JPS598552Y2 - Ripening gas supply device for citrus ripening processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] The present invention relates to an improvement of a gas supply device for supplying ripening gas into a processing chamber during the ripening process of citrus fruits.

BACKGROUND ART Conventionally, it has been known to expose unripe citrus fruits in an ethylene gas atmosphere as a means of artificially turning them yellow.

As shown in Fig. 1, the apparatus for supplying the ripening gas such as ethylene gas to the ripening chamber has a gas extraction valve body 2 and a liquid such as water injected into the cylinder socket 1 to the proper position. A bubble-type flow rate observation device 3 is connected in series in order, and the extracted gas passes through the liquid of the observation device 3 as bubbles of a predetermined size and is supplied to a ripening chamber (not shown). something is known.

However, in the above-mentioned known method, when the temperature in the ripening chamber reaches a temperature (approximately 16°C) at which the respiration of citrus fruits becomes active, the second part of the valve body 2 is initially turned off in order to perform the ripening process well. Operate the dollar valve 4 to widen the valve seat 5, supply a large amount of ripening gas into the ripening chamber, and rapidly increase the gas concentration in the ripening chamber to the desired value, so that the indoor gas concentration reaches the desired value. After reaching this point, operate the 21 dollar valve 4 again to narrow the opening degree of the valve seat 5 to allow the ripening gas to ripen the citrus fruit. At first glance, it may seem easy to adjust the amount by simply operating the 21-dollar valve 4, but each time the ripening process is performed, the operator first has to switch between a large amount and then a very small amount. When switching the gas supply to the system, be sure to monitor the number of bubbles per unit time using the observation device 3 while supplying gas. Otherwise, there is a risk that the ripening process of citrus fruits will be affected. Valve 4 had to be operated with great care.

Further, this valve operation must be performed every time the gas supply amount is changed, which is very time-consuming and troublesome.

The present invention eliminates the above-mentioned drawbacks and makes it possible to first supply a large amount of ripening gas until the proper gas concentration is reached in the ripening chamber, and then to supply only the minimum amount necessary for the ripening process. By first adjusting the supply system of the gas supply device, we have developed a new system that allows the supply of ripening gas divided into the two systems described above to be automatically supplied without having to adjust it every time citrus fruits are ripened. It provides a ripening gas supply device, and the embodiments of the present invention will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 2 to 5.
is a ripening chamber, which is designed to be almost airtight and has a heat insulating structure, and an air conditioning device 14 consisting of an electric fan 12 and a heater 13 is installed in a space on one side of the interior.

Reference numeral 15 indicates the air conditioning device 14 and a ripening gas supply device (hereinafter referred to as gas supply device), which will be described later, in response to a signal from a temperature detection sensor 16 arranged in the ripening chamber 11 that detects the room temperature or the temperature of citrus fruits. This control device controls the operation of the gas supply device 17 and is installed on the wall of the ripening chamber 11 in close proximity to the gust adjustment device 14.

．． Then, the structure of the gas supply device 17 described above is changed to a second one.
To explain in detail with reference to the figure, 18 is a gas cylinder, a pressure regulating valve 20 is connected to its socket 19, and the outlet of this pressure regulating valve 20 has first and second valves that are opened and closed by commands from the control device 15. The proximal ends of branch pipes 21 each having electromagnetic valves (1) and (2) attached to their tips are connected.

22 is a manual minute flow control valve (e.g. 21 dollar valve) 23
A first electromagnetic valve V1 is connected to the small diameter gas inlet 24 side of the valve body 22 via a connecting pipe 25,
Further, a connecting pipe 25' is connected to the large diameter gas outlet 26 side of the valve body 22.
A second electromagnetic valve V2 is connected via.

Reference numeral 27 denotes a valve seat provided in the middle of the gas flow path 28 in the valve body 22, and its opening degree is adjusted by the minute flow rate control valve 23 to allow gas to flow into the valve body 22 via the first electromagnetic valve V1. The amount of ripening gas flowing out of the valve body 22 is regulated.

