LV15608B - Method and equipment for proccessing fruits - Google Patents

Abstract

The invention is a technology for preserving freshly harvested berries and fruits for their further processing. The purpose of this invention is to speed up the processing process within one equipment, namely to perform it in a chamber - a refrigerator, moreover, eliminating the need for additional transportation. Berries are placed directly in pallets on scaffolding - trolleys, which are placed in the refrigerator chamber of the container. Freezing of fresh berries is carried out with air flow, acting on it with radiation generated by a sound generator. Berries are frozen in two stages: In the first stage, the temperature in the chamber is lowered to -4 °C...-6 °C at a sound frequency of 6-20 Hz, and in the second stage, the temperature is lowered to -18 °C...-30 °C at sound frequencies 100-200 kHz, in addition, acoustic waves from two generators are directed simultaneously in two directions: from top to bottom and perpendicular to the first direction, along the surface of the berries. The freezing chamber for placing multi-level scaffolding - carts is equipped with two sound generators, one of which is installed on the ceiling of the chamber, and the other on the side wall, and the latter is a multi-channel generator. The proposed method and equipment ensures the processing and freezing of freshly collected berries on the spot in the nursery, which allows preserving up to 80% of amino acids and vitamins, as well as preserving the shape and volume of the processed berries, which are especially important for raspberries. The composition of raspberry berries begins to disappear and their shape deteriorates immediately after harvesting, and during transportation, raspberries practically lose more than 50% of their volume and shape within 1-2 hours.

Description

The invention is a technology for preserving freshly harvested berries and fruits for their further storage. In addition, the berries and fruits must be cleaned, removing both microorganisms, bacteria, insects and worms from the soil, and then freezing the berries for transport and storage.

The known state of the art

There is a well-known and traditionally used technology in which berries are placed thinly on a conveyor belt or perforated pallets. In addition, the berries are cooled by a stream of chilled air, which is affected by electromagnetic radiation. Freezing takes place by impacting the flow of cooling air in the form of pulses with acoustic waves, which allows the product to be frozen uniformly throughout its volume, i.e. preserving its structure, preventing the berries from sticking together, and preventing the formation of ice agglomerates in the product. In addition, berries are disinfected with electromagnetic radiation. The improvement of the known technology has been applied for in the patent application of the Republic of Latvia (LV20200030). This technology is efficient enough and is used on an industrial scale.

However, this method requires a rather complex stationary device, additional equipment for air flow cooling to -4°C...-30°C temperature, a special stationary chamber for freezing in shock mode, separate magnetrons for disinfection, as well as special means for reloading berries must be used on the conveyor in a thin layer, for transporting the berries to the freezing chamber and their further storage.

This invention solves the problem of creating a portable refrigerator - a container that can be delivered and installed on site at the nursery during berry picking, later delivering the frozen berries to the consumer.

The closest solution to this invention is a freezer with two chambers, between which a lifting mechanism is installed. In the first chamber, the product is cooled, and in the second chamber, which is intended for deep freezing, a plate built into the ceiling with an ultrasonic generator is installed, and the trolley with the product is moved to the second chamber with a lift (CN109724357).

However, such a freezer is a complex device with low productivity, the operation of which is limited by the capacity of the chambers and the transfer mechanism.

Purpose and essence of the invention

The purpose of this invention is to speed up the processing process within the framework of one equipment, that is, to carry it out in a chamber - a refrigerator, moreover, eliminating the need for additional systems of transport mechanisms.

In addition, the berries are placed directly in pallets on scaffolding - trolleys, which are placed in the refrigerator chamber of the container. According to the invention, the method of freezing fresh berries is implemented with air flow, acting on it with radiation generated by a sound generator.

Berries are frozen in two stages: in the first stage, the temperature in the chamber is lowered to 4°C...-6°C at a sound frequency of 6-20 Hz, and in the second stage, the temperature is lowered to 18°C...-30°C at a sound frequency of 100 -200 kHz, in addition, acoustic waves from two generators are directed simultaneously in two directions: from top to bottom and perpendicular to the first direction, along the surface of the berries.

The goal, according to the set task, is also achieved in such a way that the sound power is increased 5-10 times at an increasing frequency of the generators.

To implement this method, a refrigerating chamber is used, which is connected to a refrigerating device (1) and a condenser (2) to ensure the circulation of the coolant. Multi-level scaffolding - carts (3) are installed in the freezing chamber. Inside the freezing chamber, a chamber fan (4) is installed along the axis to direct the air flows, in addition, the blades are oriented towards the sound generator, and two sound generators, of which the first (6) is installed at the ceiling of the chamber, and the second (5) is installed at the sides walls, and the last generator (5) is multi-channel. Thermal insulation (7) is installed in the freezing chamber. Metal frames (8) are installed around the entire perimeter of the container to amplify the sound radiation. Ribs are created on the internal surfaces of the refrigerating chamber to increase the heat transfer surface. The freezer compartment is equipped with an openable door (9).

