JP3053993B2 - Dry storage method - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a drying storage method, and more particularly, to an air conditioner and a circulation fan for adjusting the temperature and humidity of air in an air passage in a circulation air passage having an air inlet and an air outlet opened in a storage chamber. The present invention relates to a dry storage method in which an object is subjected to a drying process and subsequently stored using a dry storage device equipped with the following.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, in dry storage using a circulating dry storage device as described above, while circulating air through a storage chamber and a circulating air passage by operating a circulating fan, the circulated air is air-conditioned by an air conditioner. An air conditioning drying operation for dehumidification and temperature adjustment is performed to dry the object to be processed in the storage chamber to a desired drying state (so-called dehumidification drying processing). When the drying processing is completed, air dehumidification by the air conditioner is performed. In the stopped state, only the air temperature adjustment by the air conditioner is performed, and the object to be dried (the dried product) in the storage room is stored at a temperature suitable for storage in the storage room (for example, the air by the air conditioner). Cold storage with cooling).

An air conditioner for carrying out the drying and storage method is provided with an indoor evaporator and an indoor condenser for sequentially passing air to be adjusted as shown in Japanese Utility Model Laid-Open No. 57-2363. In addition, there is an outdoor condenser equipped with an outdoor condenser for radiating heat to the outdoor air, so that the refrigerant circulation mode for the indoor evaporator, the indoor condenser, and the outdoor condenser is switched.

That is, by circulating the refrigerant between the indoor evaporator and the indoor condenser in a state where the passage of the refrigerant to the outdoor condenser is stopped, the air to be adjusted is cooled and dehumidified by the indoor evaporator, and the dehumidified air is condensed in the room. Heating and dehumidifying operation, which reheats to a high temperature in a vessel to generate low-humidity hot air, and an indoor evaporator,
Cooling and dehumidification by cooling and dehumidifying the air to be adjusted by the indoor evaporator by circulating the refrigerant through the indoor condenser and the outdoor condenser, and reheating the dehumidified air to a low temperature in the indoor condenser to generate low-humidity cold air By circulating the refrigerant between the indoor evaporator and the outdoor evaporator in a state where the operation and the passage of the refrigerant to the indoor condenser are stopped, the cooling operation in which the air to be adjusted is simply cooled by the indoor evaporator can be selectively performed. ,
Thereby, the target object is dehumidified and dried at a suitable temperature by performing an appropriate switching operation between the heating dehumidifying operation and the cooling dehumidifying operation as the air conditioning drying operation, and the object is cooled to a low temperature by performing the cooling operation. It is intended to be stored.

[0005]

However, after the drying process, the air dehumidification by the air conditioner is stopped, and only the air temperature adjustment by the air conditioner is performed, so that the object to be processed after the drying process is suitable for storage. In the above-mentioned conventional method of storing at an elevated temperature, during the storage process, the object to be processed after drying treatment absorbs moisture from the surrounding air and contains moisture again.
There is a problem that the quality as a dried product decreases, especially,
In the case of low-temperature storage, this problem is likely to occur because the relative humidity of the surrounding air increases due to the low temperature.

In view of this problem, the main object of the present invention is to
In a drying storage device equipped with an air conditioner for adjusting the temperature and humidity of the air in the air passage and a circulation fan in the circulation air passage, a rational operation of the device to store the object to be processed after drying at a temperature suitable for storage is performed. By doing so, the problem is effectively solved and the quality of the dried product is maintained at a high level.

[0007]

The feature of the invention according to claim 1 is that an air conditioner for adjusting the temperature and humidity of the air in the air passage is provided in a circulating air passage having an air inlet and an air outlet opened in a storage chamber. In a drying and storage device equipped with a circulation fan, an air conditioning drying operation for dehumidifying and adjusting the temperature of the circulated air by the air conditioner while forcibly circulating air between the storage chamber and the circulation air passage by operating the circulation fan. To implement
The object to be processed in the storage chamber is subjected to a drying process, and after completion of the drying process, with the circulation fan stopped , the
The room temperature of the storage room exceeds the upper limit of the set storage temperature range
Between the circulation air passage and the storage chamber by the air conditioner.
Cooling and dehumidifying operation to adjust the passing air to low-humidity cold air
And setting the room temperature of the storage room within the set storage temperature range.
Lowering and returning, the room temperature of the storage room is within the set storage temperature range
When the air temperature falls below the lower limit value, the circulation air passage is
For adjusting the air between the storage chamber and the storage chamber to low-humidity hot air
Perform the dehumidification operation and set the room temperature of the storage room to the storage temperature.
The air conditioner is stopped when the air conditioner is stopped.
In this state, the room temperature of the storage room is higher than the upper limit of the set storage temperature range.
Is lower and higher than the lower limit is set allowable time.
When continued for a while, the cooling and dehumidifying operation is performed in the storage chamber.
Until the room temperature drops to the lower limit or for a set time.
Carry out the air-conditioning storage operation,
The point is that the object to be treated is stored in the storage room .

