JPS63197863A - Foodstuff refrigerator - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] This bulletin contains application data before electronic filing, so abstract data is not recorded.

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a food freezing device for freezing foods such as vegetables and meat, and more specifically, to a food freezing device that is capable of shortening the freezing time of foods, and The present invention relates to a food freezing device that can reduce evaporation of freezing liquid and improve food freezing efficiency.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, this type of food freezing apparatus has been known to have various configurations, but generally it has the following configuration. That is, as shown in FIG. 3, a food freezing tank equipped with a cooler and an agitator is provided so that at least a portion thereof is immersed in a freezing liquid made of an antifreeze solution such as a propylene glycol aqueous solution or an alcohol aqueous solution in the tank. The structure is such that a frozen food conveyor is disposed at the top, and a press conveyor is disposed above the conveyor.

Then, operate the cooler and the stirrer to stir and cool the freezing liquid and drive the frozen food conveyor,
The vinyl sheet 22 is removed from the frozen food supply section of the conveyor.
Meat and other foods vacuum-packed with packaging materials such as At the same time, the frozen food can be taken out at the frozen food take-out section of the conveyor.

Therefore, the apparatus having the above-mentioned structure has the advantage of being able to continuously and easily obtain frozen foods from various foods.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the case of the food freezing apparatus described above, although food can be easily frozen, there are the following problems. That is, (1) the freezing liquid in the food freezing tank is likely to disappear due to evaporation, so there is a problem that the amount and number of times it must be replenished is large, and condensation is likely to occur due to evaporation. Furthermore, since the temperature of the freezing liquid in the food freezing tank tends to rise, a large amount of energy source is required.

■ The temperature of the freezing liquid in the food freezing tank is not uniform within the tank, and since food is frozen simply by passing it through the freezing liquid, there is a problem that variations in frozen food tend to occur. .

■ Although it depends on the type of food, there is a problem in that it takes a long time to freeze food because it is done by simply passing it through a freezing liquid.

The present invention was created in response to the above points, and
The objective is to provide a food freezing device that can shorten food freezing time, reduce evaporation of freezing liquid, and improve food freezing efficiency.

[Means for solving problems]

The food freezing device as a means for achieving the above object includes a food freezing tank that is equipped with a cooler and an agitator, and a food freezing device that stores frozen food so that at least a part of the food is immersed in the freezing liquid in the tank. A conveyor is provided, and a holding member such as a holding conveyor is placed above the conveyor.
Further, a floating plate is disposed on the surface of the freezing liquid, and a refrigerant such as freezing liquid or freezing gas is injected onto the food conveyed by the conveyor at the upper or lower part of the conveyor. It consists of a refrigerant injection section.

Here, in the above structure, the refrigerant injection part is usually formed of a plurality of injection nozzles and is disposed between the floating plate and the frozen food conveyor, and the refrigerant injection part and the food freezing The food freezing tank is connected to the food freezing tank, and the freezing liquid in the food freezing tank can be jetted out from the refrigerant injection section. In addition, a net conveyor is used to connect the frozen food transport conveyor and the holding conveyor (pressing member), and a high-pressure air nozzle for backwashing is installed at the frozen food take-out section of the frozen food transporting conveyor to backwash the freezing liquid. The structure is equipped with the following. Here, the concept of a floating plate is not limited to a plate-shaped one, but also includes one configured as a floating member that can be disposed on the liquid surface.

[Effect]

The food freezing apparatus of the present invention based on the above configuration operates the cooler and the agitator installed in the food freezing tank to agitate and cool the freezing liquid and drive the frozen food conveyor. When food such as meat vacuum-packed with a packaging material such as a vinyl sheet 22 is supplied from the frozen food supply section of the conveyor, it is conveyed by being pinched between the frozen food conveyor and the pressing conveyor (pressing member). The food is cooled by immersion in the freezing liquid of the frozen food conveyor, and a refrigerant such as freezing liquid (freezing gas) is injected onto the surface of the food by the refrigerant injection unit, thereby increasing the surface temperature. It works to quickly cool and freeze.

In addition, the food freezing device of the present invention has a floating plate disposed on the liquid level of the freezing liquid, which acts to reduce evaporation of the freezing liquid and reduce variations in the immersion time of the food in the freezing liquid. do.

As described above, the food freezing apparatus of the present invention differs from conventional food freezing apparatuses in which a floating plate is provided on the surface of the freezing liquid and the conveyor is placed above or below the frozen food conveyor. Freezing liquid (
It is characterized by the provision of a refrigerant injection section for injecting air (gas), and this feature provides an exceptional effect.

〔Example〕

Hereinafter, embodiments embodying the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings.

Here, FIGS. 1 and 2 show embodiments of the present invention, with FIG. 1 being a schematic longitudinal sectional view and FIG. 2 being a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1.

The food freezing apparatus of this embodiment is roughly divided into a food freezing tank 1, a frozen food transport section 2, a freezing liquid injection section (freezing gas) 3, and a floating plate 4.

