JP2899448B2 - Continuous microwave sterilizer - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a continuous microwave sterilizer for conveying an object to be sterilized such as rice by a conveyor and continuously sterilizing the same.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in a continuous type microwave sterilizer of this type, an object to be sterilized is divided into small portions and stored in respective packages, and heat sterilization is performed by irradiating microwaves in this state.

[0003]

However, when microwaves are radiated while the object to be sterilized is housed in the package as in the above-described conventional case, the package may be deformed by heat, or the inside of the package may be deformed. The distribution of microwaves is affected by the state of storage of the object to be sterilized and becomes non-uniform, making it difficult to reliably sterilize the entire object to be sterilized, and has a problem that the reliability of sterilization is reduced. I have.

[0004] The present invention has been made in view of the above points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a continuous microwave sterilizer capable of uniformly sterilizing an entire object to be sterilized and improving the reliability of sterilization. And

[0005]

Means for Solving the Problems] continuous microwave sterilizer of the present invention includes a heating chamber in which the microwave is irradiated, provided in the heating chamber, a high-temperature sterilization chamber having a reservoir therein, the Cooling to cool the sterilized object in the high-temperature sterilization room
And the object to be sterilized is transferred to the high-temperature sterilization chamber and the cooling chamber.
And a conveyor for sequentially passing through the inside of the heating chamber,
It is installed upstream and downstream facing the conveyor, respectively.
And microwave reflecting means for reflecting microwaves .

[0006]

In the continuous microwave sterilizer according to the present invention, a high-temperature sterilization chamber is provided in the heating chamber, and a water storage section is provided in the high-temperature sterilization chamber. When the heating chamber is irradiated with microwaves, the microwave is stored in the water storage section. The water boils and evaporates into high-temperature steam, which fills the high-temperature sterilization chamber. The object to be sterilized is conveyed and passed through the high-temperature sterilization chamber by a conveyor, whereby the object to be sterilized comes into contact with steam and is sterilized. Also, the material to be sterilized
Are conveyed by a conveyor and are cooled in a high-temperature sterilization chamber and
While passing through the room continuously,
Microwave reflection facing the conveyor on the downstream side
With the means, there is no need to seal the heating chamber,
It is said that fungi are continuously sterilized and work efficiency is improved.
In addition, sterilization of unpackaged bulk materials is easy.
You.

[0007]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a continuous microwave sterilizer according to an embodiment of the present invention.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 10 denotes a sterilizer main body, and a belt conveyor 11 as a conveyor driven by driving means (not shown) is attached along the longitudinal direction of the sterilizer main body 10.

[0009] The transporting section 12, which is an upper turning section of the belt conveyor 11, passes through a tunnel chamber 14, a heating chamber 15, an exhaust chamber 16, and a cooling chamber 17 in order in the transporting direction, and transfers rice and the like. The object to be sterilized is transported from the carry-in side 21 (left side in FIG. 1) to the carry-out side 22 (right side in FIG. 1).

[0010] Then, the loading side 21 of the belt conveyor 11
A funnel-shaped input port 24 is provided at the upper part of the belt conveyor 11 for feeding the material to be sterilized onto the belt conveyor 11, and an end of the discharge side 22 protrudes from the sterilizer main body 10, and the discharge side 22 of the discharge side 22 is provided. A container for collecting and storing the object to be sterilized can be installed below.

A microwave transmitter 25 for transmitting microwaves and a refrigerator 26 are provided in a lower portion of the sterilizer main body 10.

In the tunnel room 14, microwave reflecting mirrors are provided from above and below the conveyor 12 of the belt conveyor 11 .
A plurality of reflecting plates 31 constituting the microwave reflecting means are mounted perpendicular to the belt conveyor 11 to prevent microwaves from leaking outside and to concentrate the microwaves into the heating chamber 15. Has become.

The heating chamber 15 has a rectangular cross section and is provided continuously with the tunnel chamber 14 through an insertion portion 32 formed in a rectangular shape. In the vicinity of the lower surface inside the heating chamber 15, as shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, a substantially box-shaped high-temperature sterilization chamber 33 having a curved upper surface bulging upward is provided. The transport section 12 of the conveyor 11 passes through the high-temperature sterilization chamber 33. An irradiation port 35 is formed at an approximate center of the upper surface of the heating chamber 15, and the microwave transmitted from the microwave transmitter 25 receives the irradiation port 35 through the waveguide 37. Led to the high temperature sterilization room
Irradiation is performed in 33 directions. Further, a water storage tank 38 for storing tap water or distilled water W and the like is attached above the upper surface of the heating chamber 15. From the water storage tank 38, a high-temperature sterilization chamber is supplied via a fixed-quantity flow pipe 39. Supply distilled water W etc. into 33 and heat sterilization room
A fixed amount of distilled water W or the like is stored in a lower water storage portion 41 in the inside 33.