[0008]

The implementation of the air conditioning drying operation for humidity and temperature adjustment divided by the air conditioner and the circulating air while the air is forcibly circulated [action] with a operation of the circulation fan over the storage chamber and the air circulation duct, and dehumidification and temperature adjusted air conditioner Low-humidity temperature-controlled air is blown into the storage room by blowing out low-humidity temperature-controlled air from the air outlet of the circulation air passage into the storage chamber, and sucking room air in the storage room from the air intake of the circulation air passage. By forcibly ventilating the processing object by exposing the processing object to the passing air of the low-humidity temperature-controlled air, the water evaporation from the processing object is effectively promoted, and the processing object in the storage chamber is efficiently brought to a desired dry state. dry.

When the drying process is completed, the circulation fan is stopped and the forced circulation of air between the storage chamber and the circulation air passage is stopped, that is, air is blown out from the air outlet and air is blown from the air intake. With the forced ventilation to the storage chamber due to the air suction stopped, the air-conditioning storage operation for dehumidifying and adjusting the temperature of the air (air for which forced circulation was stopped) between the circulation air passage and the storage chamber by the air conditioner, With the air dehumidification by the air conditioner in the air circulation stopped state, the processing target after the drying processing in the storage chamber is prevented from becoming a state containing moisture again by absorbing moisture from the surrounding air, and the processing target after the drying processing is object to it than you stored at a temperature suitable for storage with a air temperature adjustment by the air conditioner at the air circulation stopped.

More specifically, as the above-mentioned air-conditioning storage operation in which forced ventilation to the storage room is stopped, when the room temperature of the storage room exceeds the upper limit value of the set storage temperature range, the air is adjusted to low-humidity cold air by the air conditioner. A cooling and dehumidifying operation is performed to lower and return the room temperature of the storage room to within the set storage temperature range.On the other hand, when the room temperature of the storage room falls below the lower limit of the set storage temperature range, the air conditioner lowers the air humidity. The heating and dehumidifying operation that generates hot air is performed, and the room temperature of the storage room is raised and returned to within the set storage temperature range. By switching between the cooling and dehumidifying operations, the processing by moisture absorption from the surrounding air is performed. The room temperature of the storage chamber is maintained within a set storage temperature range suitable for storing the processing target after the drying process, while preventing the target from re-containing water.

In the above-described switching between the cooling dehumidifying operation and the heating dehumidifying operation based on the room temperature, the room temperature of the storage room is lower than the upper limit and lower than the lower limit of the set storage temperature range when the operation of the air conditioner is stopped. When the high state (that is, the state in which neither the cooling dehumidifying operation nor the heating dehumidifying operation is performed) continues for the set permissible time, the cooling air dehumidifying operation and the heating dehumidifying operation for the set permissible time are not performed, so that the ambient air is not operated. As there is a possibility that the moisture content of the processing target may be re-contained due to moisture absorption, the cooling and dehumidifying operation is forcibly performed until the room temperature of the storage room falls to the lower limit of the set storage temperature range or for the set time, and the forced operation is performed. Thereby, it is possible to reliably prevent moisture re-content of the processing object due to moisture absorption from the surrounding air.

[0012]

Accordingly, the object to be processed is dried using a drying storage device having a circulation fan and an air conditioner in the circulation air passage, and the object to be processed after the drying is stored at a temperature suitable for storage. However, it is effective that the air-conditioning storage operation that rationally utilizes the original configuration of the device effectively prevents the object to be processed after drying from absorbing moisture from the surrounding air and becoming wet again during storage. To prevent
Compared to the above-described conventional method, the quality of the dried product can be kept higher in storage following efficient drying by forced ventilation of low-humidity and temperature-controlled air.