Reference numeral 29 denotes a large flow rate control valve consisting of a control bolt or the like screwed onto the body of the valve body 22 in correspondence with the gas outlet 26 side of the valve body 22 that communicates with the second electromagnetic valve (2). By adjusting the opening degree, the valve body 2 can be removed from the second solenoid valve V2.
regulating the flow rate of gas flowing out through 2;

Reference numeral 30 denotes an operation knob for the minute flow control valve 23 screwed onto the head of the valve body 22, and 31 denotes a cylindrical check chamber airtightly connected to the lower end of the valve body 22, with an outlet of the valve body 22 inside. A check pipe 33 connected to the hole 32 is provided vertically.

Reference numeral 34 denotes a bubble-type flow rate measuring device into which approximately half of a liquid such as water is filled, and its bottom communicates with the check chamber 31 through an outlet pipe 35 .

Reference numeral 36 denotes a gas supply pipe that is connected between the flow rate observation device 34 and the air conditioning device 14 .

Note that the first and second solenoid valves Vl and V2 are connected to the control device 1.
5, the second solenoid valve ■2 communicating with the gas outlet 26 side of the valve body 22 is set to operate first, and then the first solenoid valve ■1 communicating with the gas inlet 24 side is set to operate. has been done.

The present invention has the above-mentioned structure, and its operation will be explained next. First, the opening degree of the large-diameter gas outlet 26 of the valve body 22 is adjusted by gradually increasing the opening degree using the large-flow control valve 29. However, it is set by observing the number of bubbles per unit time of the ripening gas that is generated when passing through the first solenoid valve V2 valve body 22, the check chamber 31, and the inside of the flow rate observation device 34.

Next, the degree of opening of the valve seat 27 of the valve body 22 was adjusted by once closing the second solenoid valve V2 and then opening the first solenoid valve V1 communicating with the gas port 24 of the valve body 22. Also, 30 operations
The degree of opening of the valve seat 27 is gradually opened by operating the minute amount control valve 23, and the opening degree is set while observing the number of bubbles per unit time of the ripening gas generated in the flow rate observation device 34 as described above.

After setting the gas flow rates of the two systems of the valve body 22 in this way, the air conditioning device 14 is operated, and the air conditioning device 1
The heated air for ripening generated in step 4 is circulated inside the ripening chamber 11.

In this way, the indoor temperature gradually rises, and when it reaches a preset value (approximately 16 degrees Celsius), it is detected by the temperature detection sensor 16, and the detection signal is sent to the control device 15. 15 is activated.

As a result, the second solenoid valve V2 is opened in response to a command from the control device 15, and the ripening gas in the gas cylinder 18 is
The above solenoid valve V2 series connection pipe 25' - gas outlet 2 of the valve body 22
6 - Check pipe 33 - Check chamber 31 - Outlet pipe 35 - Flow rate observation device 34 - Gas supply pipe 36 and are continuously fed into the ripening chamber 11.

At this time, the gas flow rate q1 per unit time of the ripening gas flowing out from the large-diameter gas outlet 26 of the valve body 22 is set to about 400 to 500 cc/min by the large flow rate control valve 29.

Further, the time T1 during which the second solenoid valve 2 is controlled can be set arbitrarily (1 to 1) by a timer etc. built into the control device 15.
9 minutes).

Within this time T1, reduce the indoor gas concentration to the required value (3 to 20p).
pm).

When the set time T1 has elapsed, the second solenoid valve V2 is closed by a command from the control device 15, and instead, the first solenoid valve V1 is opened by a command from the control device 15. The hot gas is passed through a small diameter gas population 2 between the connecting pipe 25 and the valve body 22.
41 Valve seat 27 - Gas flow passage 28 - Check pipe 33 - Check chamber 3
The flow rate q2 per unit time is approximately 1 to 1.5 cc mi through the 1-output pipe 35-flow rate observation device 34-gas supply pipe 36.
A very small amount is continuously supplied to the ripening chamber 11 in a state where the temperature is set to n.

The very small amount of ripening gas is supplied according to a command from the control device 15 until the ripening process is completed.

In this way, even while supplying a small amount of ripening gas into the ripening chamber 11, the temperature inside the ripening chamber 11 is gradually increased by the air heated by the air conditioning device 14, and the target temperature (
After reaching approximately 22° C., the air conditioning device 14 is operated intermittently according to a command from the control device 15 in order to maintain this temperature.

Then, this target temperature is maintained for about a day and night to ripen the citrus fruits.

When the ripening process is completed, the first electromagnetic valve V1 is closed by a command from the control device 15, and the supply of the ripening gas is stopped.

