JPS63248691A - Storage device for distributing vegetable, fruit, flowering plant, etc. - 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 Field of Application] The present invention relates to a storage device for vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc.

[Prior Art] Since it is difficult to maintain the freshness of vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc., currently a method is generally used in which vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc. are shipped the day after they are harvested. At that time, the transportation methods include vegetables,
A method of transporting fruits, petals, etc. packed in cardboard boxes, plastic cases, etc. by means of transportation such as trucks, ships, airplanes, etc., and a method of packing vegetables, fruits, petals, etc. in cardboard boxes, plastic cases, etc. and transporting them in refrigerated containers. Alternatively, a method is known in which the material is stored in a container equipped with a refrigerator and transported by means of transportation such as a truck, ship, or airplane.

The former method cannot be expected to have any effect on preserving freshness, and in the latter method, insulation is provided on the wall of the container to preserve freshness, and pre-chilled vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc. are transported together.

Furthermore, in the past, products have often been stored during transportation for shipping adjustment, and a cold storage box equipped with a heat exchanger and a cool air circulation fan is usually used as a storage means for this purpose. However, when storing perishables in such a cold storage, water vapor inside the cold storage may condense in the heat exchanger, drying out the inside of the refrigerator, or when putting in and taking out perishables. Warm air enters the refrigerator from the outside, causing large temperature changes to the stored items such as perishables.Furthermore, when perishables are packed tightly together in a cold storage, the respiration effect of the perishables may occur. Due to the heat, the temperature at the center of the stored material becomes high, resulting in temperature unevenness. Moreover, this tendency becomes even more pronounced in areas where the temperature is high because the respiratory action becomes more intense. Therefore, fresh food stored in the refrigerator tends to deteriorate, such as shriveling and wilting, in a relatively short period of time.

On the other hand, in the invention previously described in Japanese Patent Application No. 61-76689 and Japanese Patent Application No. 61-82328, a selective gas permeable membrane is attached to the container body to accommodate vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc. proposed a container that can be transported after being vacuum-cooled and filled with carbon dioxide gas and nitrogen gas up to atmospheric pressure. By keeping the container at a low temperature and keeping the gas concentration inside the container constant through gas exchange through the selective gas permeable membrane, the respiration of fresh food is suppressed, and the freshness of the fresh food is maintained for a long period of time. It can now be stored. In this regard, if we compare the case of simply packing it in a conventional cardboard box or plastic case and storing it in a refrigerator, and the case of storing it in a container like the one proposed earlier, we find that the latter case It was found that in this case, the temperature distribution of the stored perishables is more uniform, that is, temperature unevenness is less likely to occur.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] By the way, even if a container partially equipped with the selective gas permeable membrane proposed above is stored in a conventionally known cold storage as described above, the following problems occur. points may occur.

■If the containers are packed too tightly in the cold storage, gas exchange through the selective gas permeable membrane of each container will be hindered, the gas concentration inside the container will change, and the freshness of perishables will be impaired. Become.

■If the cold storage is a closed type with no ventilation with the outside air, gases such as CO2 and ethylene that are discharged through the selective gas permeable membrane of each container will accumulate inside the cold storage, which facilitates gas exchange. is not carried out.

■When the door of the cold storage is opened and closed, the temperature inside each container rises, so when cooling is performed again inside the cold storage, the humidity inside each container is considerably high, resulting in condensation, which causes selectivity. Water droplets may adhere to the gas permeable membrane, reducing the efficiency of gas exchange through the membrane, or water droplets may adhere to perishables, causing damage or rot.

The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems, and utilizes the characteristics of a container partially equipped with a selective gas permeable membrane to produce vegetables that can maintain their freshness for a longer period of time.
The purpose is to provide storage devices for fruits, petals, etc.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the storage device for vegetables, fruits, petals, etc. according to the present invention stores vegetables, fruits, petals, etc.
After vacuum cooling, a part of the container body is sealed with carbon dioxide gas and nitrogen gas up to atmospheric pressure, and an opening of a certain area is provided in a part of the container body. A cold storage that can accommodate two containers at a predetermined interval outside the selective gas permeable membrane at the opening of each container, and a ventilation system that cools the air outside the cold storage and then introduces it into the cold storage. and a control device that controls the temperature inside the cold storage depending on the temperature and humidity inside each container.

Preferably, a partition is provided on the floor of the cold storage, and each container placed in the cold storage is regularly arranged with an interval of about 10 cm to 1 m between the outer wall of an adjacent container or the inner wall of the cold storage. It can be done like this.

[Function] In the storage device for vegetables, fruits, petals, etc. of the present invention constructed in this way, a gap of at least about 10111 (empirical value) is secured outside the selective gas permeable membrane of each container,
Thereby, the gas exchange ability through each selective gas permeable membrane can be maintained.

Moreover, good cooling efficiency can be maintained.

In addition, the ventilation system cools the air outside the refrigerator and then introduces it into the refrigerator, which allows the cold air to circulate inside the refrigerator and at the same time prevents the gas discharged from each container from accumulating inside the refrigerator. It acts to prevent.