[0013] Further, in order to store the object to be treated after the drying treatment at a temperature suitable for storage while preventing the re-content of water due to moisture absorption from the surrounding air, the air dehumidification by the air conditioner is stopped while the air dehumidification by the air conditioner is stopped. Only air temperature adjustment is performed, and air conditioning drying operation for dehumidifying and temperature adjusting the circulating air by an air conditioner while performing forced circulation of air between the storage chamber and the circulation air passage in a timely manner in the same storage as before is performed. It is also conceivable to re-execute, but in this case, sudden absorption due to forced ventilation of low-humidity temperature-controlled air during the air-conditioning drying operation and moisture absorption from the storage air that occurs during the storage process that only performs air temperature adjustment Deterioration of the quality of the processing object is caused by repeated moisture removal or by excessive drying of the processing object for efficient drying by forced ventilation of the low humidity and temperature controlled air. In contrast, according to the first aspect of the present invention, the air dehumidifying operation by the air conditioner in a state where the circulation fan is stopped and forced ventilation to the storage chamber is stopped (in short, in the storage chamber, Since the moisture content in the storage process is prevented by a gentle air dehumidifying operation in which air is not blown to the object to be treated after the drying process, the quality is reduced due to the repetition of the moisture absorption and rapid moisture removal as described above, and overdrying is caused. Deterioration in quality can be avoided, whereby the object to be treated after the drying treatment can be stored in a better condition. Furthermore, while switching between the cooling dehumidifying operation and the heating dehumidifying operation by switching the refrigerant path, and with simple device control only for starting and stopping those operations, the indoor temperature of the storage room can be maintained in a temperature range suitable for storage. In addition, it is possible to reliably prevent re-content of water in the processing object due to absorption of moisture from the surrounding air.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 shows a drying storage device, a storage chamber 1 for storing a processing object G (for example, shredded radish or the like before drying processing), a heat pump type air conditioner 2 for adjusting the temperature and humidity of air. , An air conditioning room 3 equipped with the air conditioner 2,
An air supply passage 4 through which the conditioned air As flows from the air conditioning room 3 to the storage room 1, an air supply fan 5 provided in the supply air passage 4, and a return air flow through which the return air Ar returns from the storage room 1 to the air conditioning room 3. The road 6 is configured.

The air supply fan 5 is of a type capable of switching between forward and reverse rotations. By switching the air supply fan 5 between forward and reverse rotations, the regulated air As / return air Ar in the direction shown by the arrow in FIG.
Forward operation with ventilation and adjusted air As in the opposite direction
-The reverse operation in which the return air Ar is passed can be performed alternately.

At each connection point between the air conditioning room 3 and the supply air passage 4 and at a connection point between the air conditioning room 3 and the return air passage 6, a damper 7 for switching air passages is provided. Then, the air conditioning room 3 is communicated with the supply air passage 4 and the return air passage 6 in a state where the outside air Ao is shut off by the dampers 7 as shown by the solid line in FIG. A circulation ventilation mode in which air is circulated, and a supply air path 4 and a return air path 6 as indicated by broken lines in the figure.
From this, the outside air Ao is communicated with the air-conditioning room 3 shut off, the supply air to the storage room 1 is set to the outside air Ao, and the air can be switched to the outside air ventilation mode in which the return air Ar from the storage room 1 is exhausted. I have to.

That is, in a situation where the drying process using the outside air Ao is possible, the air supply fan 5 is switched between normal and reverse rotations at predetermined time intervals in the above-described outside air ventilation mode, so that the storage chamber 1 is forwardly and reversely ventilated. In the outside air drying operation for drying the object to be treated 1 and the drying process using the outside air Ao, the air conditioner 2 is operated in the above-described circulation ventilation mode and the air supply fan 5 is turned on every predetermined time in a situation in which the drying process by the outside air Ao is impossible or inefficient. Air-conditioning drying operation in which the adjusted air As whose temperature and humidity have been adjusted by the air conditioner 2 is forwardly and reversely ventilated to the storage room 1 to dry the processing object G in the storage room 1,
The air conditioner 2 in the circulation ventilation mode in a state where the air supply fan 5 is stopped (that is, the switching state of the damper 7 is the circulation ventilation mode, but the forced air circulation by the circulation fan 5 is not performed).
, The storage chamber 1 is kept in a low-humidity state at a predetermined temperature, and an air-conditioning storage operation for storing the processing object G after the drying processing can be performed.

The storage room 1 accommodates a shelf truck 10 in which a shelf 8 for loading the objects G to be processed in a plurality of stages is mounted on a movable cart 9 with wheels. The shelf truck 10 is shown in FIGS. As shown in FIG. 2, the lower end of one end of the shelf 8 is
And the lower end of the other end of the shelf 8 is connected to the movable trolley 9 via a load cell 11 so that the weight M of the load object G can be reduced by the load cell 11. It is to be detected. Reference numeral 13 denotes a pair of contact bolts for protecting the load cell 11 from impact, and reference numeral 14 denotes a flip-up prevention bolt for preventing the shelf portion 8 from jumping upward.