The exhaust chamber 16 is provided continuously to the heating chamber 15 via a rectangular insertion opening 43, and has a reflector 31 similar to that of the tunnel chamber 14. However, the upper reflecting plate 31 is provided with a net 44 having air permeability.
In the upper part of the mesh body 44, an exhaust space 45 is formed. And this exhaust space
An exhaust fan 46 is attached to the upper part of 45, and the heating chamber
The high-temperature water vapor generated in 15 is released to the outside.

The cooling chamber 17 is provided continuously with the exhaust chamber 16 through an insertion portion 48 having a rectangular opening, and an upper portion inside the exhaust chamber 16 is connected to the refrigerator 26. A condenser 52 having a plurality of cooling fins 51 is attached. The periphery of the cooling chamber 17 is filled with a heat insulating material 53, so that the object to be sterilized heated in the heating chamber 15 can be efficiently cooled.

Next, the operation of the continuous microwave sterilizer of this embodiment will be described.

First, the microwave transmitter 25 is operated in advance to irradiate the heating chamber 15 with microwaves.
Is distilled off by boiling, and the inside of the high-temperature sterilization chamber 33 is filled with high-temperature steam. At this time, the exhaust fan 46 of the exhaust chamber 16 is
And the refrigerator 26 is operated to cool the cooling chamber 17.

Then, the belt conveyor 11 is driven, and the transfer port 12 on the loading side 21 of the belt conveyor 11 is placed in the loading port 24.
The material to be sterilized is supplied via the.

The material to be sterilized conveyed by the belt conveyor 11 is irradiated with microwaves and comes into contact with high-temperature steam while being passed through the high-temperature sterilization chamber 33 of the heating chamber 15 to uniformly sterilize the whole. Is done.

The material to be sterilized in the heating chamber 15 is temporarily dried and cooled while passing through the exhaust chamber 16 and the cooling chamber 17, and is discharged from the discharge side 22 of the belt conveyor 11. .

Thus, according to the continuous microwave sterilizer of the present embodiment, the high-temperature sterilization chamber 33 is provided in the heating chamber 15 irradiated with the microwave, The stored distilled water W or the like is converted into high-temperature steam by microwaves. Then, by irradiating the object to be sterilized with microwaves and passing through the water vapor, regardless of the size of the object to be sterilized or the difference in water content,
Water vapor uniformly contacts the entirety of the object to be sterilized, and can be sterilized efficiently and in a short time, thereby improving the reliability of the sterilization process and improving the quality of the object to be sterilized.

Further, since the material to be sterilized is transported by the belt conveyor 11 and continuously passes through the heating chamber 15, the exhaust chamber 16, and the cooling chamber 17, it is possible to continuously sterilize the material to be sterilized. , Work efficiency can be improved.

Further, without using the conventional package, the deformation of the package due to heat and the distribution of microwaves in the package are affected by the storage state of the sterilized object and become non-uniform. It is possible to solve a problem that it is difficult to surely sterilize the whole object to be sterilized.

[0024]

According to the continuous microwave sterilizer of the present invention, a high-temperature sterilization chamber is provided in the heating chamber to be irradiated with microwaves, and a water reservoir is provided in the high-temperature sterilization chamber. When the water is irradiated, the water stored in the water storage part boils and evaporates to become high-temperature steam, which fills the high-temperature sterilization chamber. Therefore, in this high-temperature sterilization chamber, the object to be sterilized is conveyed by a conveyor and passed therethrough, regardless of the size of the shape of the object to be sterilized, or the difference in water content.
The water vapor uniformly contacts the entirety of the object to be sterilized and efficiently sterilizes, thereby improving the reliability of the sterilization process and improving the quality of the object to be sterilized. Furthermore, the fungicidal compound is conveyed by the conveyor, while passing through the hot sterilization chamber and cooling chamber in the heating chamber in succession, the upstream and downstream sides of the heating chamber
Each has a microwave reflection means facing the conveyor
Therefore, it is not necessary to seal the heating chamber, and it is possible to continuously sterilize the object to be sterilized, thereby improving work efficiency and killing unpackaged bulk materials.
Bacterial treatment is also easy.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment of a continuous microwave sterilizer according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 shows a continuous microwave sterilizer according to the first embodiment of the present invention;
It is A sectional drawing.

FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the high-temperature sterilization chamber of the same.

[Explanation of symbols]

11 Belt conveyor as conveyor 15 Heating chamber 17 Cooling chamber 31 Reflector plate constituting microwave reflecting means 33 High-temperature sterilization chamber 41 Water reservoir

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A heating chamber to be irradiated with microwaves; a high-temperature sterilization chamber provided in the heating chamber and having a water storage therein; and a cooling chamber for cooling an object to be sterilized in the high-temperature sterilization chamber.
When, wherein each a conveyor for conveying sequentially <br/> passed through the hot sterilization chamber and said cooling chamber to be sterilized was on an upstream side and a downstream side of the heating chamber Combe
Microwaves that reflect the microwaves
A continuous-type microwave sterilizer comprising a reflecting means .