The food freezing tank 1 is installed inside the device main body 5, and is supplied with refrigerant from a refrigerator (not shown) installed separately inside the food freezing tank 1. It has a configuration including a cooling coil 6 for cooling the (freezing liquid) and a stirrer 7 for stirring the antifreeze liquid and keeping the liquid temperature constant. The wall 8 forming the food freezing tank 1 has a double structure in which the inner surface is made of stainless steel and the outer surface is made of 3341 in consideration of corrosion resistance, and a urethane board or the like is placed between the two materials. A cold insulation material is provided, and the thickness of the cold insulation material is usually about 20 mm, the thickness of the inner surface material is about 1.2N, and the thickness of the outer surface material is about 9 fl. This configuration reduces costs because the inner stainless steel material only needs to be thin, and it is easy to manufacture because the inner material (stainless steel material) only needs to be fitted inside the cold insulation material, and heat shrinkage is eliminated. This is because it takes into consideration that there are advantages such as: However, a double structure made of other materials may also be used.

Here, in the drawing, the food freezing tank 1 has the shape of an oblong container whose upper part in the left and right direction expands outward, and the cooling coil 6 and stirring blades 7' of the stirrer 7 are attached to the inner bottom. have. Two cooling coils 6 are arranged in parallel at the top and bottom positions from the front wall 9 side, and stirring blades 7'
is arranged on the rear wall 10 side. The main body of the stirrer 7 for driving the stirring blades 7' is attached to the food freezing tank 1.
In consideration of vibration prevention, thermal expansion, etc., a flexible material is inserted into a space 11 formed by the device body 5 and the device body 5.

The frozen food transport section 2 is composed of a frozen food transport conveyor 12 and a presser conveyor 13. The frozen food transport conveyor 12 is formed of a steel net conveyor with fins, and its food transport surface 12' A holding conveyor 13 made of a steel net conveyor is disposed at a location corresponding to . The frozen food conveyor 12 has a frozen food supply section 14 for supplying frozen food on the left side in the drawing.
A frozen food take-out part 15 for taking out the frozen food is formed on the right side in the drawing, and a food freezing part 16 immersed in the freezing liquid filled in the food freezing tank 1 is formed in the center. has been done. The frozen food supply section 14 and the frozen food take-out section 15 of the frozen food conveyor 12 are arranged at the upper portions of the front wall 9 and rear wall 10 of the food freezing tank 1, respectively. There is. Here, the frozen food conveyor 12 is driven by a drive device 17 installed in the empty space 11. Further, as described above, the holding conveyor 13 is disposed to face the food conveyance surface 12' of the frozen food conveyor 12, and can hold the frozen food between the frozen food conveyor 12 and the frozen food conveyor 12. The food to be frozen is immersed in the freezing liquid at the center of the food conveyor 12. Note that the frozen food supply section 1 of the frozen food conveyor 12 is located at the left and right ends of the upper wall forming the device main body 5.
4 and a lid for taking out the frozen food from the frozen food take-out part 15.

The freezing liquid injection parts 3 are disposed above and below the food conveyance surface 12' of the frozen food conveyor 12, respectively.

The freezing liquid injection unit 3 is formed of a pipe 19 equipped with a plurality of injection nozzles 1B for injecting the freezing liquid onto the frozen food, and the pipe 19 is installed in the space 11. It is connected to the food freezing tank 1 via a pump 20 so that the freezing liquid in the food freezing tank 1 can be supplied. Here, the injection nozzles 18 forming the freezing liquid injection part 3 are arranged throughout the center of the frozen food transport conveyor 12 immersed in the freezing liquid so that the liquid can be sprayed evenly onto the frozen foods being conveyed. It is set up. The amount of the refrigeration liquid injected from the injection nozzle 18 is normally adjustable using a valve (not shown) or the like.

The floating plate 4 is made of a cold insulation material or the like, and is attached to the food freezing tank 1.
The structure is such that it floats on the surface of the freezing liquid filled with water. Here, the floating plate 4 does not need to have a completely floating configuration, and may have a suspended configuration. In other words, it may be moved up and down along the liquid level, for example.

Next, the operation of the food freezing apparatus of this embodiment based on the above configuration will be explained.

First, the food freezing tank 1 is filled with an antifreeze solution (freezing solution) such as a propylene glycol aqueous solution or an alcohol aqueous solution, and the floating temporary 4 is placed on the liquid surface. A refrigerant is supplied to the coil 6 to cool the freezing liquid, and the stirring blade 7' is driven by the stirring m7 to stir and cool the freezing liquid in the tank 1, thereby maintaining a uniform temperature.