In FIG. 1, reference numeral 12 denotes a pair of indoor temperature sensors for detecting the temperature of air supplied to the storage chamber 1 and the temperature of exhaust air from the storage chamber 1 during normal operation and reverse operation of the air supply fan 5, respectively. The average value of the supply / exhaust temperatures detected by the room temperature sensor 12 is adopted as the room temperature tr of the storage room 1.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 3, the air conditioner 2 employs a heat pump using a condensable refrigerant, and its indoor unit 2A has an indoor evaporator 18, an indoor condenser 15, and an indoor evaporator. An indoor fan 19 for ventilating the return air Ar from the storage chamber 1 in the order of the vessel 18 and the indoor condenser 15;
Further, the outdoor unit 2B is provided with an outdoor condenser 21 and an outdoor fan 23 that allows the outdoor condenser 21 to ventilate outside air Ao.

As for the refrigerant circuit of the air conditioner 2, the compressor 2
The discharge side of 0 is connected to the inlet of the outdoor condenser 21 and the indoor condenser 15.
High pressure passage 24, and branch high pressure passages 25, 26 branched from the high pressure passage 24, and delivery passages 27, 28 from the outlets of the outdoor condenser 21 and the indoor condenser 15, respectively. Are joined by an intermediate pressure passage 29 and connected to the inlet of the indoor evaporator 18, and the outlet of the indoor evaporator 18 and the suction side of the compressor 20 are connected by a low pressure passage 30. In addition, 16 is a receiver tank, 17 is an expansion valve, and 22 is an accumulator.

A control valve V is interposed in the branch high pressure passage 25 to the inlet of the outdoor condenser 21.

In other words, the air conditioner 2 stops the passage of the refrigerant to the outdoor condenser 21 and circulates the refrigerant between the indoor evaporator 18 and the indoor condenser 15 by opening and closing the control valve V. A heating and dehumidifying operation for cooling and dehumidifying the air in the indoor evaporator 18 and reheating the cooled and dehumidified air in the indoor condenser 15 to adjust the air to low-humidity hot air;
And the indoor condenser 15 to divide the refrigerant.
By circulating the refrigerant between the indoor evaporator 18 and the indoor evaporator 18, the amount of reheat in the indoor condenser 15 for the air cooling and dehumidification in the indoor evaporator 18 is radiated to the outside air Ao in the outdoor condenser 21. The air conditioner is configured to be able to switch to a cooling / dehumidifying operation in which the air is reduced to adjust to low-humidity cold air.

A control device C controls the operation control. The control device C switches the air supply fan 5 between normal and reverse rotations at predetermined time intervals in the above-described air-conditioning and drying operation.
When the room temperature tr of the storage chamber 1 detected by the indoor temperature sensor 12 becomes equal to or more than the upper limit value trm + d of a drying temperature range trm ± d (for example, 25 ± 2 ° C.) centered on the set drying temperature trm, as shown in FIG. The air conditioner 2 is switched from the heating dehumidifying operation to the cooling dehumidifying operation, and when the room temperature tr is equal to or less than the lower limit trm-d of the drying temperature range trm ± d, the air conditioner 2 is switched from the cooling dehumidifying operation to the heating dehumidifying operation,
By alternately switching between the cooling dehumidifying operation and the heating dehumidifying operation, the room temperature tr of the storage room 1 is kept at the above-mentioned drying temperature range suitable for the drying process while the dehumidifying air conditioning for the drying process is continuously performed on the storage room 1. Keep within trm ± d.

When the weight M of the processing object G detected by the load cell 11 decreases to the finished drying weight Ms set by the operator, the air supply fan 5 is stopped to automatically start the air-conditioning drying operation. To end.

After the air-conditioning drying operation is completed, the control device C shifts to the air-conditioning storage operation in which the air conditioner 2 is operated while the air supply fan 5 is stopped. As shown in FIG. 4, the setting of the temperature is changed from the above set drying temperature trm to the set storage temperature trc, and the room temperature tr of the storage chamber 1 is changed to a storage temperature range trc ± e (centered around the set storage temperature trc). When the temperature exceeds the upper limit value trc + e of, for example, 10 ± 2 ° C.), the cooling / dehumidifying operation of the air conditioner 2 is started, and when the room temperature tr falls to the set storage temperature trc, the operation of the air conditioner 2 is stopped, and the room temperature tr is lowered. An operation in which the heating and dehumidifying operation of the air conditioner 2 is started when the temperature falls below the lower limit value trc-e of the storage temperature range trm ± d, and the operation of the air conditioner 2 is stopped when the room temperature tr rises to the set storage temperature trc. Form In this manner, the room temperature of the storage chamber 1 is kept within the storage temperature range trc ± e suitable for storage while performing the dehumidifying air conditioning for preventing the processing target G after the drying processing from containing moisture again. To keep.

