──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuing on the front page (72) Inventor Naoto Okamoto 2-3-1 Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo Inside Maekawa Works Co., Ltd. (72) Inventor Masayuki Onori 2-3-1, Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo No. Inside the Maekawa Works, Ltd. (72) Inventor Shintaro Hiraoka 2-3-1, Botan, Koto-ku, Tokyo Inside the Maekawa Works

Claims (4)

[Claims] A work transfer conveyor is disposed in a longitudinal direction in a horizontally long casing surrounded by a heat insulating wall to form a longitudinal transfer space, and an air cooler and a blower are provided in the space via a refrigerator. In the continuous transfer type freezer provided with a cool air circulation unit, which enables continuous processing of cooling or freezing of the work in the transfer space by an appropriate heat transfer unit, and a washing unit provided with a washing unit, A plurality of modules each including a cooling unit including a heat transfer means and a cool air circulating means are arranged in series, and the heat transfer means forms a collision jet on a workpiece on a conveyor belt and a lower surface of the belt. The cool air circulating means comprises a cold air impinging jet flow path including a slit, and the cold air circulating means sucks the exhaust of the impinging jet in the lateral direction of the conveyor and re-cools it by an air cooler in order to circulate cool air through the cold air impinging jet flow path. An exhaust re-cooling flow path, and a cool air recirculation path for introducing and circulating re-cooled cool air into the jet slit, with the cooling space wrapping the work as a center, and traversing the transfer space in a right-angled slice shape in the transfer direction. did,
A washable freezer that can be continuously processed. 2. The module according to claim 1, wherein the module is divided into a closed sealed space including a cool air recirculation passage having a cooling space forming a cold air impinging jet flow passage as a through passage, and a closed sealed space including an exhaust recooling flow passage. 2. The round washing freezer according to claim 1, wherein a gull wing door for inspection is provided on an outer wall of the closed enclosed space including the return path, and a washing means comprising a plurality of slit nozzles for washing is built in. 3. A round washing freezer capable of continuous processing according to claim 1, wherein said air cooler is constituted by a plate cooler. 4. The impinging jet is formed by spraying vertically onto a belt surface from an elongated jet slit provided at right angles to a flow direction of a conveyor belt, and forms a turbulent boundary layer on the belt surface. The washing freezer capable of continuous processing according to claim 1, characterized in that: