KR20080094889A - Cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

A cooling device having a vacuum cooling means with a simplified structure. The cooling device has a cooling chamber (2) for receiving an article (3) to be cooled; a cooling heat exchanger (9) installed in the cooling chamber (2); the vacuum cooling means (4) for cooling the article (3) by reducing the pressure inside the cooling chamber (2); and a control means (6) for controlling operation of the vacuum cooling means (4). The vacuum cooling means (4) is so formed that pressure reducing means (16) is installed in a pressure reducing line (15) connected to the cooling chamber (2) and that an open/close valve (17) is installed between the cooling chamber (2) and the pressure reducing means (16). The control means (6) is adapted to sequentially perform a first vacuum cooling step and a second vacuum cooling step. The first step opens the open/close valve (17) to reduce the pressure inside the cooling chamber (2) by operation of the pressure reducing means (16). The second vacuum cooling step closes the open/close valve (17) to stop the operation of the pressure reducing means (16) and activate the cooling heat exchanger (9).

Description

Cooling unit {COOLING DEVICE}

TECHNICAL FIELD This invention relates to cooling apparatuses, such as a composite cooling apparatus which performs vacuum cooling.

As a conventional composite cooling apparatus, the thing of patent document 1 is known. The combined cooling device comprises a vacuum ejector, a steam ejector, a heat exchanger and a water ring vacuum pump, and the cooling water of the heat exchanger is cooled by a cooling tower and a freezer. It is configured to let. In this conventional apparatus, a facility is required to obtain a high vacuum such as a vapor ejector.

Patent Document 1: Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2002-318051

The main problem solved by this invention is to provide the cooling apparatus which can simplify the structure of a vacuum cooling means.

This invention is made | formed in order to solve the above-mentioned subject, The invention of Claim 1 has the cooling chamber which accommodates a to-be-cooled object, the heat exchanger for cooling provided in this cooling chamber, and the said cooling chamber by depressurizing the inside of the said cooling chamber. A cooling device comprising a vacuum cooling means for cooling a cooling object and a control means for controlling the operation of the vacuum cooling means, wherein the vacuum cooling means includes a decompression means in a decompression line connected to the cooling chamber, An opening / closing valve is provided between a cooling chamber and the said decompression means, The said control means opens the said switching valve, The 1st vacuum cooling step of depressurizing the inside of the said cooling chamber by operation of the said decompression means, The said Closing the on-off valve, stopping the operation of the decompression means, and sequentially performing a second vacuum cooling step of operating the cooling heat exchanger. It is characterized by.

According to invention of Claim 1, the pressure reduction means for obtaining a high vacuum like a conventional thing is not needed, and the structure of the said vacuum cooling means can be simplified.

Invention of Claim 2 is equipped with cold air cooling means of Claim 1 which cools the to-be-cooled object by the air in the said cooling chamber cooled by the said heat exchanger for cooling.

According to invention of Claim 2, in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 1, the cold air cooling of the to-be-cooled object can be performed using the said cold wind cooling means, and it is combined with the vacuum cooling by operation | movement of the said vacuum cooling means. The effect which can exhibit various cooling functions can be acquired by this.

In the invention according to claim 3, in the cold air cooling means according to claim 2, the cooled object and the cooling heat exchanger are positioned in the air circulation means for circulating the air in the cooling chamber and the circulation flow by the air circulation means. And a circulation path constituting member constituting the circulation path so that the circulation path constituent member divides the inside of the cooling chamber up and down into a first region and a second region, and the first region and the The partition wall which communicates with a 2nd area | region is provided, and the said to-be-cooled object and the said heat exchanger for cooling are arrange | positioned in the said 1st area | region and said 2nd area, respectively, It is characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to invention of Claim 3, since the said heat exchanger for cooling is arrange | positioned in the lower part of the said cooling chamber in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 2, the cooling heat exchanger can be wash | cleaned easily, The effect which can prevent the contamination of the food material by this can be acquired.

The invention according to claim 4, wherein the fan disposed in the cooling chamber and configured to circulate the cold air, a motor disposed outside the cooling chamber and driving the fan, and the motor with respect to the space in the cooling chamber. It is characterized by including the airtight seal means which seals airtightly.

According to the invention of claim 4, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, since the airtight sealing means is blocked from the cooling chamber, the motor is not subjected to a pressure fluctuation and a reduced pressure environment. The selection can be easily performed, and the effect of preventing contamination of the object to be cooled can be obtained.

The invention according to claim 5 is characterized in that the drain stored in the cooling chamber is discharged by operating the pressure reducer during the operation of the cold air cooling means.

According to invention of Claim 5, in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 1 or Claim 2, the effect which can discharge | emit the drain effectively at the time of cold wind cooling can be acquired.

The invention according to claim 6 is the cooling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the control means supplies steam and / or hot water into the cooling chamber and fills the inside of the cooling chamber with steam before the second vacuum cooling step. An air excluding step of excluding air in the chamber is characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to invention of Claim 6, in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 1 or Claim 2, the effect which can perform the said 2nd vacuum cooling step effectively can be acquired.

Invention of Claim 7 is equipped with the hot water tank connected to the said cooling chamber and the surge valve of Claim 6, The said control means opens the said surge valve before the 2nd vacuum cooling step, And an air exclusion step of supplying hot water into the cooling chamber.

According to invention of Claim 7, in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 6, since hot water is supplied to the said cooling chamber with steam, the effect which can reduce concentration in the said hot water tank can be acquired.

According to a seventh aspect of the present invention, in the seventh aspect, the control means supplies the water to overflow from the hot water tank when water is supplied to the hot water tank performed after the air removing step.

According to invention of Claim 8, in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 7, the concentrated water is discharged from the said hot water tank, and the effect which can further reduce the concentration in the said hot water tank can be acquired.

The invention according to claim 9, further comprising: supply means for supplying steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber during the air exclusion step, wherein the supply is performed in a defrost step different from the air exclusion step. Defrosting of the said heat exchanger for heat is performed by steam and / or hot water from a means.

According to the invention described in claim 9, in addition to the effect according to the invention described in claim 6, the supply means for removing air and the supply means for removing defrost can be used in combination, so that an effect capable of simplifying the device configuration can be obtained.

The invention according to claim 10, further comprising a supply means for supplying steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber in the air excluding step, wherein the supply means in a sterilization step different from the air excluding step And sterilizing the inside of the cooling chamber by steam and / or hot water from the same.

According to invention of Claim 10, in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 6, since the supply means for air exclusion and the supply means for sterilization can be used together, the effect which can simplify an apparatus structure can be acquired.

Invention of Claim 11 is provided with the fan which blows to the said heat exchanger for cooling, The drive of the said fan is carried out in the said 2nd vacuum cooling step of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.

According to invention of Claim 11, in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 1 or Claim 2, the effect which can perform the said 2nd vacuum cooling step effectively can be acquired.

Invention of Claim 12 is provided with the pressure reduction capability adjustment means of Claim 1 or 2 which adjusts a pressure reduction capability, without supplying air in the said cooling chamber, The said control means is an operation | movement of the said vacuum cooling means. In the first vacuum cooling step, the depressurizing capacity is adjusted by the depressurizing capacity adjusting means to adjust the cooling rate.

According to the invention set forth in claim 12, in addition to the effects according to the invention set forth in claim 1 or 2, the adjustment of the cooling rate of the object to be cooled in the first vacuum cooling step is effectively performed without disabling the second vacuum cooling step. The effect which can be performed can be obtained.

The invention according to claim 13 is characterized in that the fan is blown to the cooling heat exchanger according to claim 1 or 2, and the fan is driven at an initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step.

According to invention of Claim 13, in addition to the effect by invention of Claim 1 or 2, the effect which can shorten a vacuum cooling time can be acquired by roughly cooling a to-be-cooled object by the drive of the said fan.

According to this invention, the structure of a vacuum cooling means can be simplified.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing explaining the schematic structure of Example 1 of this invention.

2 is an explanatory diagram of an enlarged cross section of a main part of the first embodiment.

3 is a flowchart for explaining a cooling program of the first embodiment.

4 is a flowchart for explaining another cooling program of the first embodiment.

5 is a flowchart for explaining another cooling program of the first embodiment.

6 is a flowchart for explaining another cooling program of the first embodiment.

7 is a flowchart for explaining another cooling program of the first embodiment.

8 is a view for explaining a schematic configuration of a second embodiment of the present invention.

9 is a view for explaining a schematic configuration of a third embodiment of the present invention.

10 is a flowchart for explaining a main part of a cooling program of the third embodiment.

11 is a view for explaining a schematic configuration of a modification of the third embodiment.

It is a flowchart explaining the principal part of the water supply control program of the modification.

13 is a flowchart for explaining a defrosting step of the fourth embodiment of the present invention.

14 is a flowchart for explaining the sterilization step of the fourth embodiment.

15 is an explanatory diagram of a partial cross section for explaining a schematic configuration of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

16 is a perspective view illustrating a schematic configuration of a fifth embodiment of the present invention.

17 is a diagram for explaining a schematic configuration of a sixth embodiment of the present invention.

18 is a flowchart for explaining the main parts of the cooling program according to the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

19 is a view for explaining a schematic configuration of a modification of the sixth embodiment of the present invention.

[Description of the code]

1: compound cooling unit

2: cooling chamber

3: coolant

4: vacuum cooling means

5: cold air cooling means

6: controller

8: partition wall

12: motor

13: fan

18: hot water supply means

41: first vacuum cooling means

42: second vacuum cooling means

50: confidential seal means

76: means of proliferation

77: hot water tank

83: surge valve

114: decompression capacity adjusting means

141, 142: opening

Next, an embodiment of the cooling device of the present invention will be described. Embodiment of this invention is applied to the cooling apparatus which vacuum-cools a to-be-cooled object, or the cooling apparatus (combined cooling apparatus) which can cool a to-be-cooled object by cold wind cooling and vacuum cooling.

This embodiment is demonstrated concretely. In this embodiment, a cooling chamber accommodating the object to be cooled, a heat exchanger for cooling provided in the cooling chamber, vacuum cooling means for cooling the object to be cooled by depressurizing the inside of the cooling chamber, and operation of the vacuum cooling means A cooling device having a control means for controlling, wherein the vacuum cooling means is provided with a decompression means in a decompression line connected to the cooling chamber, and an on / off valve provided between the cooling chamber and the decompression means, The control means includes a first vacuum cooling step of opening the open / close valve and depressurizing the inside of the cooling chamber by the operation of the decompression means, closing the open / close valve, stopping the operation of the decompression means, and further cooling the The second vacuum cooling step of operating the heat exchanger for heat is sequentially performed.

The vacuum cooling means includes the first vacuum cooling means for performing a first vacuum cooling step, and the second vacuum cooling means for performing a second vacuum cooling step, wherein the second vacuum cooling step is performed after the first vacuum cooling step. It is configured to perform. The first vacuum cooling means executes the first vacuum cooling step by the operation of the depressurizing means, and the second vacuum cooling means makes the cooling heat exchanger at a low pressure to keep the cooling heat exchanger. Operating to perform the second vacuum cooling step.

The operation of the first vacuum cooling means is to open the on-off valve and to operate the decompression means, and the operation of the second vacuum cooling means is to close the on / off valve after the cooling chamber makes a low pressure state, The cooling heat exchanger is operated, that is, the refrigerant is supplied to perform the cooling operation.

In this embodiment, first, a first vacuum cooling step is performed. In this first vacuum cooling step, the inside of the cooling chamber is depressurized by the operation of the decompression means to cool the to-be-cooled object by evaporation of water contained in the to-be-cooled object. When the first vacuum cooling step is finished, the second vacuum cooling step is performed. In this second vacuum cooling step, the open / close valve is closed to keep the inside of the cooling chamber closed, and the cooling heat exchanger is operated. The water in the object to be cooled then evaporates and this vapor is transferred to the cooling heat exchanger where it condenses and promotes the water evaporation of the object to be cooled. Evaporation and condensation of this water are performed continuously, the inside of the said cooling chamber is maintained at the low pressure below atmospheric pressure, and a 2nd vacuum cooling step is performed. Here, the cooling heat exchanger functions as a cold trap (which may be referred to as an internal cold trap) for condensing vapor into the cooling chamber.