In the above state, the frozen food conveyor 1
2 is driven, and two sheets 22 such as vinyl sheets are interposed between the frozen food transport conveyor 12 and the presser conveyor 13, and between the two sheets 22, the frozen food supply part 14 of the conveyor 12 is fed. The frozen foods are fed one after another, and the frozen foods are transported while the sheets 22 are thermally welded on both sides in the traveling direction and the front end in the traveling direction to prevent air from getting into the sheets 22. The frozen food is separated into individual pieces by the fins of the conveyor 12, held between both conveyors 12 and 13, and conveyed to the food freezing section 16 by the frozen food transport conveyor 12. That is, since the air in the sheet 22 is fixed to the leading end and both sides of the sheet 22 in the traveling direction by heat welding or the like, it is discharged to the frozen food supply section 14 side by hydraulic pressure, and therefore the air in the sheet 22 is The food and the sheet 22 are brought into close contact with each other, and the food is stored in the food freezing section 16 in a state similar to vacuum packaging (there is no air layer, so the cooling effect does not deteriorate).
transported to. Here, heat is removed from the frozen food by the freezing liquid in the tank 1, and a plurality of injection nozzles forming the freezing liquid injection part 3 disposed above and below the frozen food conveyor 12 The freezing liquid is sprayed almost evenly from 18, and the frozen food is frozen by both injections.

Subsequently, the frozen food is conveyed by the frozen food conveyor 12 toward the frozen food take-out section 15,
After backwashing the freezing liquid adhering to the sheet 22 using the high-pressure air nozzle 21 for backwashing provided in the frozen food removal section, the sheet 22 is processed such as cutting, and the frozen food is taken out. It can be taken out from section 15.

When food is frozen using a configuration using two upper and lower sheets 22 as in this embodiment, there is no need to individually package the frozen food as in the conventional method, and there is no need to package the food in a vacuum. It has the advantage that improved workability can be expected since there is no . Further, since the frozen food can be taken out from the sheet 22 very easily, it is possible to solve the problem that when the food is completely packaged from the beginning and is placed in a tray or the like, the food may shift and reduce the workability.

By the way, in the above-mentioned embodiment, the structure in which the freezing liquid injection parts were arranged above and below the frozen food conveyor was explained, but the structure is not limited to this, and for example,
It may also be configured such that it is disposed on either side. In addition, the freezing liquid supplied to the freezing liquid injection unit is configured such that a separate freezing liquid is obtained from a separate tank, etc., without using the freezing liquid in the tank via a pump. You can also use it as Moreover, a liquid-resistant bag, a cylinder, etc. may be used instead of the band-shaped continuous sheet.

It should be noted that the present invention is not limited to the embodiments described above, but includes modifications that can be made without changing the gist of the present invention.

〔Effect of the invention〕

As is clear from the above description, according to the food freezing apparatus of the present invention, a freezing liquid injection part is provided, and the freezing liquid is not only immersed in the freezing liquid in the tank, but also actively Since a refrigerant such as a freezing liquid or a freezing gas is injected onto the surface of the frozen food, the frozen food can be effectively cooled and frozen, and the freezing time can be shortened.

Furthermore, according to the food freezing apparatus of the present invention, since the floating plate (floating member) is disposed on the surface of the freezing liquid in the tank, evaporation of the freezing liquid is reduced and This has the effect of reducing variations in immersion time.

Therefore, according to the present invention, it is possible to provide a food freezing device that can shorten the freezing time of food, reduce the amount of freezing liquid, and improve the freezing efficiency of food.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1.2 shows an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 1 is a schematic vertical sectional view, FIG. 2 is a partially enlarged view of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 is a schematic vertical sectional view of a conventional example. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Tank for food freezing, 2... Food conveyance part for freezing, 3... Liquid injection part for freezing, 4... Floating plate (floating member), 5... 'AN main body, 6... ...Cooling coil, 7.
...Agitator, 12...Frozen food conveyor, 13
... Pressing conveyor (pressing member), 14... Frozen food supply section, 15... Frozen food removal section, 16.
...Food freezing section, 18...Injection nozzle

Claims (5)

[Claims] (1) In a food freezing tank equipped with a cooler and an agitator,
A frozen food conveyor is disposed so that at least a portion thereof is immersed in the freezing liquid in the tank, and a holding member such as a holding conveyor is disposed above the conveyor, and the liquid level of the freezing liquid is A floating plate is provided at the top or bottom of the frozen food conveyor, and a refrigerant injection unit is provided at the top or bottom of the frozen food conveyor for injecting a refrigerant such as freezing liquid or freezing gas onto the food being conveyed by the conveyor. A food freezing device characterized by: (2) the refrigerant injection section is formed by a plurality of injection nozzles,
The food freezing device according to claim 1, which is disposed between the floating plate and the frozen food conveyor. (3) The refrigerant injection part and the food freezing tank are connected to each other, so that the freezing liquid in the food freezing tank can be jetted out from the freezing liquid injection part. food freezing equipment. (4) The food freezing device according to claim 1, wherein the frozen food transport conveyor and the pressing conveyor are net conveyors. (5) The food freezing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a high-pressure backwashing air nozzle for backwashing the freezing liquid at the frozen food take-out portion of the frozen food transport conveyor.