RU2423877C1 - Fruit chips production apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: food industry. ^ SUBSTANCE: invention relates to food industry. The apparatus constrains a body and the intercommunicating IR-chamber, microwave chamber, chamber for application of sugar syrup onto the product surface and drying chamber. A gravity cable with meshed cassettes hung thereon, passes through all the four chambers. The gravity cable drive provides for continuous cyclic motion of the cassettes with periodic dwells. Blowers with diffusers are installed between the IR-chamber and the microwave chamber. A calorifier is installed in the drying chamber. ^ EFFECT: invention enables produced fruit chips quality improvement due to maintenance of reasonable heat impact onto the product being processed and evaporated moisture removal intensification. ^ 3 dwg

Description

The invention relates to equipment for the production of fruit chips and can be used for the production of apple, pear and other types of chips from fruits.

The closest in technical essence and the achieved effect is a device for continuous microwave processing of bulk products [Utility model for patent No. 87072 of the Russian Federation, IPC A23L 3/01, F23L 1 | 025. Device for continuous microwave processing of bulk products / A.D. Akshinsky, A.N. Zhuravlev, S.M. Morozov, T.I. Semenova (RF). - 2009124807/22; Announced on 06/30/2009; Publ. 09/27/2009, bull. No. 27], containing loading and receiving bunkers, a means of cyclic supply of material, over which a microwave camera with IR emitters is mounted. The microwave camera is made in the form of an inclined heat-insulated pipe installed with the possibility of direct and reverse rotation and regulation of the rotation speed and angle of inclination.

This device for continuous microwave processing of bulk products has the following disadvantages: low quality of finished products, significant energy consumption for the processing process, complicated readjustment of this device design for products that differ in physical and mechanical properties (angle of repose, particle size distribution, adhesion, etc. ), low operational reliability and low quality of finished products.

An object of the invention is to improve the quality of the obtained fruit chips by removing evaporated moisture in accordance with the basic kinetic laws, maintaining a rational temperature effect on the processed product and applying food additives on its surface, as well as intensifying the removal of evaporated moisture.

The object of the invention is achieved by the fact that in the apparatus for the production of fruit chips containing a microwave camera with IR emitters, a conveyor for cyclic supply of the product, it is new that four cameras are connected in series inside the case, communicating with each other: IR camera A microwave chamber, a chamber for applying sugar syrup to the surface of the product and a drying chamber, with infrared lamps located on the side walls of the infrared camera, magnetrons in the side walls of the microwave chamber, and in the side walls The measures for applying sugar syrup are spray nozzles, a cable conveyor passes through all four chambers, on which mesh cassettes are hung, inside of which are placed plates of processed fruits, the cable conveyor drive provides cyclically continuous movement of cassettes with periodic outposts, under the IR camera and microwave the camera has fans with diffusers, the location of the fruit plates in the cassettes, and the spray nozzles are symmetrical to prevent the loss of sugar syrup, and the time The application of sugar syrup to the surface of the fruit plates coincides with the time of turning off the discharge fan located under the microwave camera, the exhaust diffuser located above the microwave camera is connected to the lower part of the drying chamber in which the air heater is installed using a recirculation pipe.

The technical result consists in improving the quality of the obtained fruit chips by removing evaporated moisture in accordance with the basic kinetic laws, maintaining a rational temperature effect on the processed product and applying food additives on its surface, as well as in intensifying the removal of evaporated moisture.

Figure 1 presents a front view of the apparatus for the production of fruit chips, figure 2 is a three-dimensional image of the design of the apparatus for the production of fruit chips; figure 3 is a three-dimensional image of the design of the mesh cassette with fruit chips.

The apparatus for the production of fruit chips consists of a housing 3, a cable conveyor 1 with an adjustable drive 2, fans 4 and 5, a recirculation pipe 6 and mesh cassettes 7.

Inside the housing 3, four chambers interconnected are arranged in series: an IR camera 8, a microwave camera 9, a camera 10 for applying sugar syrup to the surface of the product, and a drying chamber 11.