By the way, in this embodiment, the said decompression means does not use a vapor ejector, Preferably it is a vacuum pump only or the heat exchanger for condensation which functions as a cold trap outside the said cooling chamber (it can be called an external cold trap). And a vacuum pump. This decompression means generates a vacuum state outside the cooling chamber, and thus can be referred to as an external vacuum generating means. The vacuum pump can be a water ejector.

In general, when the decompression means is combined with a vacuum pump and a condenser heat exchanger having cooling water at room temperature, the inside of the cooling chamber can be cooled to about 30 ° C (water temperature + 7 ° C). When the decompression means is used in combination with a vacuum pump and a condenser heat exchanger with cooling water as cold water, it can be cooled to a cold water temperature of about 7 ° C. (usually to about 20 ° C. if cold water by a chiller). have. And by adding a vapor ejector etc. as a pressure reduction means, it can cool to lower temperature.

However, as described above, when the decompression means is only a sealed vacuum pump or a condensation heat exchanger using a sealed vacuum pump and cooling water at room temperature, the inside of the cooling chamber can only be cooled to about 30 ° C. According to the embodiment, by performing the second vacuum cooling step, the cooling can be performed to about 10 ° C.

In order to perform this second vacuum cooling step, as in the present embodiment, when the decompression capacity of the decompression means is low, if the steam generated due to boiling water from the water sealing vacuum pump flows back, the pressure in the cooling chamber does not decrease. Therefore, it is necessary to separate the decompression means from the cooling chamber. It is said opening / closing valve which achieves this separation function.

In addition, in order for the vapor to condense on the heat exchanger for condensation in the second vacuum cooling step, the residual air partial pressure in the cooling chamber needs to be lowered to some extent or less by excluding air in the cooling chamber. By the way, when the initial temperature (hereinafter, referred to as initial product temperature) of the food material is high, steam is released from the object to be cooled at a time earlier than when the decompression means reaches the decompression capacity limit. By exclusion, the partial pressure of air can be lowered.

However, when the initial product temperature is lower than the temperature corresponding to the decompression capacity limit of the decompression means (for example, the initial decomposition temperature is 20 ° C. and the decompression capacity limit is 30 ° C.), even when the pressure is decompressed to the decompression capacity limit of the decompression means. Since no steam comes out of the object to be cooled, the inside of the cooling chamber is filled with air at the pressure. As a result, condensation of the vapor in the cooling heat exchanger is hardly performed. When such initial product temperature is low, it is necessary to perform an air exclusion step of excluding air in the cooling chamber before the start of the second cooling step.

The air excluding step preferably excludes the air by supplying steam (supply) and / or hot water (supply) to the cooling chamber while operating the pressure reducer to fill the cooling chamber with steam. Configure. In addition, this air removal step can be configured to be performed by sequentially performing the exhaust → the sudden increase → the exhaust, and repeating this once or multiple times. Supply means is provided for supplying steam and / or hot water for use in this air exclusion step. The supply means may be any of hot water supply means for supplying hot water into the cooling chamber under reduced pressure, steam supply means for supplying steam, hot water and steam supply means for supplying hot water and steam.

This air excluding step is preferably a middle or later stage of the first vacuum cooling step, in which the pressure in the cooling chamber reaches a pressure corresponding to the decompression capacity limit of the decompression means (hereinafter referred to as limit pressure). Configure to do before. More specifically, before reaching the said limit pressure, it carries out by inject | pouring the water of temperature (for example, about 40 degreeC) more than this threshold pressure corresponding temperature, ie, hot water, into the said cooling chamber. The injected hot water starts to generate steam from the hot water when the pressure in the cooling chamber is reduced to below the saturated steam pressure of the hot water, and the generated steam can discharge the air in the cooling chamber to the outside. . The air removal performed by injecting hot water can be vacuum-cooled without increasing the temperature of the object to be cooled as compared with performing air removal by steam. In addition, by using a hot water generator, an effect of easily taking measures against water treatment and concentration can be obtained as compared with a steam generator. The required amount of hot water can be proportional to the volume of the cooling chamber.

In addition, the hot water tank of the hot water generator may be connected to the cooling chamber through a soaring valve to open the soaring valve during the air exclusion step, so that hot water is supplied into the cooling chamber together with steam. By supplying hot water in the hot water tank into the cooling chamber, concentration of water in the hot water tank can be reduced.

In order to more reliably reduce this concentration, it is preferable to supply water so that it overflows from the hot water tank at the time of water supply to the hot water tank performed after the air removal step. In this case, water is supplied from the lower end of the hot water tank of the hot water generator, and the overflow pipe can be easily discharged by providing the overflow pipe at the upper end of the hot water tank.

In addition, the air excluding step may be performed before the first vacuum cooling step. This air excluding step is configured to exclude air by operating the depressurizer and supplying steam (supply) or hot water to the cooling chamber (water supply) to fill the inside of the cooling chamber with steam. In addition, this air removal step can be configured to be performed by sequentially performing the exhaust → the sudden increase → the exhaust, and repeating this once or multiple times. This air removal method is provided in the air removal step separately as compared with that performed at the said 1st vacuum cooling step, and it is inferior in the point which needs extra time and cooling time becomes long. Moreover, when steam is used, it is inferior also in the point where the to-be-cooled object is heated by steam.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the defrost means of the said heat exchanger for cooling can be provided. In the second vacuum cooling step, the cooling heat exchanger is implanted (including icing) according to the conditions. Since condensation of steam is not performed then, the said frost removal means is operated and defrost is performed.

The defrosting means, when the cooling heat exchanger is used as an evaporator of a refrigerator, removes a so-called hot gas defrost for defrosting by flowing a hot gas from the compressor of the refrigerator to the cooling heat exchanger. Can be configured to do so. The defrosting means can be a heater for heating the cooling heat exchanger. Defrosting is started by detecting the temperature or the pressure of the evaporator by the idea of the cooling heat exchanger. In addition, this state is detected because the pressure and product temperature in the cooling chamber do not reach the set value, or a state in which the change in the temperature or pressure of the evaporator, the pressure in the cooling chamber, and the product temperature does not reach the set value. The defrosting can be started by doing so.

Further, the defrosting means may be configured to defrost the cooling heat exchanger by steam and / or hot water from the supply means in a defrosting step different from the air excluding step. This defrosting means is configured to defrost the cooling heat exchanger by supplying steam and / or hot water in a state in which the inside of the cooling chamber is decompressed to below atmospheric pressure in the same manner as the air removing step. According to the configuration of the defrosting means, since the means for supplying the air excluding steam and / or hot water is not required separately, the device configuration can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the sterilization means which sterilizes in the said cooling chamber can be provided. The sterilization means includes a form in which only the cooling heat exchanger is sterilized, and a form in which not only the cooling heat exchanger is sterilized but also the entire interior of the cooling chamber.

The former sterilization means can be configured to allow hot gas to flow through the cooling heat exchanger to dry and sterilize the cooling heat exchanger. In addition, as the latter sterilization means, the inside of the cooling chamber can be sterilized at a high temperature of about 80 ° C. by supplying steam into the cooling chamber from the expansion means for the air removal step. This expansion means can replace the hot water supply means or the hot water and / or steam supply means.

In the present embodiment, as a result of experiments by the inventors, the desired cooling effect may not be obtained by the second vacuum cooling step. This is considered to be for the following reason. That is, the vapor | steam in the said cooling chamber condenses to the said cooling heat exchanger which became low temperature by the said 2nd vacuum cooling step, and the pressure falls. However, if the air excluding step is not performed effectively, the remaining air is attracted by the steam to collect on the surface of the cooling heat exchanger, which becomes a heat transfer obstacle. As a result of this heat transfer failure, the cooling of the vapor is prevented from being effectively performed. As a result, the desired cooling is not performed by the second vacuum cooling step.

So, in this embodiment, it is preferable to comprise the fan which blows to the said heat exchanger for cooling, and is comprised so that the said fan may be driven during the said 2nd vacuum cooling step. By employing such a configuration, by driving the fan, air attached to the surface of the cooling heat exchanger can be blown out. As a result, the heat transfer disorder can be eliminated and the desired vacuum cooling can be performed. This heat transfer disorder elimination effect has been confirmed experimentally.

In addition, the fan is preferably configured such that the fan can be reversely rotated and the gas flow can be reversed, and the forward rotation and the reverse rotation are performed once to a plurality of times. By adopting such a configuration, air can be effectively blown not only on the surface facing the fan of the cooling heat exchanger but also on the surface opposite to the facing surface. In addition, the driving of the fan is preferably carried out at every step of the second vacuum cooling step, but may be configured to intermittently drive a part of the step, that is, the fan.

Moreover, in this embodiment, Preferably, it is equipped with the fan blown by the said heat exchanger, and is comprised so that the said fan may be driven at the beginning of a said 1st vacuum cooling step. In this fan drive, the cooling heat exchanger stops operation. By employing such a configuration, the effect of roughly cooling the object to be cooled can be improved. The initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step means a period until the pressure in the cooling chamber becomes equal to or less than a set pressure, and this period is controlled by a sensor that detects the pressure in the cooling chamber or the product temperature, or The time from the start of the vacuum cooling step corresponding to the set pressure can be controlled by a timer.

Next, each component of this embodiment is demonstrated. The object to be cooled is preferably a food material, but is not limited thereto. As long as the said cooling chamber forms a sealed space which accommodates a to-be-cooled object, and can make a to-be-cooled object in and out, it does not matter the form, kind, and size. This cooling chamber can be called a cooling chamber, a cooling compartment, a cooling container, etc.

The cooling heat exchanger may be a heat exchanger capable of being lower than a target cooling temperature (preferably, about -10 ° C), and preferably, indirectly by evaporating the liquefied refrigerant supplied from the condensing unit of the refrigerator. It consists of an evaporator which cools the air in the said cooling chamber by heat exchange. However, this cooling heat exchanger can be a heat exchanger which uses cold water supplied from a cold water manufacturing apparatus (chiller) or brine supplied from a brine chiller as a refrigerant.

The cooling heat exchanger is preferably configured to form part of cold air cooling means for cold air cooling the object to be cooled. The cold air cooling means includes an air circulation means for circulating air in the cooling chamber, and a circulation path constituting member for constituting a circulation path so as to position the object to be cooled and the cooling heat exchanger in the circulation flow by the air circulation means. I do it. The circulation means is composed of a fan driven by a motor. The circulation path is preferably formed in the cooling chamber by disposing the heat exchanger and the fan in the cooling chamber.

The configuration of the circulation path is preferably partitioned into the first region and the second region in the cooling chamber up and down by partition walls, accommodating the object to be cooled in the first region, and in the second region. The cooling heat exchanger is arranged. The fan is preferably arranged in the second region.

The first region and the second region are formed by forming a first opening and a second opening between the partition wall and the cooling chamber wall, or by forming the first opening and the second opening in the partition wall. The circulation path is formed from 1 area | region → the said 1st opening → the said 2nd area | region → the said 2nd opening → the said 1st area | region.

The partition wall is preferably configured to be detachable, and in a separated state, the cooling heat exchanger is configured to be exposed from an opening through which the cooled object of the cooling chamber enters and exits. By such a structure, the washing | cleaning and inspection of the said heat exchanger for cooling can be performed easily.

As the circulation path constituting member, a first blowing guide for returning cold air after cooling the object to be cooled to the first opening of the partition wall and guides the cold air from the second opening of the partition wall toward the object to be cooled. A second blowing guide may be provided in the second area. The first blowing guide and the second blowing guide are preferably configured to be detachable from the partition wall. Further, the first blowing guide and the second blowing guide are preferably formed in a duct type.

Moreover, in the said 1st structure, the fan as said air circulation means is arrange | positioned in the said cooling chamber, Preferably, it is arrange | positioned in the said 2nd area | region. And the fan arrange | positioned in the said cooling chamber is comprised so that it may be driven by the motor arrange | positioned out of the said cooling chamber. In this structure, in order to prevent the vacuum leakage at the time of a vacuum cooling step, the sealing means is provided to seal the motor tightly with respect to the space in the cooling chamber.

The structure of this sealing means is demonstrated more concretely. The fan is connected to the motor by a rotating shaft passing through the cooling chamber wall. The rotating shaft is preferably detachably connected to the motor shaft and the fan of the motor by a coupling and a fan boss, respectively.

The said sealing means seals the said rotating shaft part airtight. Specifically, the sealing means is preferably a fixing cylinder having a through hole fixed to the wall of the cooling chamber and penetrating the rotating shaft, and a bearing mounted to support the rotating shaft in the through hole; It consists of a sealing member which seals the edge part by the side of the said cooling chamber of the said fixed cylinder to an airtight.

The said sealing member is a member for sealingly sealing between the said rotating shaft and the said fixed cylinder. The seal member is provided with a sealing plate mounted to seal an end portion through which the rotating shaft penetrates and is exposed to the cooling chamber of the through hole, and is attached to the sealing plate, and is formed between the inner wall of the through hole of the sealing plate and the rotating shaft. And a first annular packing for sealing the same, and a second annular packing attached to the sealing plate and sealing between the outer circumferential wall of the sealing plate and the inner wall of the through hole.

According to the configuration of the sealing means, the rotating shaft is hermetically sealed by the first annular packing and the second annular packing attached to the sealing plate.

The controller controls the air exclusion step, the vacuum cooling step and the cold wind cooling step. When the on-off valve is used as a check valve when the vacuum cooling step is performed, the on-off valve is not directly controlled by the controller, but is indirectly controlled by the control of the pressure reducer.

This invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, It can be set as the cooling apparatus which performs slow cooling after quenching in the said 1st vacuum cooling step. This cooling apparatus is equipped with the pressure reduction capability adjustment means which adjusts the pressure reduction capability of the said pressure reduction means in the above-mentioned embodiment, The said control means is the said pressure reduction at the time of the 1st vacuum cooling step by the operation of the said vacuum cooling means. By adjusting the capability adjusting means, the cooling rate is configured to be adjusted. The cooling rate can be adjusted to quench by increasing the depressurization capacity, and then perform slow cooling by lowering the depressurization capacity.

The decompression capacity adjusting means is configured such that air does not enter the cooling chamber during slow cooling. The decompression capacity adjusting means is preferably an adjustment valve (may be referred to as a vacuum valve) capable of adjusting the opening degree provided between the cooling chamber and the decompression means, but branched from the decompression line upstream of the decompression means. The air supply line and the control valve which can adjust the opening degree provided in this air supply line can be comprised. Moreover, the said pressure reduction capability adjusting means may be comprised by controlling the rotation speed of the vacuum pump which comprises the said pressure reduction means.

According to the cooling device provided with such a decompression capacity adjusting means, since outside air (air) does not enter the cooling chamber at the time of slow cooling, the second vacuum cooling step requiring a high degree of vacuum is not disabled and effectively performed. Can be.

Moreover, in the said embodiment, when the said cold air cooling means is operated by the said control means, a cold air cooling step is performed. In this cold wind cooling step, the air in the cooling chamber is cooled by the cooling heat exchanger, and the cooled object is cooled by the cooled air. In this cold wind cooling step, a drain is generated on the surface of the cooling heat exchanger. In this embodiment, by the said control means operating the said pressure reducer in a cold wind cooling step, the drain produced in the said cooling chamber can be discharged out of the said cooling chamber through the said pressure reduction line.

Example 1

EMBODIMENT OF THE INVENTION Hereinafter, specific Example 1 of this invention is described in detail based on drawing. FIG. 1: is a schematic block diagram of the composite cooling apparatus 1 as a cooling apparatus of the said Example 1, FIG. 2 is explanatory drawing of the principal part enlarged cross section of the said Example 1, and FIGS. 3-7 are respectively It is a flowchart explaining the main part of the control procedure according to the first embodiment.

The composite cooling apparatus 1 is a cooling apparatus which can perform vacuum cooling and cold air cooling, and can perform various cooling patterns selectively, and also to make the to-be-cooled material temperature (hereafter, product temperature) become low temperature of a tilde region. It has the characteristic that the to-be-cooled object 3 can be cooled in a short time.

The combined cooling apparatus 1 is a vacuum cooling means 4 which vacuum-cools the cooling chamber 2 and the to-be-cooled object 3 in this cooling chamber 2, and the cold air which cool-cools the to-be-cooled object 3. The main part is provided with the cooling means 5 and the controller 6 as a control means which controls the vacuum cooling means 4 and the cold air cooling means 5.

And the controller 6 is equipped with the timer 7 by software. The controller 6 is configured to control the vacuum cooling means 4, the cold air cooling means 5, and the like, based on the cooling program composed of the first to fifth programs stored in advance.

The first to fifth programs are characterized by the nature and condition of the object to be cooled (whether or not it is a food material suitable for vacuum cooling), the product temperature (hereinafter referred to as initial product temperature) and the arrival (cooling) at the time of cooling start. It is selected according to the product temperature (hereinafter referred to as the set cooling temperature). That is, the conditions of the properties of the object to be cooled 3 as to whether the object to be cooled 3 is a food material suitable for vacuum cooling, and the initial product temperature are the first temperature set values (for example, 70 ° C. or higher). The program can be selected according to the initial product temperature condition at or below the cooling temperature condition and the cooling temperature condition at which the set cooling temperature is at or below the second temperature set value (for example, 10 ° C. or higher). The set cooling temperature may be referred to as a target cooling temperature or an attained cooling temperature.

Next, each component of this composite cooling apparatus 1 is demonstrated. The cooling chamber 2 forms an airtight space which accommodates the to-be-cooled object 3, and is equipped with the opening for allowing the to-be-cooled object 3 in and out, and the door (not shown) which opens and closes this. In addition, the cooling chamber 2 is partitioned inside by the partition wall 8 into the upper 1st area 81 and the lower 2nd area 82. The to-be-cooled object 3 is accommodated in the 1st area 81, and the heat exchanger 9 for cooling which comprises a part of cold air cooling means 5 is arrange | positioned in the 2nd area | region 82. FIG. The object to be cooled 3 is a food material contained in a container.

The heat exchanger 9 for cooling is comprised by the well-known evaporator which achieves a cooling effect by evaporating the liquefied refrigerant supplied from the condensing unit 11 which has a capacitor | condenser (not shown) which liquefies the refrigerant | coolant of the refrigerator 10. It is.

This refrigerator 10 is equipped with the frost removal means which removes the frost of the heat exchanger 9 for cooling. This defrosting means is a well-known structure called hot gas defrost which defrosts by flowing hot gas from the condensing unit 11 to the cooling heat exchanger 9 by reversing the flow of a refrigerant | coolant.

The partition wall 8 is detachably attached to the cooling chamber 2, and when the door is opened and the partition wall 8 is removed, the cooling heat exchanger 9 cools the object to be cooled in the cooling chamber 2. It is comprised so that it may expose from an opening for entrance and exit. In order to clean the cooling heat exchanger 9, the partition wall 8 is removed and exposed, and the washing | cleaning machine (not shown) which arrange | positioned the cooling heat exchanger 9 in this composite cooling apparatus 1 is carried out. Can be cleaned as a whole.

The cold air cooling means 5 cools the object to be cooled 3 by cold air. The cold air cooling means 5 is a fan as air circulation means driven by a cooling heat exchanger 9 for cooling the air in the cooling chamber 2 and a motor 12 disposed outside the cooling chamber 2. (13).

Then, a first opening (or gap) 141 and a second opening (or gap) 142 are provided between the constituent wall of the cooling chamber 2 and the partition wall 8, so that the air in the cooling chamber 2 is provided. By forming a circulation path (not shown), the structure is configured to achieve a cold air cooling function. In the first embodiment, the partition wall 8 constitutes the circulation path constituting member as the constituent wall of the cooling chamber 2. Then, a shielding member (not shown) is provided between the fan 13 and the component walls of the partition wall 8 and the cooling chamber 2 so that the air from the fan 13 is not shortened and returned. A shielding member (not shown) is also provided between the cooling heat exchanger 9, the partition wall 8, and the constituent walls of the cooling chamber 2.

The vacuum cooling means 4 has the first vacuum cooling means 41 which has a 1st vacuum cooling characteristic in which an electric vacuum cooling rate of an electric is fast, and a vacuum cooling rate is slowed in the latter, and an electric vacuum It is comprised by the 2nd vacuum cooling means 42 which has a 2nd vacuum cooling characteristic in which a cooling rate is fast and a vacuum cooling rate is slowed in a late stage.

Specifically, the first vacuum cooling means 41 and the second vacuum cooling means 42 are configured as follows. That is, the 1st vacuum cooling means 41 is the pressure reduction line 15 connected with the cooling chamber 2, the water-sealed vacuum pump 16 as a pressure reduction means provided in the middle of this pressure reduction line 15, and a cooling chamber. It is comprised between the opening-closing valve 17 which keeps the cooling chamber 2 closed when it is located between 2 and the vacuum pump 16, and is closed.

The pressure reduction line 15 is connected with the center part of the bottom wall of the cooling chamber 2 as shown in FIG. Since the bottom wall is inclined downward from the peripheral end toward the center part, the decompression line 15 is connected to the lowest point of the bottom wall. This configuration makes it possible to discharge the drain quickly in the later drain discharge operation.

This first vacuum cooling means 41 is configured to execute the first vacuum cooling step by operating (operating) the vacuum pump 16 with the on-off valve 17 open. The on-off valve 17 serves as a valve for opening and closing only, but can be a valve whose opening degree is adjustable. The decompression line 15 can be provided with a check valve (not shown) which prevents the flow to the cooling chamber 2 direction as needed. As for the 1st vacuum cooling characteristic of the 1st vacuum cooling means 41 by such a structure, electric vacuum cooling rate is fast and a vacuum cooling rate is slowed down later.

Further, the second vacuum cooling means 42 has a function of condensing the vapor from the object to be cooled 3 by the heat exchanger 9 for cooling in a sealed state in the cooling chamber 2 under low pressure. It is configured to execute two vacuum cooling steps. The elements constituting the second vacuum cooling means 42 are the cooling chamber 2, the heat exchanger 9 for cooling, the opening / closing valve 17, and the first vacuum cooling means 41. In order to make the inside of the cooling chamber 2 sealed under low pressure, it is implement | achieved by closing the switching valve 17 after a 1st vacuum cooling step. As for the 2nd vacuum cooling characteristic of the 2nd vacuum cooling means 42 by such a structure, electric vacuum cooling rate is fast like a said 1st vacuum cooling characteristic, and a vacuum cooling rate is slowed down later.

And the cold air cooling characteristic of the cold air cooling means 5 is demonstrated, The characteristic (1st cold air cooling characteristic) of the temperature range more than the said 1st temperature setting value is a thing to be cooled in the temperature range more than the said 1st temperature setting value. Since the natural evaporation from (3) is dominant, the characteristics (second cold wind cooling characteristic) of the temperature range below the second temperature set value are faster than the vacuum cooling rate, and the cold wind cooling rate is the first vacuum cooling means 41 and It is supposed to be later than the vacuum cooling rate of electricity of the 2nd vacuum cooling means 42, and faster than the slowed-down vacuum cooling rate of the latter.

In the first embodiment, even when the initial product temperature is low, in order to enable the operation of the second vacuum cooling step, the air excluding step is performed in the middle or later stages of the first vacuum cooling step. More specifically, before the internal pressure of the cooling chamber 2 becomes a pressure (limit pressure) corresponding to the decompression capacity limit of the vacuum pump 16, the hot water at 40 ° C. or higher corresponding to the limit pressure is cooled in the cooling chamber. (2) It is comprised so that it may inject into. The injected hot water starts to evaporate from the time when the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is decompressed to below the saturated vapor pressure of the hot water, and the generated steam can discharge the air in the cooling chamber 2 to the outside.

The timing of hot water injection in this air removal step is made when the elapsed time from the start of the first vacuum cooling step is measured by the timer 7, and this measured value becomes a set value (injection timing). In addition, the required amount of hot water injection is calculated | required previously as a value according to the volume of the cooling chamber 2 by experiment. The said hot water injection timing can be made when the internal pressure of the cooling chamber 2 fell to a preset value.

The hot water supply means 18 as hot water injection means into the cooling chamber 2 includes a first water supply line 19 for supplying hot water into the cooling chamber 2, and a hot water supply source (water heater or hot water generator) 20. And the 1st water supply valve 21 which controls a hot water supply is comprised.

Moreover, the cooling chamber 2 is equipped with the pressure reduction means 22 which recovers the pressure inside the cooling chamber 2 from negative pressure to atmospheric pressure after a vacuum cooling step. The pressure return means 22 includes a pressure return line 23 connected to the cooling chamber 2, a pressure return valve 24 and a sterilization filter 25 provided in the middle of the pressure return line 23. Although the pressure relief valve 24 is a valve which can adjust an opening degree in order to adjust a pressure reduction speed, it can also be set as the valve which can open and close only. In addition, the pressure reducing line 23 may be provided with a check valve (not shown) that prevents flow from the inside of the cooling chamber 2 in the outward direction.

In addition to the exhaust function for discharging the gas in the cooling chamber 2, the first vacuum cooling means 41 discharges the condensed water (drain) generated by the cooling heat exchanger 9 during the cold wind cooling step (C). 2) It is configured to achieve drain discharge function to discharge outside. That is, the opening / closing valve 17 is opened and the operation | movement which operates the vacuum pump 16 is performed intermittently at the time of the said cold air cooling step.

The controller 6 controls the operation of the first vacuum cooling means 41, the second vacuum cooling means 42, the hot water supply means 18, the cold air cooling means 5, and the like by the cooling program stored in advance. It is configured to control.

In order to perform the control of the cooling program, the temperature sensor 26 for detecting the product temperature of the object to be cooled 3, the indoor pressure sensor 27 for detecting the pressure (temperature) in the cooling chamber 2, the refrigerator ( The refrigerant pressure sensor 28 and the refrigerant temperature sensor 29 which detect the pressure and the temperature of the refrigerant circuit 10, respectively, are provided. These sensors are connected with the controller 6, and the condensing unit 11, the motor 12, the vacuum pump 16, the opening / closing valve 17, the 1st water supply valve 21, the double pressure valve 24, etc. To control.

In the cooling program, a first cold wind cooling step by the cold wind cooling means 5, a vacuum cooling step by the vacuum cooling means 41 and 42, and a second cold wind cooling step by the cold wind cooling means 5 are sequentially performed. A program for executing one cooling pattern (first program), a program for executing a second cooling pattern for performing the second cold wind cooling step (second program) after performing the vacuum cooling step, and the cold wind cooling means (5). A program for executing the third cooling pattern that performs only the cold air cooling step (third program), a program for executing the fourth cooling pattern that performs only the vacuum cooling step (fourth program), the first cold wind cooling step and the vacuum cooling step The program (5th program) which executes the 5th cooling pattern which performs in order is included.

As described above, the first program to the fifth program are configured to be selected in accordance with the property conditions, the initial product temperature conditions, and the cooling temperature conditions of the object to be cooled 3.

That is, the material to be cooled (3) contains a food material suitable for vacuum cooling, that is, water, and is a food material capable of evaporation. In this case, the first program is selected and executed. When the initial product temperature is lower than the first temperature set value, the second program is selected and executed. Then, when the object to be cooled 3 is a food material suitable for vacuum cooling, and the initial product temperature is equal to or greater than the first temperature set value under a condition to be cooled in a short time to a tilde region higher than the freezing region, the fifth program is executed. If the initial product temperature is lower than the first temperature set value, the fourth program is selected and executed. In addition, when the to-be-cooled object 3 is a food material which is not suitable for vacuum cooling, or the food material of the aspect in which moisture containing water cannot evaporate, the said 3rd program is selected and performed.

Next, a switching timing (hereinafter referred to as a first vacuum switching timing) from the first cold wind cooling step to the first vacuum cooling step in the first program and the second program, from the first vacuum cooling step Switching timing to the second vacuum cooling step (hereinafter referred to as second vacuum switching timing) and switching timing from the second vacuum cooling step to the second cold wind cooling step (hereinafter referred to as cold wind switching timing) Explain.

That is, the said 1st vacuum switching timing is made when the detection value of the temperature sensor 26 as a detection means became the said 1st switching setting value.

In addition, the said 2nd vacuum switching timing and the said cold wind switching timing are calculated | required previously by experiment based on the said 1st vacuum cooling characteristic and the said 2nd vacuum cooling characteristic, respectively. The second vacuum cooling switching timing is the elapsed time (cooling time) from the start of the first vacuum step until the vacuum cooling rate at the end of the first vacuum cooling step reaches the vicinity of the cold air cooling rate of the second cold air cooling step. Is obtained as the second switching set value, and the value measured by the timer 7 as the detection means becomes the second switching set value. Further, the cold wind switching timing is the elapsed time (cooling time) from the start of the second vacuum cooling step until the vacuum cooling rate at the end of the second vacuum cooling step reaches the vicinity of the cold wind cooling rate of the second cold wind cooling step. Is obtained as the third switching set value, and the value measured by the timer 7 becomes the third switching set value.

The second switching set value and the third switching set value are the pressure in the cooling chamber 2, the temperature in the cooling chamber 2, and the vicinity, regardless of the cooling time (measurement time by the timer 7). By any one of the temperature of the to-be-cooled object 3 when it reaches | attained, or to the change amount of any one of the pressure in the cooling chamber 2, the temperature in the cooling chamber 2, and the temperature of the to-be-cooled object 3, Can be obtained by The first vacuum cooling is performed when the indoor pressure or the room temperature is detected by the indoor pressure sensor 25, or the product temperature is detected by the product temperature sensor 7, and the detected value becomes the second switching set value. It may be configured to switch from the second vacuum cooling step to the second cold wind cooling step when the step is switched from the step to the second vacuum cooling step and the detection value becomes the third switching set value. When setting the said 1st switching set value-3rd switching set value by product temperature, each 1st switching set value, said 2nd switching set value, and 3rd switching set value are respectively said 1st temperature set value, said It can be set as a 2nd temperature set value and a 3rd temperature set value. The first switching set value may also be set by a time other than the product temperature, room pressure, or room temperature.

However, in the first embodiment, the fan 13 is arranged in the second region 82 so as to face the cooling heat exchanger 9, and is configured to be driven by the motor 12 arranged outside the cooling chamber 2. Doing. Therefore, in the part connecting the fan 13 and the motor 12 and penetrating the wall of the cooling chamber 2, the motor 12 is placed in the space in the cooling chamber 2 so that no vacuum leakage occurs during the vacuum cooling step. It is provided with the sealing means 50 which seals against a gas tightly.

The sealing means 50 is demonstrated based on FIG. The fan 13 is connected to the motor 12 by the rotation shaft 52 which penetrates the chamber wall 51 of the cooling chamber 2. The rotary shaft 52 is detachably connected to the motor shaft 53 and the fan 13 of the motor 12 by the coupling 54 and the fan boss 55, respectively. This coupling 54 is comprised so that attachment or detachment is possible with a screw (not shown). The fan boss 55 is provided integrally with the fan 13.

The sealing means 50 determines the positioning of the first bearing 56 and the second bearing 57 and the first bearing 56 and the second bearing 57 which support the rotating shaft 52 at both left and right ends thereof. And a sealing cylinder 58 for accommodating the coupling 54 and for fixing the motor 12, and for sealing the end portions of the cooling chamber 2 side of the fixing cylinder 58 in a liquid-tight and airtight manner. It is mainly comprised by the sealing member 59.

The first bearing 56 and the second bearing 57 are positioned and fixed in the first through hole yoke 60 formed in the fixing cylinder 58. And this 1st bearing 56 and the 2nd bearing 57 have the function which makes the rotational motion of the rotation shaft 52 smooth, maintains rotational precision, and supports the load of a gravity direction.

The fixed cylinder 58 is fixed through the second through hole 61 formed in the seal wall 51. The fixing cylinder 58 is fixed to the seal wall 51 and the motor 12 is fixed by using the first flange 62 and the second flange 63 integrally provided with the fixing cylinder 58, respectively. Is done. The inner diameter of the second through hole 61 is slightly larger than the outer diameter of the fixed cylinder 58, and facilitates the insertion of the fixed cylinder 58.

That is, the first flange 62 is joined to the third flange 64 formed on the seal wall 51 through the annular flange packing 70, and fixed by bolts and nuts (not shown), respectively. The orthodox 58 is fixed so that it may be attached to or detached from the chamber wall 51. The liquid-tight and airtight seal between the fixed cylinder 58 and the second through hole 61 is realized by the first flange 62, the flange packing 70, and the third flange 64. The flange 62, the flange packing 70, and the third flange 64 constitute the sealing means 50.

In addition, the fixing cylinder 58 is fixed by joining the second flange 63 to the fourth flange 65 formed as part of the case of the motor 12, and fixing each with a bolt and a nut (not shown). It is fixed so that it can be attached to and detached from the real wall 51. The fixed cylinder 58 is formed of SUS, but is not limited thereto.

The sealing member 59 is a member for sealing (sealing) hermetically and sealingly the gap formed between the rotating shaft 52 and the 1st through-hole 60 of the fixed cylinder 58. The seal member 59 includes a sealing plate 66, a first annular packing 67, a second annular packing 68, and a pressure plate 69.

The sealing plate 66 has the 3rd through hole 71 through which the rotating shaft 52 penetrates, and the fixing cylinder 58 is sealed so that the edge part exposed to the cooling chamber 2 of the 1st through hole 60 may be sealed. It is attached to the recessed part 72 formed in the edge part of the.

The first annular packing 67 is attached to the configuration surface of the third through hole 71 so as to seal between the third through hole 71 and the rotary shaft 52 of the sealing plate 66. This 1st annular packing 67 is a rotational seal which seals the rotating shaft 52 so that rotation is possible. The second annular packing 68 is attached to the outer circumferential surface of the sealing plate 66 so as to seal between the outer circumferential surface of the sealing plate 66 and the recessed portion 72. This 2nd annular packing 68 is comprised from the O (O) ring made of silicone rubber.

The pressure plate 69 is detachably fixed to the end surface exposed to the cooling chamber 2 of the fixing cylinder 58 by a screw 73 so as to press and fix the sealing plate 66 to the recess 72. .

Moreover, the fixing cylinder 58 is provided with the operation hole 74 for enabling connection or non-connection of the coupling 54 and the rotating shaft 52 from the outer side of the fixing cylinder 58. As shown in FIG.

In addition, with reference to FIG. 1, the place where the refrigerant pipes 39 and 39 which connect the cooling heat exchanger 9 and the condensing unit 11 penetrate the seal wall 51 of the cooling chamber 3 is a seal | sticker. The packing 75 is hermetically sealed while being liquid-tight. This seal packing 75 can be a compression fitting.

Hereinafter, the operation of the first embodiment will be described based on FIGS. 1 to 7.

<Preparation phase>

The user opens the door to accommodate the object to be cooled 3 into the cooling chamber 2, and closes the door to bring it into a closed state. In this state, the opening / closing valve 17, the 1st water supply valve 21, and the pressure reduction valve 24 are all in the closed state, and the motor 12, the vacuum pump 16, and the condensing unit 11 are all Operation (operation) is stopped. The steam generating source 20 can be made into an operation state previously.

<Selection of cooling program>

In this state, the user selects the first program to the fifth program after starting operation by an operation switch (not shown). This selection can be performed according to the initial product temperature, the set cooling temperature, and the kind of the object to be cooled 3.

With this selection, referring to FIG. 3, when the first program to the fifth program are selected in processing step S1 (hereinafter, the processing step SN is simply referred to as SN), each of S2 to S6 is used. One program to the fifth program are executed. The operation by each operation program will be described below.

<1st program: cold wind cooling → vacuum cooling → cold wind cooling switching>

In the first program, the initial product temperature is about 70 ° C. or more, the set cooling temperature is 10 ° C. or less, and the object to be cooled 3 contains water, and this moisture is suitable for cooling of food materials which can be evaporated. Now, initial stage temperature is 90 degreeC and set cooling temperature is 3 degreeC.

(1st cold wind cooling step)

When this first program is selected, the processing step of Fig. 4 is executed. In the first cold wind cooling step S21, the opening / closing valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, and the back pressure valve 24 are closed to stop the vacuum pump 16, and further, the condensing unit 11 and the fan 13. )). Accordingly, in the cooling chamber 2, one point of the fan 13-the cooling heat exchanger 9-the second opening 142-the object to be cooled 3-the first opening 141-the fan 13 Cold air circulation is indicated by dashed arrows. By this circulation flow, air in the cooling chamber 2 is cooled by the heat exchanger 9 for cooling, temperature falls, and the to-be-cooled object 3 is cooled. By this cold wind cooling, it cools until product temperature becomes about 70 degreeC. When it detects that product temperature fell to 70 degreeC by the temperature sensor 26, 1st cold wind cooling step S21 is complete | finished.

The first cold wind cooling step S21 opens the pressure-reducing unit 22 and the opening / closing valve 17 without operating the condensing unit 11, and operates the vacuum pump 16 to operate the outside air in the cooling chamber 2. By introducing through the decompression line 15, it can be configured to cool the to-be-cooled object 3 by outside air (outdoor air introduction cooling). In this case, operation of the fan 13 can be performed as needed.

(First vacuum cooling stage)

When the first cold wind cooling step S21 ends, the process proceeds to S22 where the first vacuum cooling step is performed. This first vacuum cooling step S22 is performed as follows. The opening / closing valve 17 is opened, the first water supply valve 21 is closed, the double pressure valve 24 is closed, and the vacuum pump 16 is operated. The gas in the cooling chamber 2 is then discharged to the outside through the decompression line 15. The pressure in the cooling chamber 2 decreases according to the said 1st vacuum cooling characteristic, and the temperature of the to-be-cooled object 3 is 70 degreeC by evaporation of the vapor from the to-be-cooled object 3 with this pressure fall. It goes down from. This product temperature fall rate is rapid at an early stage, and it slows down later with a temperature fall.

In this first vacuum cooling step, when the measured value of the timer 7 reaches the injection timing, the controller 6 opens the first water supply valve 21 only for a predetermined time, and then, from the hot water supply source 20, the cooling chamber ( 2) A predetermined amount of hot water is supplied into the container. Then, when the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is reduced to below the saturated vapor pressure of the hot water, the supplied hot water starts to evaporate. The air in the cooling chamber 2 together with the steam generated in this way is discharged to the outside through the decompression line 15. In this way, the air removal in the cooling chamber 2 is performed.

And when the measurement time by the timer 7 reaches the said 2nd switching setting value, it transfers to the 2nd vacuum cooling step of S23. The vacuum cooling rate at this time of transition is lower than the cooling rate by the cold wind cooling characteristic of the cold wind cooling means 5. In addition, the product temperature at the time of this transition is about 20 degreeC.

(Second vacuum cooling stage)

In the second vacuum cooling step S23, the opening / closing valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, and the back pressure valve 24 are closed, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped, and the condensing unit 11 is operated. . By operation of the condensing unit 11, the temperature in the cooling heat exchanger 9 is set to about -10 ° C. Since the temperature reduction of the cooling heat exchanger 9 by this condensing unit 11 requires a predetermined time from starting, it is preferable to start the condensing unit 11 before a predetermined time of the first switching set value. desirable.

In the second vacuum cooling step S23, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is sealed at low pressure, and the vapor in the cooling chamber 2 moves to the cooling heat exchanger 9, where it condenses and the cooling chamber 2 The pressure inside maintains a low pressure state. As a result, steam is continuously generated from the to-be-cooled object 3, and product temperature falls. This product temperature fall is performed according to the said 2nd vacuum cooling characteristic, it is rapidly performed initially, and with a fall of temperature, a fall rate slows down later. When the measurement time by the timer 7 reaches the said 3rd switching setting value, it transfers to the pressure reduction step of S24. The vacuum cooling rate at this time of transition is lower than the cooling rate by the 2nd cold air cooling characteristic of the cold air cooling means 5. In addition, the product temperature at this time of transition is about 10 degreeC.

In the second vacuum cooling step S23, when the cooling heat exchanger 9 is implanted, the controller 6 performs the defrost operation. The implantation is performed by detecting the pressure or the temperature of the low pressure side of the refrigerator 10 by the refrigerant pressure sensor 28 or the refrigerant temperature sensor 29, and when the detected value is a set value that can be determined as the idea, hot gas is released. Defrost is performed by supplying to the heat exchanger 9 for cooling. By this defrosting operation, the condensation action of the cooling heat exchanger 9 can be maintained satisfactorily, and the cooling by the second vacuum cooling step can be effectively performed without being influenced by implantation.

(Double pressure step)

The pressure reduction step S24 is performed by opening the pressure reduction valve 24. As a result, outside air is introduced into the cooling chamber 2 through the double pressure line 23, and the inside of the cooling chamber 2 returns to atmospheric pressure. This pressure return step is detected by the indoor pressure sensor 27, and when atmospheric pressure is detected, the pressure return step ends, and the flow proceeds to the second cold wind cooling step of S25. In the first embodiment, the operation of the condensing unit 11 is continued and the operation of the fan 13 is stopped during the pressure reduction step. However, it may be configured to stop the operation of the condensing unit 11 and to operate the fan 13 as necessary.

(Second cold wind cooling stage)

In the second cold wind cooling step S25, similarly to the first cold wind cooling step S21, the opening / closing valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, and the back pressure valve 24 are closed to stop the vacuum pump 16, It also operates the condensing unit 11 and the fan 13. Accordingly, in the cooling chamber 2, the fan 13 → the cooling heat exchanger 9 → the second opening 142 → the object to be cooled 3 → the first opening 141 → the fan 13. The cold wind circulation flow shown by the dashed-dotted arrow is formed. By this circulation flow, the air in the cooling chamber 2 is cooled by the heat exchanger 9 for cooling, temperature falls, and the to-be-cooled object 3 is cooled by convective heat transfer. By this cold wind cooling, it cools until product temperature becomes about 3 degreeC. When it detects that product temperature fell to 3 degreeC by the temperature sensor 26, 2nd cold wind cooling step S25 is complete | finished.

In this second cold wind cooling step S25, condensed water (drain) is generated from the surfaces of the object to be cooled 3 and the heat exchanger 9 for cooling, and stored in the bottom of the cooling chamber 2. This drain is discharged as follows. The on-off valve 17 is opened and the vacuum pump 16 is operated. The drain is then discharged out of the cooling chamber 2 via the decompression line 15. At the time of drain discharge, the drain valve 24 can be opened to smoothly discharge the drain. The drain generated in the first cold wind cooling step S21 is similarly discharged out of the cooling chamber 2. This drain discharge operation is executed intermittently by the controller 6 in the first embodiment, but can be configured to detect the storage of drain and perform the drain discharge operation.

(Cooling end)

When the second cold wind cooling step S25 is completed, the user can operate the above operation switch to stop the cooling operation and take out the object to be cooled 3 in the cooling chamber 2. Of course, even after the end of the second cold wind cooling step, the second cold wind cooling step may be continued for refrigeration of the object to be cooled 3.

In this manner, in the first program, the object to be cooled 3 is roughly cooled by the first cold wind cooling step S21. When the product temperature is about 70 ° C. or higher, the temperature of the object to be cooled 3 is high and natural evaporation from the object to be cooled 3 mainly takes place, so that vacuum cooling by operating the vacuum cooling means 4 is effectively performed. Don't. In this first program, the cooling of the object to be cooled 3 can be performed effectively by cooling by cold wind cooling instead of vacuum cooling, and the overall cooling time can be shortened.

<2nd program: vacuum cooling → cold air cooling switching>

The said 2nd program is suitable for the cooling of the foodstuff whose initial product temperature is about 70 degrees C or less, the set cooling temperature is about 10 degrees C or less, and the to-be-cooled object 3 contains water, and whose moisture can evaporate. Now, the initial product temperature is 65 ° C and the set cooling temperature is 3 ° C.

If this second program is selected, the processing sequence shown in Fig. 5 is executed. In other words, the first vacuum cooling step S31? Second vacuum cooling step S32? Back pressure step S33? Cold air cooling step S34 is sequentially performed.

The difference from the first program in this second program is that the first cold wind cooling step S21 in FIG. 4 is deleted.

The first vacuum cooling step S31 of FIG. 5, the second vacuum cooling step S32, the pressure reduction step S33, and the cold wind cooling step S34 are respectively the first vacuum cooling step S22, the second vacuum cooling step S23, the pressure reduction step S24, and the first pressure cooling step S24. Since it corresponds to 2 cold air cooling step S25, the description is abbreviate | omitted. In addition, the timing of switching from the first vacuum cooling step to the second vacuum cooling step, the timing of switching from the second vacuum cooling step to the cold wind cooling step (including the pressure reducing step), and the first vacuum cooling step Since the timing of the start of the air exclusion step is the same as the timing of the start of the air exclusion step in the first vacuum cooling step, the second vacuum changeover timing of the first program, and the first vacuum cooling step, the description thereof is omitted.

<Third Program: Cold Air Cooling>

The third program is suitable for cooling the food material to be cooled (3) containing no moisture or a packaged food material such that moisture cannot evaporate even if it contains water.

If this third program is selected, cold wind cooling step S4 of FIG. 3 is executed. This cold wind cooling step S4 closes the opening / closing valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, and the back pressure valve 24 in the same manner as the first cold wind cooling step S21 of the first program (FIG. 4), and the vacuum pump ( 16) is stopped and the condensing unit 11 and the fan 13 are operated. That is, the cold wind circulation flow shown by the dashed-dotted arrow of FIG. 1 is formed, and the to-be-cooled object 3 is cooled by this cold wind circulation flow. This cold-air cooling step S4 is complete | finished by the detection value by the temperature sensor 26 becoming set cooling temperature.

Fourth program: vacuum cooling

In the fourth program, the initial product temperature is about 70 ° C. or lower, the set cooling temperature is about 10 ° C. or higher, and the object to be cooled 3 contains water, and this moisture is suitable for cooling the food material capable of evaporating. . Now, initial stage temperature is made into 65 degreeC, and the said preset cooling temperature is made into 15 degreeC.

When the fourth program is selected, as shown in Fig. 6, the first vacuum cooling step S51-&gt; second vacuum cooling step S52-pressure-reducing step S53 are executed in sequence.

In this fourth program, the difference from the first program is that the first cold wind cooling step S21 and the second cold wind cooling step S25 in FIG. 4 are deleted, and the end temperature of the second vacuum cooling step 52 is 15. It is the point which made into the timing which became ° C.

In the following description, the first vacuum cooling step S51, the second vacuum cooling step S52, and the pressure reduction step S53 of FIG. 6 correspond to the first vacuum cooling step S22, the second vacuum cooling step S23, and the pressure reduction step S24 of FIG. 4, respectively. The description thereof will be omitted. Further, the second vacuum switching timing from the first vacuum cooling step S51 to the second vacuum cooling step S52 and the timing of the start of the air releasing step in the first vacuum cooling step are respectively the second vacuum of the first program. Since the switching timing is the same as the timing of the start of the air removing step in the first vacuum cooling step S51, the description thereof is omitted. Hereinafter, portions different from the first program in the fourth program will be mainly described.

In FIG. 6, the first vacuum cooling step S51 and the second vacuum cooling step S52 are performed similarly to the first program of FIG. 4. In the second vacuum cooling step S52, when the detected value by the temperature sensor 26 reaches 15 ° C., the second vacuum cooling step S52 ends, and the pressure reduction step S53 is executed in the same manner as in the first program to cool. End the operation.

<Fifth Program: Cold Air Cooling → Vacuum Cooling>

In the fifth program, the initial product temperature is about 70 ° C. or higher, the set cooling temperature is 10 ° C. or higher, and the object to be cooled 3 contains water, and the moisture is suitable for cooling the food material capable of evaporating. Now, initial stage temperature is 90 degreeC and set cooling temperature is 15 degreeC.

When this fifth program is selected, the processing sequence shown in Fig. 7 is executed. In other words, cold air cooling step S61? First vacuum cooling step S62? Second vacuum cooling step S63? Back pressure step S64.

In this fifth program, a difference from the first program in FIG. 4 is that the second cold wind cooling step S25 in FIG. 4 is deleted.

In the following description, the cold air cooling step S61 of FIG. 7, the 1st vacuum cooling step S62, the 2nd vacuum cooling step S63, and the pressure reduction step S64 are respectively the 1st cold wind cooling step S21, the 1st vacuum cooling step S22, Since it corresponds to 2nd vacuum cooling step S23 and back pressure step S24, the description is abbreviate | omitted. In addition, the switching timing from the cold wind cooling step S61 to the first vacuum cooling step S62, the switching timing from the first vacuum cooling step S62 to the second vacuum cooling step S63, and the air excluding step in the first vacuum cooling step S62. Since the timing of start is the same as that of the 1st program of FIG. 4, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

According to Example 1 comprised as mentioned above, the following effect is acquired. The vacuum cooling step is performed in two stages: the first vacuum cooling step using the external cold trap by the first vacuum cooling means 41 and the second vacuum cooling step using the internal cold trap by the second vacuum cooling means 42. Since it carries out, the pressure reduction means of the vacuum cooling means 4 can be simplified. In addition, compared with vacuum cooling with excessive cooling capacity from the beginning of vacuum cooling start, in the food material which can reduce the energy required for the operation of the vacuum cooling means, and the quality of the object to be cooled is suddenly cooled, The degradation of quality can be suppressed.

In addition, since the air removal step is performed during the first vacuum cooling step, condensation of steam on the surface of the cooling heat exchanger 9 in the second vacuum cooling step can be efficiently performed.

Moreover, since the cooling heat exchanger 9 for cold wind cooling is combined with the cold trap for steam condensation of the 2nd vacuum cooling means 42, the installation of a vacuum cooling means can be simplified and the initial cost of a composite cooling apparatus is reduced. Can be reduced.

In addition, when the to-be-cooled material 3 wants to cool the food material suitable for vacuum cooling to a tilde in a short time, by selecting and executing the said 1st program and the said 2nd program according to an initial product temperature, 3) can be cooled in a short time. In addition, when the object to be cooled 3 is a food material suitable for vacuum cooling and wants to be cooled to a temperature region higher than the freezing region for a short time, the fourth program and the fifth program are selected and executed according to the initial product temperature. Similarly, the object to be cooled 3 can be cooled in a short time. In addition, in the case where the food material 3 to which the to-be-cooled object 3 is not suitable for vacuum cooling, and the aspect which cannot contain evaporation, it can cool in a short time by selecting and executing the said 3rd program. In this way, by selecting the first to fifth programs, cooling according to the properties, initial product temperature, and set cooling temperature of the object to be cooled 3 can be realized. This can be achieved by.

Example 2

Next, the composite cooling apparatus 1 of Example 2 of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. The second embodiment has the same configuration as that of the first embodiment in that the vacuum cooling means 4 is composed of the first vacuum cooling means 41 and the second vacuum cooling means 42. The different parts are mainly explained in the following.

In the second embodiment, the difference from the first embodiment is the configuration of the first vacuum cooling means 41. In the first embodiment, the decompression means of the first vacuum cooling means 41 is the decompression line 15, the open / close valve 17 and the vacuum pump 16. In the second embodiment, in addition to these components, The heat exchanger 31 for condensation is provided on the upstream side of the vacuum pump 16. The opening / closing valve 17 is provided between the heat exchanger 31 for condensation and the cooling chamber 2. The second water supply line 32 is connected to the heat exchanger 41 for condensation. Then, water flow to the condensation heat exchanger 31 is controlled by opening and closing the second water supply valve 33 provided in the second water supply line 32, and the operation of the condensation heat exchanger 31 is controlled. Controlled. The second water feed valve 33 is controlled by the controller 6.

The first vacuum cooling means 41 of the second embodiment opens the on / off valve 17, operates the condensation heat exchanger 31 and the vacuum pump 16 to execute the first vacuum cooling step. The first vacuum cooling characteristic of this first vacuum cooling step is the same as that of the first vacuum cooling of the first embodiment, but the vacuum cooling capability is reduced by the first vacuum cooling means 41 by the cooling action of the heat exchanger 31 for condensation. It is further strengthened and the air removal of the cooling chamber 2 can be performed efficiently.

As mentioned above, although the structure different from the said Example 1 was demonstrated in this Embodiment 2, since it is the same as that other than that, it abbreviate | omits description. Also in the second embodiment, the first to fifth programs are similarly executed, and thus description thereof is omitted.

Example 3

Next, the composite cooling apparatus 1 of Example 3 of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. 9 and FIG. In the third embodiment, the basic configuration is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment (Fig. 1) with respect to the hardware configuration, but the configuration of the circulation path constituent member is different, and instead of the hot water supply means 18. It differs in that the proliferation means 76 is provided. The configuration of the cooling program is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the vacuum cooling step is different. Hereinafter, explanation will be focused on different points.

First, the configuration of the circulation path constituting member will be described. As a part of the circulation path constituting member, a cylindrical fan guide 30, a first shielding member 31 for shielding between the fan guide 30, the partition wall 8 and the bottom wall of the cooling chamber 2, and And a second shielding member 32 for shielding between the heat exchanger 9 for cooling, the partition wall 8 and the wall of the cooling chamber 2, and for supplying cold air to the cooled object 3 almost evenly. The 1st airflow guide 33 and the 2nd airflow guide 34 which consist of a perforated board are provided.

The 1st blowing guide 33 functions the function which returns the cold air after cooling the to-be-cooled object 3 to the 1st opening 141 of the partition wall 8 substantially equally, and the 2nd blowing guide 34 is carried out. Is configured to provide a function of guiding and supplying the cold air from the second opening 142 of the partition wall 8 toward the object to be cooled 3 almost evenly. The blowing guides 33 and 34 are detachably connected to the partition wall 8 separately. The fan guide 30, the 1st shielding member 31, and the 2nd shielding member 32 have the function which prevents a short path of cold wind, and these are comprised so that attachment and detachment are possible.

The structure of the soaring means 76 is demonstrated. With reference to FIG. 9, this expansion means 76 is connected to the cooling chamber 2 so as to supply steam and hot water into the cooling chamber 2. This expansion means 76 is comprised by the hot water tank 77. Water is supplied to the hot water tank 77 through the third water supply valve 78, heated by the heater 79 to a predetermined temperature, and stored as hot water. In the third embodiment, the hot water tank 77 is connected to the lower portion of the cooling chamber 2 via a soaking line 80, and a soaking valve 83 is provided in the middle thereof. This soaring valve 83 opens and closes the soaring line 80, and is comprised of a motor valve in the third embodiment.

By opening the surge valve 83 in a reduced pressure state in the cooling chamber 2, the pressure in the hot water tank 77 is naturally supplied into the cooling chamber 2 along the hot water by the pressure difference. By supplying hot water into the cooling chamber 2, the concentration of water can be prevented. By this concentration prevention, the blow (discharge) of concentrated water can be eliminated or the frequency | count can be reduced. The hot water supplied into the cooling chamber 2 is further urged to evaporate under reduced pressure to fill the cooling chamber 2 with steam. On the other hand, excess hot water and steam condensate are immediately discharged to the outside by the first vacuum cooling means 41. The surge valve 83 is controlled to open when the injection timing reaches a predetermined injection timing, and closes when the temperature in the hot water tank 77 becomes lower than or equal to the set value while the measurement time by the timer 7 becomes the set value. . By the way, by supplying steam and hot water into the cooling chamber 2, the frost removal of the heat exchanger 9 for cooling mentioned later can also be aimed at.

Next, the vacuum cooling step will be described. In the third embodiment, the fan 13 is configured to be driven during the second vacuum cooling step, and the fan 13 is driven at the beginning of the first vacuum cooling step. The initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step means a period until the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 becomes equal to or less than the set pressure, and in the third embodiment, a sensor for detecting the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 (not shown) Not to be used). Since the other structure of this Embodiment 3 is the same as that of the said Example 1, description is abbreviate | omitted.

The operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, only the vacuum cooling step of the first program will be described, but the cooling steps of the other programs are similarly performed. In addition, in the following description, the description is abbreviate | omitted or simplified about 1st cold wind cooling step S21, 2nd cold wind cooling step S24, and back pressure step S25 which are operation | movement common to the said Example 1.

(1st cold wind cooling step)

The first cold wind cooling step is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and in S72, when the measured value by the timer 7 reaches the first switching set value, the process moves to the first vacuum cooling step.

(First vacuum cooling stage)

The first vacuum cooling step S72 is basically performed in the same manner as in the first vacuum cooling step of the first embodiment (S22 in FIG. 4), but the controller 6 drives the fan 13 by S73. Is different. That is, the fan 13 is continuously driven from the first cold wind cooling step S21. By the drive of the fan 13, since the gas remains at the beginning of the first vacuum cooling step, the object to be cooled 3 can be roughly cooled. The rotation speed of the fan 13 at the beginning of the first vacuum cooling step S72 is the same as that of the first cold wind cooling step, but may be a different rotation speed. This rough cooling ends when the detected pressure of the indoor pressure sensor 27 becomes the said set pressure (for example, about 250 hPa) in S74, and it determines with "YES", and it transfers to S75. In S75, the controller 6 stops driving the fan 13 and continues the first vacuum cooling step in which the fan 13 does not rotate.

(Air exclusion stage)

In the second half of the first vacuum cooling step S72, the air excluding step of S76 is performed. That is, as it is in the state which operated the 1st vacuum cooling means 41, the 2nd surge valve 90 is temporarily opened and steam is supplied along the hot water into the cooling chamber 2 by it. Thereby, the vapor | steam filling up in the cooling chamber 2 and receiving the steam can reliably remove the air in the cooling chamber 2 further. At this time, since the vacuum pump 16 is operated, excess hot water is immediately discharged from the inside of the cooling chamber 2. And when the measurement time by the timer 7 reaches the said 2nd switching setting value, it will determine with "YES" by S77, and will transfer to 2nd vacuum cooling step S23.

(Second vacuum cooling stage)

In the second vacuum cooling step S23, similarly to the first embodiment, the opening / closing valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, and the back pressure valve 24 are closed, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped, and condensing is performed. Activate the unit (11). By operation of the condensing unit 11, the temperature in the cooling heat exchanger 9 is set to about -10 ° C.

At the same time, the fan 13 is driven in S78. The second vacuum cooling step by driving the fan 13 is performed as follows. That is, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is sealed by low pressure, and the steam in the cooling chamber 2 moves to the cooling heat exchanger 9, and it condenses here. At the time of the movement of the steam, if the remaining air is attracted to the steam and adheres to the surface of the heat exchanger 9, heat transfer is inhibited, but the attached air is blown out by the drive of the fan 13. Accordingly, the heat transfer failure is prevented or improved, and the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 maintains the low pressure state. As a result, steam is continuously generated from the to-be-cooled object 3, and product temperature falls.

When the measurement time by the timer 7 reaches the said 3rd switching setting value, it transfers to the 2nd cold wind cooling step of S24. Since the steps after the second cold wind cooling step in the third embodiment are the same as those in the first embodiment, description thereof is omitted.

Here, the modification of this Example 3 is demonstrated based on FIG. 11 and FIG. Although this modification can reduce the concentration of the water in the hot water tank 77 also in the above-described third embodiment, it is for the purpose of reliably preventing the concentration, and at the time of water supply to the hot water tank 77 performed after the air excluding step. It is comprised so that it may overflow from the hot water tank 77. FIG.

With reference to FIG. 11, although the basic structure is the same as that of Example 3, the difference is provided with the water level detection electrode 84 which detects the water level in the hot water tank 77 in the upper end part of the hot water tank 77, The overflow line 85 is connected to the upper end of the hot water tank 77, and the drain valve 86 is provided in the overflow line 85. The water level detection electrode 84 has a function of maintaining the inside of the hot water tank 77 at the set water level before the air excluding step, and has a function of controlling the overflow amount. In this modification, the configuration of the first vacuum cooling means 41 is similar to that of the first embodiment of FIG. 1.

Although the connection position of the overflow line 85 to the hot water tank 77 is set to the position slightly higher than the lower end of the water level detection electrode 84, it can also be made the same height. The water level detection electrode 84 and the drain valve 86 are connected to the controller 6, and the third water feed valve 78 and the drain valve of the third feed water line 87 are connected by the feed water control program shown in FIG. 12. Control 86.

Since the operation of this modification is the same as in the third embodiment, water supply control mainly related to the air excluding step of FIG. 12 will be described below. Referring to Fig. 12, by S41, it is determined whether or not the supply of steam and hot water for air exclusion is completed, and the surge valve 83 is closed. Here, when it determines with "YES", the 3rd water supply valve 78 and the drain valve 86 which were closed until then are opened, and water supply into the hot water tank 77 with which the water level fell was started. In S43, it is determined whether or not the set water level by the water level detection electrode 84 has been reached (the water level has risen to the lower end).