Furthermore, the control device controls the temperature inside the cold storage according to the temperature and humidity inside each container, and prevents condensation inside the cold storage and each container caused by opening and closing the door of the cold storage. do.

[Embodiments] Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Fig. 1 shows an embodiment of the storage device for vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc. according to the present invention, where 1 is a cold storage, and a door □2 is provided at the front of the cold storage 1 for carrying in and out of a container. It is being 3 is a heat exchanger, which is equipped with an external cooler 4 and a fan unit 5 provided inside the cold storage 1; 6 is an outside air intake device; this outside air intake device W6 is equipped with a blower 6a;
and a piping system 6b communicating with the inside of the cold storage 1. Further, reference numeral 7 denotes a refrigerator air take-out device, which, like the outside air intake device 6, includes a blower 7a and a piping system 7b communicating with the inside of the cold storage refrigerator 1. Two containers 8 are shown in FIG. 1 inside the cold storage 1, and each container 8 is equipped with a selective gas permeable membrane 8a in an opening provided in a part of its wall. Gas exchange takes place. As shown in the figure, each container 8 is provided with a thermometer 9 and a hygrometer 10, and these thermometers 9 and hygrometers 10 measure the temperature and humidity inside the container 8, respectively, and control their output signals. The information is transmitted to a computer 11 forming the device. The computer 11 controls the opening and closing of the door 2 of the cold storage 1 on the one hand, and the heat exchanger 3 on the other hand.
The fan unit 5 is configured to control the operation of the fan unit 5. Further, although not specifically shown, the output signal terminals of the thermometer 9 and hygrometer 10 provided in each container 8 can be detachably connected to the input connection terminal of the computer 11.

As illustrated in FIG. 2, partitions 12 (for example, tapes, frames, etc.) for positioning each container 8 to be accommodated are provided on the floor of the cold storage 1. This partition 12 ensures that each container 8 has a perimeter of at least 10 cm.
A gap of n+ or more is provided. In this case, the gap may be limited to about 1 m at most from the viewpoint of effectively utilizing the space inside the cold storage 1. Instead of providing partitions 12 on the floor of cold storage 1, at least one partition is provided in each container 8.
An appropriate spacer may be provided to maintain a gap of 0 cm or more.

In the illustrated apparatus configured in this way, for example, when the door 2 of the cold storage 1 is opened to take out or take out the container 8, if the temperature inside each container 8 rises, the door 2 of the cold storage 1 is closed, The temperature inside the container 8 is lowered again, but at this time, in order to prevent the humidity inside the container 8 from becoming oversaturated, the rotation speed of the fan unit 5 of the heat exchanger 3 is controlled by the computer 11. The operation can be controlled to slow down and gradually cool down. Further, if the temperature inside the container 8 rises by opening the door 2 of the cold storage 1, the door 2 of the cold storage 1 may be prevented from being opened until the temperature returns to a predetermined temperature again. In addition to preventing the door 2 from opening, a lamp may be provided on the top of the door 2 or at an appropriate position to display a message indicating that the door should not be opened.

In the illustrated embodiment, the computer 11 is configured to control the operations of the door 2 and the heat exchanger 3 of the cold storage 1, but of course the computer 11 may control the operations of the door 2 and the heat exchanger 3 of the cold storage 1. It is also possible to control the operations of the outside air intake device 6 and the refrigerator air extraction device 7 using this computer.

[Effects of the Invention] As explained above, in the storage device according to the present invention, the storage conditions such as the gas exchange capacity and cooling effect of each container can be optimally maintained in the cold storage. Good freshness retention characteristics can be maintained from the time of transportation to the market, and by using this device, it is possible to adjust shipments at the harvesting area, which is a useful product that helps prevent the price of fresh produce from falling due to over-shipment. It is something.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram schematically showing the main parts of an embodiment of the apparatus for storing vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc. according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a partially sectional perspective view showing a specific example of the apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is. Figure middle 1: Cold storage 2: Door 3: Heat exchanger 4: Cooler 5: Fan unit 6: Outside air intake device 7: Inside air extraction device 8: Container with selective gas permeable membrane 9: Temperature j t 1 10 :Hygrometer 11:Computer 12:Partition procedure manual (voluntary)

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. An opening with a certain area in a part of the container body that houses vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc., and after vacuum cooling, carbon dioxide gas and nitrogen gas are sealed up to atmospheric pressure. and at least one container having a selective gas permeable membrane attached to the opening of each container can be housed at a predetermined interval outside the selective gas permeable membrane of the opening of each container. , characterized by having a ventilation device that cools the air outside the cold storage before introducing it into the cold storage, and a control device that controls the temperature inside the cold storage according to the temperature and humidity inside each container. Storage equipment for distribution of vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc. 2. A patent claim that allows each container to be regularly arranged with an interval of about 10 cm to 1 m between the outer wall of an adjacent container or the inner wall of the cold storage along a partition provided on the floor of the cold storage. A storage device for distribution of vegetables, fruits, flower petals, etc. according to item 1.