In the side walls of the IR camera 8 there are infrared lamps 12 (there are four of them in FIG. 2). In the side walls of the microwave chamber 9 are magnetrons 13. In the side walls of the chamber 10 for applying sugar syrup to the surface of the product are spray nozzles 14. Through all four chambers 8, 9, 10 and 11 there is a cable conveyor 1 on which mesh cassettes 7 are hung , inside of which are placed plates of processed fruits with a thickness of 2-3 mm. The arrangement of the fruit plates in the cassettes 7 and the spray nozzles 14 is symmetrical to prevent the loss of sugar syrup. The adjustable drive 2 of the cable conveyor 1 provides cyclically continuous movement of the cassettes 7 with periodic dwells. Between the chambers 8 and 9, 9 and 10, 10 and 11, heat-resistant, elastic partitions 17 (Fig. 3) with a vertical slot for the passage of the cassettes 7 are installed. Partitions 17 prevent the coolant from getting from one chamber to another.

A fan 4 is installed under the IR camera 8, and a fan 5 is installed under the microwave camera 9. An exhaust diffuser 15 located above the microwave camera 9 is connected via a recirculation pipe 6 to the lower part of the drying chamber 11, in which the heater (tubular electric heaters) is located - TEN) 16.

Apparatus for the production of fruit chips works as follows.

Three rows of slices of cut fruit 2-3 mm thick, which are previously washed and cleaned of seeds, stalks, leaflets, etc., are stacked in cassettes 7 in one layer. Then the cassettes 7 with the product plates placed inside are hung on the cable conveyor 1. Next, the variable speed drive 2 motor is turned on, which drives the cable conveyor 1, which moves the cassettes 7 into the IR camera 8. After the cassettes 7 fill the IR camera 8, drive 2 is turned off and the cable conveyor 1 stops. At the same time, the IR lamps 12 located in the IR camera 8 are turned on. A distinctive feature of infrared heating is that the penetration depth of the infrared rays is 1 ... 3 mm. Thus, surface heating of plates of cut fruit 2-3 mm thick is carried out. At the same time, the discharge fan 4 is turned on, located under the IR camera 8 and connected to its lower part by a diffuser. The coolant (air) supplied by fan 4 not only blows off the liquid film from the surface of the fruit plates, but also removes moisture evaporated from the fruit from the IR camera 8. After the surface moisture is removed from the surface of the fruit plates located in the cassettes 7, the variable-speed drive 2 and cassettes 7 are moved into the microwave chamber 9, while passing through a vertical slot in a heat-resistant, elastic partition 17.

After the cassettes 7 filled the microwave camera 9, the drive 2 is turned off and the cable conveyor 1 stops. At the same time, the magnetrons 13 located in the microwave chamber 9 are turned on. A distinctive feature of the microwave heating is that the fruit plates are heated uniformly throughout the volume. In this case, the internal transfer of moisture to the interface is significantly intensified. After heating the product plates, the blower fan 5 is turned on, located under the microwave camera 9 and connected to its lower part by a diffuser. It should be noted that the blower fan 5 works cyclically with periodic stops, the duration of which corresponds to the duration of the application of sugar syrup on the surface of the fruit plates in the chamber 10. The coolant (air) supplied by the fan 5 removes the moisture evaporated from the fruit from the microwave chamber 9. After the humidity of the plates fruit in the cassettes 7 has reached the set value, the adjustable drive 2 is turned on and the cassettes 7 are moved to the chamber 10 for applying sugar syrup, while passing through a vertical slot in a heat-resistant, elastic partition 17.

After the cassettes 7 filled the chamber 10, the drive 2 is turned off and the cable conveyor 1 stops. At the same time, sugar syrup is supplied through the spray nozzles 14 located in the side walls of the chamber 10. Finely dispersed drops of sugar syrup fall on the surface of the fruit plates in the cassettes 7 and form a thin film of sugar syrup on its surface. The location of the nozzles 14 and the fruit plates in the cassettes 7 is symmetrical to prevent the loss of sugar syrup. Moreover, the time of applying sugar syrup to the surface of the plates coincides with the dwell time (i.e. shutdown) of the blower fan 5.