If it is determined as "YES", it is determined in S44 whether or not the set time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since reaching the set water level. During this set time, cold water is supplied into the hot water tank 77 from the third water supply line 87. The cold water boosts the hot water by the temperature difference while partially mixing with the concentrated hot water in the hot water tank 77 and overflows the hot water from the overflow line 85. In this way, the concentrated hot water is diluted while being discharged from the hot water tank 77, so that the concentration is surely reduced. The setting time is preferably equal to or more than a time at which hot water in the hot water tank 77 can be replaced.

When the set time has elapsed, it is determined as "YES" in S44, and the third water supply valve 78 and the drain valve 86 are closed by S45. In this state, energization of the heater 79 is started.

According to this modification, the concentration of the hot water tank 77 can be reduced. In addition, drainage of concentrated water is possible also by a different method. A blow line (not shown) provided with a blow valve is connected to the bottom of the hot water tank 77, an atmospheric opening valve (not shown) is installed in the hot water tank 77, and the surge valve 83 is closed. The brine is blown by opening the blow valve and the atmospheric opening valve. Compared with this method, this modification can simplify a structure.

Example 4

Next, the composite cooling apparatus 1 of Example 4 of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. 13 and FIG. In the fourth embodiment, the hardware configuration is similar to that of the modification of the third embodiment (Fig. 11). The configuration of the program of the combined cooling apparatus 1 is basically the same as that of the third embodiment, but differs in the following points. A defrost program which performs a defrost step separate from the air removal step, wherein the defrost of the cooling heat exchanger 9 is performed by using the air swelling means 76 for air removal during the defrost step. And a sterilization program for performing a sterilization step separate from the air exclusion step, and configured to perform sterilization in the cooling chamber 2 by using the air expiration means 76 for air sterilization during the sterilization step. It is a point. The defrost program and the sterilization program are started by an operator operating a defrost switch and a sterilization switch (both not shown) during the cooling operation stop in which the above-described complex cooling operation is not performed. Hereinafter, explanation will be focused on different points.

The operation of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to Figs. 13 and 14, respectively, which is different from the third embodiment in the defrost program and sterilization program.

(Defroster)

Defrost of the heat exchanger 9 for cooling is performed according to the process sequence of FIG. When the door of the cooling chamber 2 is closed and the defrost switch is operated, the pressure reducing valve 22 is closed by S81, the opening / closing valve 17 is opened by S82, and the vacuum pump 16 is driven. The flow advances to S83 to control the heater 88 (heater control).

This heater control controls the opening / closing of the 3rd water supply valve 78 by the water level detection electrode of the hot water tank 77, and the water level control which maintains the inside of the hot water tank 77 at predetermined water level, and predetermined water level is predetermined. If the heater is confirmed for a period of time, the electric current is supplied to the heater 79, and when the temperature sensor (not shown) of the hot water temperature of the hot water tank 77 becomes a set value, the electric power supply control of the heater 79 is stopped.

Next, in S84, it is determined whether or not the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 has become the defrost start pressure (for example, about 120 hPa), and when it is determined as "YES", the heater is determined by S85. Stop control. The stop of the heater control is to prevent the hot water from overflowing from the hot water tank 77 or the low water level in the hot water tank 77 according to the water level control.

Subsequently, the surge valve 83 is opened by S86 to start defrosting the cooling heat exchanger 9. This defrost is performed by maintaining the internal pressure of the cooling chamber 2 at a predetermined pressure, and filling the temperature in the cooling chamber 2 with about 50 degreeC saturated steam.

In S87, it is determined whether or not the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is equal to or greater than the pressure obtained by adding the set value a to the defrost start pressure. When it is determined "NO" in S87, the surge valve 83 is left open, and when it is determined as "YES", the flow advances to S88 and the surge valve 83 is closed. By opening / closing such the surge valve 83, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is maintained at the set pressure.

The operation of this pressure holding is determined as "YES" when the sum of the time that the sudden increase valve 83 is opened in S89 becomes a 1st set value, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped by S90, and by S91 When the sum total of the time that the surge valve 83 is opened becomes a 2nd set value (> 1st set value), it transfers to S92 and complete | finishes by closing the surge valve 83. That is, the defrost is finished. In S92, the values of the first set value and the second set value are returned to "0 (zero)". If it is determined "NO" by S91, the surge valve 83 is opened and closed in the state which stopped the vacuum pump 16, and defrost is continued. The stop of the vacuum pump 16 by S90 is that the drive of the vacuum pump 16 is first required in order to remove the air, but the drive of the vacuum pump 16 is not necessary in the frost removal after the air removal. to be. In S93, the heater control is started and provided to the air removing step or the sterilizing step.

Sterilization Program

The sterilization step including sterilization of the cooling heat exchanger 9 is performed according to the processing sequence of FIG. 14. When the door of the cooling chamber 2 is closed and the said sterilization switch is operated, the pressure reducing valve 22 is closed by S101, the opening / closing valve 17 is opened by S102, and the vacuum pump 16 is driven.

The flow then advances to S103 to pump down the refrigerator 10. The pump down is an operation for recovering the refrigerant in the cooling heat exchanger 9 to the condensing unit 11 side, and the pump down the pipe for supplying the liquid refrigerant to the cooling heat exchanger 9 from the condensing unit 11. This is done by closing the installed electromagnet valve (not shown) and driving a compressor (not shown). This pump down is terminated by detecting the pressure on the timer or the low pressure side. In the pump down, when a large amount of liquid refrigerant remains in the cooling heat exchanger 9, and the temperature is increased by steam for sterilization, the high temperature refrigerant is returned when the compressor is restarted, and the compressor is restarted. This is to prevent such a problem because it may be damaged.

Next, in S104, it is determined whether or not the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 has become a sterilization start pressure (for example, about 470 hPa), and when it is determined as "YES", the defrost is removed by S105. The heater control is stopped as in step S85.

Subsequently, when the air exclusion is almost finished after opening of the sudden increase valve 90 by S106 and the initial expiration time elapses by S107, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped by S108, and the on-off valve 17 is further opened. Then, the heater control is started by S109. Then, in step S110, it is determined whether or not the set time has elapsed from the stop of the vacuum pump 16, and when it is determined as "YES", the flow advances to S111, the energization of the heater 79 is stopped, and the surge valve 83 Close and end the sterilization operation.

Between S106 and S111, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is filled with saturated steam at about 80 ° C., whereby sterilization of the cooling heat exchanger 9 and sterilization in the cooling chamber 2 are performed.

Example 5

Next, Example 5 of this invention is described based on FIG. 15 and FIG. 15 is an explanatory view of a longitudinal section of the cooling device of the fifth embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an explanatory view of an exploded perspective view of the fifth embodiment. In the fifth embodiment, the point that is substantially different from the third embodiment of FIG. 1 is that the first airflow guide 37 and the second airflow guide 38 of the third embodiment are formed in a duct form and the hotel fan 104. and a ceiling plate 109 for supporting a hotel pan and forming a circulation path of cold wind. In addition, although the schematic structure is shown in FIG. 1, only the more specific structure is shown in FIG. 10 and FIG. 11, and the basic structure and the function of the door opening / closing time control etc. are the same. The fifth embodiment will be described below.

The cooling chamber 2 is comprised in the cooling chamber main body 89 so that the door 90 can be opened and closed. The partition wall 8 is provided in the up-down direction center part in the cooling chamber main body 89, and an internal space is divided up and down. This partition wall 8 is comprised with a thin stainless plate, and is detachable with respect to the cooling chamber main body 89, and is horizontally maintained. Thereby, in the cooling chamber main body 89, the 1st area | region 81 is formed in the upper part from the partition wall 8, and the 2nd area | region 82 is formed in the lower part from the partition wall 8. As shown in FIG.

The first region 81 of the cooling chamber main body 89 is opened to the front, and this substantially rectangular opening 91 is opened and closed by the door 90. The periphery of this opening 91 becomes the door contact surface 92 to the door 90 when the door 90 is closed. The main body packing 93 is provided in this door contact surface 92 so that the opening 91 may be enclosed. By closing the door 90 through this main body packing 93, it is possible to close the opening 91 of the cooling chamber main body 89 in an airtight state.

In the substantially rectangular plate-shaped partition wall 8, the front-rear direction dimension corresponds to the front-rear direction dimension of the cooling chamber main body 89, and the left-right direction dimension is smaller than the dimension in the left-right direction of the cooling chamber main body 89. As shown in FIG. Such a partition wall 8 is provided in the left-right direction center part while being the up-down direction center part of the cooling chamber main body 89. As shown in FIG. Accordingly, in the state where the partition wall 8 is provided in the cooling chamber main body 89, the first and second rectangular openings 141 and 142 which are elongated before and after each of the right and left sides of the partition wall 8, respectively. Is formed. The first region 81 and the second region 82 communicate with each other through the first opening 141 and the second opening 142.

In the first opening 141 and the second opening 142, a first blowing guide 37 and a second blowing guide 38 each formed in a duct shape are provided. Each of the air blowing guides 37 and 38 is a hollow, substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape before and after, and is formed to be opened downward. Each airflow guide 37, 38 is preferably formed with a small heat capacity, and is formed of, for example, a thin stainless plate having a thickness of about 1 to 2 mm. At the lower ends of the respective air blowing guides 37 and 38, the mounting pieces 94 are formed to extend outward in the horizontal direction. This mounting piece 94 is mounted on the holding part 95 of the cooling chamber main body 89, and it is provided in the cooling chamber main body 89 so that each blowing guide 37 and 38 may be attached or detached. The size of the lower end part of each blowing guide 37 and 38 corresponds to the magnitude | size of the 1st opening 141 and the 2nd opening 142 of right and left, respectively.

In this way, the respective airflow guides 37 and 38 are provided at the left and right ends in the first region 81. At this time, each of the blowing guides 37 and 38 is provided with a gap between the left and right wall surfaces of the cooling chamber main body 89. That is, the left side 96 of the first blower guide 37 is disposed to be spaced apart from the left wall surface of the cooling chamber body 89, and the right side 97 of the second blower guide 38 is the cooling chamber body ( 89) and spaced apart from the right side wall. In addition, in each of the blowing guides 37 and 38, a gap is formed between the walls of the cooling chamber 2 in the front, rear, and upper parts, respectively.

Although the right and left blow guides 37 and 38 may have the same height dimension, in the fifth embodiment, the first blow guide 37 is formed lower than the second blow guide 38. In the first blowing guide 37, only a plurality of communication holes 100, 100, ... are formed in the right side 98 and the upper surface 99. On the other hand, in the second blowing guide 38, a plurality of communication holes 100, 100, ... are formed only in the left surface 101. Specifically, the right side 98 and the upper surface 99 of the first blowing guide 37 and the left side 101 of the second blowing guide 38 are formed in a punched metal state.

In the fifth embodiment, the inside of the first blowing guide 37 is hollow, but appropriate vanes 102, 102, ... are provided inside the second blowing guide 38. This blade | wing 102 is a blade | wing which adjusts the flow direction of cold air at the time of cold wind cooling. The configuration, the mounting position, and the number of mounting of the blade 102 are appropriately set according to the arrangement of the object to be cooled and accommodated between the left and right air blowing guides 37 and 38. In the fifth embodiment, since five hotel fans 104, 104, ... are arranged up and down using the shelf frame 103 between the left and right ventilation guides 37, 38, each hotel fan 104 Four wings 102 having an almost arcuate portion are spaced up and down so that a cold air blows on the upper surface of the upper surface of the upper side of the upper side surface. As a result, the cold air supplied from the lower opening of the second blowing guide 38 is determined by the blades 102 and discharged from the communication hole 100 of the left surface 101.

However, the shape of each wing | blade 102 can be changed suitably, For example, you may be formed in simple rectangular plate shape or nearly semi-cylindrical shape. Moreover, it is preferable that each vane 102 is provided so that the angle can be adjusted. At this time, each wing | blade 102 may be able to adjust a position, and you may make it possible to adjust a position by interlocking the some 102. In addition, although the vane 102 was provided only in the 2nd blowing guide 38 which becomes the side from which cold air blows in this Example 5, in some cases, in the 1st blowing guide 37, You may provide the blade | wing 102. In addition, the blade 102 may be accommodated in the air blowing guide 38 and exposed to the side surface of the air blowing guide 38.