At the same time, the heater of the air conditioning device 14 is also de-energized,
Only the electric fan 12 is operated to circulate the air inside the ripening chamber 11.

Next, when another citrus fruit is ripened, it is carried out in the same manner as described above, but at that time, the supply of ripening gas has already started at the gas flow rate of the valve body 22 in both the large-volume system and the very small-quantity system. Since the small flow rate control valve 23 and the large flow rate control valve 29 are adjusted and set, the gas supply to the ripening chamber 11 can be automatically performed without specifically adjusting the flow rate from the valve body 22.

As explained above, the ripening gas supply device according to the present invention has a first and a second passageway between the gas cylinder and the valve body that open and close the passages for the large quantity supply system and the very small quantity supply system of the ripening gas. 2 electromagnetic valves are installed on the valve body, and a large flow rate control valve and a minute flow rate control valve are installed on the valve body to set the respective outflow rates of the large volume supply system and the small volume supply system to the required values. Simply place the large flow rate control valve and small flow rate control valve in the flow path so that the required amount of ripening gas flows out. This system enables the ripening gas to be constantly divided into two systems and supplied to the ripening chamber without adjusting the micro-volume control valve and large-flow control valve on the valve body. Each time a process is carried out, a large amount of ripening gas is first supplied to bring the room to the appropriate gas concentration, and then a small amount of ripening gas is supplied in the amount consumed for ripening the citrus fruits using a gas cylinder. This is completely different from the method using a 21-dollar valve with a valve body connected to the gas cylinder, and this proposal uses two gas flow paths, a large quantity supply system and a minute quantity supply system, to connect the gas cylinder and the valve body to each supply system. A solenoid valve is installed in the middle of the connection, and each valve body is equipped with a large flow rate control valve and a small amount control valve that adjust the gas flow rate from the valve body in each supply system, so that the aging gas can be easily controlled. When supplying gas, first, simply adjust and set the flow rates of the two gases using individual control valves installed on the valve body.
There is no need to adjust the gas flow rate of the two systems mentioned above for each ripening process, so the gas supply amount becomes unstable for each ripening process, causing uneven ripening. This has the advantage of eliminating the hassle and hassle of adjusting the gas flow rate.

In addition, since the ripening gas supply system is divided into a large amount system and a very small amount system, there is no need to change the gas supply amount during the ripening process, and each supply system is equipped with a temperature detection sensor. Since the solenoid valves are individually installed to open and close according to the commands of the control device activated by the detection signal of The required amount of ripening gas can be automatically supplied, and the gas supply can be started according to the temperature detected by the solenoid valve by a predetermined temperature detection sensor. There is no risk that citrus fruits will suffer from wilt due to frequent supply.

Furthermore, since the ripening gas can be continuously supplied in the required amount when necessary, the ripening gas can be supplied efficiently without waste, and has many excellent practical effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a partially cutaway longitudinal front view of a conventional ripening gas supply device, Fig. 2 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the main part of the ripening gas supply device of the present invention, and Fig. 3 is a longitudinal sectional front view of a conventional ripening gas supply device. FIG. 4 is a schematic diagram of the citrus ripening device, FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram illustrating the usage state of the device, and FIG. 5 is a diagram showing gas supply operating characteristics. 18... Gas cylinder, 22... Valve body,
23...Minor flow rate control valve, 29...Large flow rate control valve, 34...Flow rate observation device, Vl, V2
······solenoid valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A valve body for extracting ripening gas and a bubble-type flow rate observation device are connected in series to the gas cylinder, and the number of bubbles is observed as the gas to be extracted passes through the fluid of the flow rate observation unit. In a ripening gas supply device that supplies ripening gas to a ripening chamber by adjusting the flow rate of the ripening gas, there are two systems, a large amount supply system and a very small amount supply system, of the ripening gas between the gas cylinder and the valve body. A solenoid valve that opens and closes depending on the temperature in the ripening chamber is installed in the middle of the piping of each paper feeding system, and the valve body is used to adjust the flow rate of the mass supply system. A ripening gas supply device in a certain citrus fruit ripening processing apparatus, in which a large flow rate control valve and a minute amount control valve for adjusting the flow rate of a minute amount system are respectively attached to the gas passages in the valve body so as to be operable to adjust the flow rate. .