Then the drive 2 is turned on and the cassettes 7 are moved into the drying chamber 11 using a cable conveyor 1, passing through a vertical slot in the partition 17. The coolant (air) supplied by the fan 5 is fed through a recirculation pipe 6 to the diffuser located under the chamber 11 and is in contact with tubular electric heaters (TEN) 16 located in it, it is heated to a predetermined temperature and fed to the drying chamber 11.

Then, the heated heat carrier removes excess moisture from the film of sugar syrup and dries the fruit plates in the cassettes 7. After the moisture of the fruit plates in the cassettes 7 reaches the set value, the adjustable drive 2 is turned on and the cassettes 7 are removed from the drying chamber 11. Then they are unloaded from cassettes 7 and fed to packaging. After this, the cycle of the apparatus is repeated. The duration of all stages of processing the fruit plates in the IR camera 8, the microwave camera 9, the camera 10 for applying sugar syrup and the drying chamber 11 is synchronized with each other.

This alternation of the processing of the plates (IR heating, microwave heating, applying a film of sugar syrup to the surface of the product and its drying) and changing the ratio of the durations of the stages is due to the following. At the beginning of the drying process, surface moisture is removed. The main parameters affecting the intensity of its removal are the coolant speed and IR heating. This requirement meets the most complete processing of the product in the infrared camera. As the indicated moisture is removed, the velocity of the coolant, as a determining factor in the intensity of the process, loses its significance. In the period of decreasing drying rate, when poly- and monoadsorption moisture is removed, the heating temperature of the product affects the drying rate to a greater extent, since in this period only it determines the intensity of internal moisture transfer. Therefore, at this stage, the treatment is preferable to conduct using microwave heating. Thus, if at the beginning of the process the rate of moisture removal is mainly limited by the velocity of the coolant, then at the end it is also limited by the temperature of the product. This determines the proposed sequence of processing fruit plates in the production of chips.

Adapted in accordance with the basic kinetic laws of the drying process, the heat supply to the processed product allows you to choose the optimal processing conditions for chips, taking into account changes in the moisture content of the product along the length of the apparatus.

Thus, the use of the apparatus for the production of fruit chips allows:

- improve the quality of fruit chips obtained by maintaining a rational temperature effect on the processed product and rational application of food additives (sugar syrup, flavorings, stabilizers, etc.);

- to intensify the process of removing evaporated moisture in accordance with the basic kinetic laws through the use of combined heat supply to the processed fruit chips;

- achieve uniform drying due to the use of soft, gentle processing modes with maximum preservation of the shape of the resulting fruit chips.

Claims (1)

A device for the production of fruit chips, containing a microwave camera with IR emitters, a conveyor for cyclic supply of the product, characterized in that four chambers are connected in series inside the body, communicating with each other: an infrared camera, a microwave camera, a camera for applying sugar syrup to the surface of the product and the drying chamber, with infrared lamps located on the side walls of the IR camera, magnetrons in the side walls of the microwave camera, and spray nozzles in the side walls of the sugar syrup application chamber through all four chambers pass a cable conveyor, on which mesh cassettes are hung, inside of which plates of processed fruits are placed, the cable conveyor drive provides cyclic-continuous movement of cassettes with periodic dwells, fans with diffusers are installed under the infrared camera and microwave camera, the location of the fruit plates, located in the cassettes, and spray nozzles symmetrically to prevent loss of sugar syrup, and the time of applying sugar syrup on the surface of the fruit plates coincides t with the time of turning off the discharge fan located under the microwave chamber, the exhaust diffuser located above the microwave chamber is connected with the recirculation pipe to the lower part of the drying chamber in which the air heater is installed.

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