In the cooling chamber 2, each hotel fan 104 which accommodates the to-be-cooled object is arrange | positioned between the left and right ventilation guides 37 and 38. As shown in FIG. In the fifth embodiment, the shelf frame 103 is mounted and installed on the upper surface of the partition wall 8, and each hotel fan 104 enters and exits from the shelf frame 103. The shelf frame 103 of the fourth embodiment is made of stainless steel, and the frame member is assembled into a rectangular parallelepiped shape. That is, the shelf frame 103 is comprised by combining a bar etc., and becomes a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape which was opened back, front, left, and right. Then, the left and right face portions each extend in the front-rear direction, and a plurality of substantially L-shaped members 105, 105, ... are provided vertically. In the example shown in figure, substantially five L-shaped material 105 is equidistantly spaced up and down, and the substantially L-shaped material 105 is provided in the position corresponding to right and left, respectively. Each L-shaped member 105 has a vertical piece 106 fixed to the left and right vertical pieces of the shelf frame 103, and extends in the left and right direction to the upper end portion of the vertical piece 106 to have a horizontal piece 107. This is arranged and installed.

As is well known, the hotel fan 104 is a substantially rectangular stainless steel container which is only opened upward, and a flange portion 108 is formed along the outer circumference at the upper end thereof. Therefore, in the hotel fan 104, two side flange portions 108 are mounted on the horizontal pieces 107 and 107 of the left and right substantially L-shaped members 105 and 105, and the shelf frame 103 is provided. Is kept horizontal. In the fifth embodiment, a total of ten hotel fans 104 can be accommodated in the shelf frame 103, two in front and back, and five in up and down. The hotel fan 104 can enter and exit the shelf frame 103 from the front of the shelf frame 103.

On the upper part of the shelf frame 103, a ceiling plate 109 is provided. The ceiling plate 109 of the fifth embodiment is preferably formed with a small heat capacity similarly to the ventilation guides 37 and 38, and is formed of, for example, a thin stainless plate having a thickness of about 1 to 2 mm. The ceiling plate 109 is mounted so as to be detachably attached to the frame members 110 and 110 extending in the front-rear direction from the left and right upper ends of the shelf frame 103 so as to be inclined downward toward the left side. As for the ceiling plate 109, extension part 111, 111 upward is formed in the front and back both ends so that condensed water may fall only from a left short side. The ceiling plate 109 is the size which covers the upper part of the shelf frame 103, is arrange | positioned so that the right end may be caught on the upper part of the 2nd airflow guide 38, and the left end reaches to the 1st airflow guide 37. It is arranged to end without.

The cooling chamber 2 includes an indoor pressure sensor 27 for measuring the pressure in the cooling chamber 2, an indoor temperature sensor 112 for measuring the temperature in the cooling chamber 2, and opening of the door 90. A door sensor (not shown) for detecting is provided.

The operation of the fifth embodiment will be briefly described. The wind from the fan 13 is cooled by the heat exchanger 9 for cooling, and then supplied from the first opening 142 into the first region 81 through the second blowing guide 38. 1, it returns to the 2nd area | region 82 through the ventilation guide 37. In this way, in the cooling chamber 2, the circulation of a cold wind can be formed. At this time, since the 1st shielding member 31 and the cooling heat exchanger 9 are installed in the position which blocks the whole longitudinal section of the 2nd area | region 82, respectively, the short path of circulation flow is prevented, and the fan 13 and Only the wind through the heat exchanger 9 for cooling can be supplied to the first region 81.

The cooling apparatus of the fifth embodiment opens the door 90 and opens and closes the left and right air blowing guides 37 and 38 from the opening 91 of the cooling chamber body 89 in addition to the shelf frame 103 and the ceiling plate 109. Can be separated and the partition wall 8 can also be separated. Thereby, the washing | cleaning in the cooling chamber 2 is performed easily, and also the washing | cleaning of each component 8, 37, 38, 103, 109 isolate | separated from the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is also performed easily. And even if the washing | cleaning liquid remains in the cooling heat exchanger 9 after washing | cleaning, since the cooling heat exchanger 9 is provided in the lower part of the cooling chamber 2, mixing to a to-be-cooled object is prevented.

Example 6

Next, the composite cooling device 1 of Example 6 of this invention is demonstrated based on FIG. 17 and FIG. FIG. 17: is a schematic block diagram of Example 6, and FIG. 18 is a figure explaining the control step of the 1st vacuum cooling step of Example 6. FIG.

In the sixth embodiment, the basic configuration is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment (Fig. 1) with respect to the hardware configuration, but the pressure reduction of the first decompression means 41 is not introduced into the cooling chamber 2. The structure is changed by the point provided with the pressure reduction capability adjustment means 113 which adjusts a capability. The software configuration is the same as that of the third embodiment, but in the first vacuum cooling step, the first cooling which does not change the decompression capacity and the second cooling which performs quenching and slow cooling in order can be selected. It differs in the point which comprises. Since the other structure is the same as that of Example 1 and Example 3, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

First, the difference of a hardware structure is demonstrated based on FIG. The pressure reduction capability adjusting means 113 is provided in the middle of the air supply line 114 branched from the pressure reduction line 15 on the upstream side of the vacuum pump 16 and this air supply line 114, and the adjustment of the opening degree is adjustable. It consists of the valve 115. The adjustment valve 115 is connected to the controller 6 and controlled by the controller 6.

Next, differences in software configuration will be described. With respect to the first vacuum cooling step of performing rough cooling of the first program, the second program, the fourth program, and the fifth program, the first cooling and the depressurization capacity are not increased. 2nd cooling which performs quenching by performing and slow cooling performed by making pressure reduction capability low is comprised so that selection is possible. The saturation temperature corresponding to the detected pressure by the room pressure sensor 27 is applied to the temperature sensor 26 after the quenching starts the first vacuum cooling step by the operation of the first vacuum cooling means 41. This is one point until the difference with the detected temperature is a set value (for example, 50 hPa). The control step by the controller 6 is shown in FIG. The rapid cooling is for shortening the cooling time, and the slow cooling is for preventing sudden boiling of the object to be cooled 3.

The quenching and slow cooling described above are performed by adjusting the opening degree of the control valve 115 in the sixth embodiment. That is, it is realized by closing all the adjustment valves 115 at the time of quenching, and opening the said adjustment valves 115 at predetermined opening degree at the time of slow cooling.

The operation of the sixth embodiment configured as described above will be described. In the following description, only the first vacuum cooling step S23 of the first program is described, and the description is omitted for the second program, the fourth program, and the fifth program. Now, initial stage temperature T0 is made into the saturated steam temperature more than atmospheric pressure.

First, the said 1st cold wind cooling step S21 of FIG. 4 is performed, and product temperature falls by cold wind cooling. In the meantime, the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 maintains atmospheric pressure. When the first cold wind cooling step S21 ends, the first vacuum cooling step S23 of FIG. 4 is performed. In this first vacuum cooling step S23, as shown in FIG. 18, quenching of S81 is performed first. This quenching is performed by opening / closing the valve 17, closing the double pressure valve 24, the first feed water valve 21, and the regulating valve 115, and driving the vacuum pump 16. During this quenching, the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is rapidly lowered, and the fan 13 is driven, so that the product temperature is lowered by forced convective heat transfer.

Then, when the saturated steam temperature corresponding to the detection pressure by the indoor pressure sensor 27 reaches a value T1 higher than the detection temperature by the temperature sensor 26 by the set value, it is determined as "YES" in S82, and the slow cooling of S83 is performed. Go to. Hereinafter, the steps after the first vacuum cooling step S23 are the same as those of the first embodiment, and thus description thereof is omitted.

According to the sixth embodiment, the quenching is performed until the internal pressure of the cooling chamber 2 becomes the pressure corresponding to the approximately product temperature. Therefore, the quenching temperature is lowered as compared with quenching to the set temperature and then slowly cooling. It is possible to almost eliminate the period of non-use (produced by lowering the temperature of the product due to rough cooling), and shorten the cooling time by vacuum cooling. Moreover, since slow cooling is performed by the adjustment valve 115, air is not supplied to the cooling chamber 2, and the said 2nd vacuum step can be performed without a trouble.

Here, the modification of the said Example 6 is demonstrated based on FIG. In this modification, the decompression capacity adjusting means 113 of the sixth embodiment is used as the regulating valve 115 whose opening degree is adjustable in place of the on-off valve 17 of the first embodiment. In addition to the function of the opening / closing valve 117, this adjustment valve 115 is controlled by the controller 7 by opening all at the time of quenching and predetermined opening degree at the time of slow cooling, and the pressure reduction capability is adjusted. Since the operation of this modification is the same as that of the sixth embodiment, the description thereof is omitted. According to this modification, since the air supply line 114 and the adjustment valve 115 do not require the on-off valve 17 separately from the above-described sixth embodiment, the effect of simplifying the configuration can be obtained. have.

This invention is not limited to the said Example 1-the said Example 6, For example, although the said Example 1-the said Example 4 were made into the composite cooling apparatus, it can be set as the cooling apparatus which only performs vacuum cooling. . In addition, arrangement | positioning of the component in the cooling chamber 2 can be changed in various ways.

According to this invention, the cooling apparatus which can simplify the structure of a vacuum cooling means can be provided.

Claims (13)

A cooling chamber accommodating the object to be cooled, a heat exchanger for cooling provided in the cooling chamber, vacuum cooling means for cooling the object to be cooled by depressurizing the inside of the cooling chamber, and a control means for controlling the operation of the vacuum cooling means. As a cooling device containing, The vacuum cooling means is configured to provide a decompression means in a decompression line connected to the cooling chamber, and to set an on / off valve between the cooling chamber and the decompression means. The control means includes a first vacuum cooling step of opening the open / close valve and depressurizing the inside of the cooling chamber by the operation of the decompression means, closing the open / close valve, stopping the operation of the decompression means, and further cooling the A cooling device, which in turn performs a second vacuum cooling step of activating the heat exchanger. The method of claim 1, And cold air cooling means for cooling the object to be cooled by air in the cooling chamber cooled by the cooling heat exchanger. The method of claim 2, The cold air cooling means includes air circulation means for circulating air in the cooling chamber, and a circulation path constituting member constituting a circulation path so as to position the object to be cooled and the cooling heat exchanger in the circulation flow by the air circulation means. Including, The circulation path constituting member includes a partition wall that vertically partitions the inside of the cooling chamber into a first region and a second region, and communicates the first region and the second region with a communication opening. The cooling device which arrange | positioned the to-be-cooled material and the said heat exchanger for cooling in the said 1st area | region and the said 2nd area | region, respectively. The method of claim 2, A fan disposed in the cooling chamber and circulating the cold air; A motor disposed outside the cooling chamber and driving the fan; And a hermetic seal means for hermetically blocking the motor with respect to the space in the cooling chamber. The method of claim 2, And a drain that is stored in the cooling chamber by discharging the depressurizer during the operation of the cold air cooling means. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And the control means performs an air exclusion step of excluding air in the cooling chamber by supplying steam and / or hot water into the cooling chamber and filling the cooling chamber with steam before the second vacuum cooling step. The method of claim 6, A hot water tank connected to the cooling chamber through a surge valve, And the control means performs an air exclusion step of opening the surge valve before the second vacuum cooling step and supplying hot water together with steam into the cooling chamber. The method of claim 7, wherein And the control means supplies water so as to overflow from the hot water tank at the time of water supply to the hot water tank performed after the air exclusion step. The method of claim 6, In the air excluding step, the supply means for supplying steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber, And a defrosting step of the cooling heat exchanger by steam and / or hot water from the supply means in a defrosting step different from the air excluding step. The method of claim 6, In the air excluding step, the supply means for supplying steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber, And in the sterilization step different from the air excluding step, sterilizing the inside of the cooling chamber by steam and / or hot water from the supply means. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A fan blown by the cooling heat exchanger, Cooling the fan during the second vacuum cooling step. The method according to claim 1 or 2, And decompression capacity adjusting means for adjusting the decompression capacity without supplying air into the cooling chamber, And the control means adjusts the cooling rate by adjusting the depressurization capability by the depressurization capability adjusting means in the first vacuum cooling step by the operation of the vacuum cooling means. The method according to claim 1 or 2, A fan blown by the cooling heat exchanger, Cooling the fan at the beginning of the first vacuum cooling step.

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