Scaffolding - carts (3) with berries at room temperature or at berry collection temperature are placed in the freezing chamber, then the cooling system of the refrigerating equipment (1) and sound generators (5 and 6) that operate at a frequency of 6-20 Hz are turned on. At this frequency, the berries are disinfected. The generators (5 and 6) operate at these frequencies until the temperature in the freezing chamber reaches -4°C...-6°C, at which the first microcrystallization occurs due to the humidity of the air and the moisture in the berries themselves. After that, the temperature in the chamber is rapidly lowered to -18°C ... 30°C, while increasing the pulse frequency of the sound generators (5 and 6) to 100-200 kHz and the radiation intensity to 100-200 dB, i.e. 4-5 times. The fan (4) disperses only the flows of the initial air volume, the additional air volume is not pumped in.

Examples of implementation of the invention

Examples of using the proposed method and equipment are described below.

EXAMPLE 1

Raspberry berries place one berry in a thick layer on pallets, which are installed in multi-level scaffolding carts, which, after filling, are placed in the refrigerator chamber, preferably symmetrically. Then turn on the cooling mode of the refrigerator and at the same time the mode of the sound generators (5 and 6) and the fan (4). At the same time, the temperature in the chamber is controlled with a built-in infrared thermometer. A sound generator operating at a frequency of 6 Hz is used during the operation of the fan to process the raspberry berries. Air currents with mutually perpendicular interfering sound radiations in the form of pulses disinfect the berries, and microcrystallization of both the moisture in the berries themselves and the original moisture in the air takes place. In the case of interfering waves, this picture can be observed in the plane as alternating bands of amplification and attenuation of the amplitude size, which characterize the sound field (for example, acoustic pressure). After reaching the first mode, the pressure and speed of the coolant is rapidly increased, the temperature in the chamber reaches -18°C within a few minutes, at the same time the power of the generators is increased to 165 dB and the frequency of the sound generators to 100-120 kHz. This mode is maintained for 1-2 hours, after this period the berries are completely frozen, the generators and fan are turned off, and the container with a working refrigerator is delivered to the consumer. The proposed method is intended for freezing freshly harvested raspberry berries without rinsing them in water or berry solutions. In addition, freezing prevents the formation of large ice agglomerates, the shape of the berries is not damaged and the amount of biologically active substances in the berries does not decrease.

EXAMPLE 2

Dry, freshly harvested blueberries are placed on pallets, which are placed in the refrigerator compartment. The sequence of operations is similar to the process of freezing raspberries, however, in the first stage, the berries are treated with a pulse sound generator operating at a frequency of 20 Hz; it provides disinfection and microcrystallization throughout the berry volume. After reaching the first mode, the pressure and speed of the coolant is rapidly increased, the temperature in the chamber reaches -30°C within a few minutes, at the same time the power of the generators is increased to 200 dB and the frequency of the sound generators to 200 kHz. This mode is maintained for 1-2 hours, after this period the berries are completely frozen, the generators and fan are turned off, and the container with a working refrigerator is delivered to the consumer. This method ensures the freezing of the berries and the preservation of amino acids, as well as the preservation of the shape of the berries.

The proposed method and equipment ensure the processing and freezing of freshly collected berries on site in the nursery, which allows preserving amino acids and vitamins, as well as preserving the shape and volume of the processed berries, which are especially important for raspberries. The composition of raspberry berries begins to disappear and their shape deteriorates immediately after harvesting, and during transportation, raspberries practically lose more than 50% of their composition and shape within 1-2 hours.

Claims (3)

1. Berry processing method for freezing fresh berries with air, acting on them with radiation generated by a sound generator (5 and 6), which is characterized by the fact that the berries are frozen in two stages: in the first stage, lowering the temperature in the chamber to -4°C...- 6°C at a sound frequency of 6-20 Hz, and in the second stage at a temperature of -18°C...-30°C at a sound frequency of 100-200 kHz, which increases the sound radiation power by 5-10 times as the generator frequency increases , in addition, acoustic waves from two generators (5 and 6) are directed simultaneously in two directions - from top to bottom and perpendicular to the first direction, along the surface of the berries. 2. A device for freezing fresh berries according to claim 1, which is characterized by the fact that the freezing chamber for placing multi-level scaffolding - carts (3) is equipped with two sound generators (5 and 6), one of which is installed near the ceiling of the chamber (6) , and the other (5) - on the side wall, and the last one is multi-channel. 3. The device according to claim 2, which is characterized by the fact that for amplifying the radiation of the generators (5 and 6), metal frames (8) are additionally installed in the chamber along its perimeter, and a fan (4) is installed on the axis of symmetry of the chamber for directing air flows, moreover, the blades are oriented towards the flow of sound radiation produced by the generators.