The control device C operates during the air-conditioning storage operation.
When the room temperature tr of the storage room 1 is lower than the upper limit value trc + e of the storage temperature range trc ± e and higher than the lower limit value trc-e when the operation of the air conditioner 2 is stopped for a set allowable time, The cooling dehumidifying operation is performed until the room temperature tr falls to the lower limit value trc-e of the storage temperature range trc ± e or for a set time, and dehumidifying air conditioning for preventing the storage object G from containing moisture again. Force enforcement.

On the other hand, the switching from the outside air drying operation to the air conditioning drying operation is performed by manual operation.
an outdoor temperature sensor 31 for detecting a temperature and humidity state of o, and
An outdoor humidity sensor 32 is provided, and the dehumidifying capacity of the air conditioner 2 in the outside air state detected by the outdoor sensors 31 and 32 is calculated from the stored data, and the calculated dehumidifying capacity is determined by the load cell 11 in the outside air drying operation. When the detected weight of the object G to be detected becomes larger than the reduced weight per unit time (that is, the amount of evaporated water), the damper 7 is automatically switched and the air conditioner 2 is automatically started to switch from the outside air drying operation to the air conditioning drying operation. The switching may be automatically performed.

In short, in the present embodiment, in the present embodiment, a circulating air path composed of a return air path 6, an air conditioning room 3, and a supply air path 4 is provided with an air conditioner 2 for adjusting the temperature and humidity of air in the air path and a circulation fan 5. In the drying and storage device, while the air is forcedly circulated between the storage chamber 1 and the circulation air passages 6, 3, and 4 by the operation of the circulation fan 5, the circulating air is subjected to dehumidification and temperature adjustment by the air conditioner 2 to be performed. Then, the processing object G in the storage chamber 1 is dried, and after the drying processing is completed, the circulation air path 6 is
An air-conditioning storage operation for dehumidifying and adjusting the temperature of the air between the storage chambers 3 and 4 and the storage chamber 1 is performed by the air conditioner 2, and the processing object G after the drying processing is stored in the storage chamber 1.

Another Embodiment Next, another embodiment will be described.

By providing a cooling control valve V 'as shown by a broken line in FIG. 1 and closing the cooling control valve V' in a state where the control valve V in the above embodiment is opened, the indoor condenser 1
5, cooling operation in which refrigerant is circulated between the indoor evaporator 18 and the outdoor condenser 21 by stopping the passage of the refrigerant to the indoor evaporator 18, that is, air is discharged from the indoor evaporator 18 without performing reheating in the indoor condenser 15. It is possible to perform an operation of cooling and dehumidifying the storage chamber 1 so that the heating dehumidifying operation, the cooling dehumidifying operation, and the cooling operation can be selected. The room temperature may be adjusted to a temperature suitable for drying or storage.

The specific valve configuration of the control valve V for switching between the heating dehumidifying operation and the cooling dehumidifying operation and the cooling control valve V 'for switching to the cooling operation, and the specific arrangement on the refrigerant circuit Various configuration changes are possible.

Incidentally, reference numerals are written in the claims for convenience of comparison with the drawings, but the present invention is not limited to the configuration of the attached drawings by the entry.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal side view of a drying storage device.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a shelf cart.

FIG. 3 is a refrigerant circuit diagram of an air conditioner.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing a room temperature adjustment mode.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Storage room 2 Air conditioner 3,4,6 Circulating air path 5 Circulating fan G Processing object trc + e Upper limit of set storage temperature range trc-e Lower limit of set storage temperature range

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continuation of the front page (56) References JP-A-56-74581 (JP, A) JP-A-57-2363 (JP, U) (58) Fields investigated (Int. Cl. ⁷ , DB name) F26B 9/06 F25B 29/00 411

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] An air conditioner (2) for adjusting the temperature and humidity of air in an air passage to a circulation air passage (6, 3, 4) having an air inlet and an air outlet opened in a storage chamber (1). Fan (5)
In the drying and storage device equipped with the above, while circulating the air forcibly through the storage chamber (1) and the circulation air passages (6, 3, 4) by operating the circulation fan (5), An air conditioning drying operation for dehumidifying and adjusting the temperature is performed by the air conditioner (2) to dry the object (G) in the storage chamber (1). After the drying processing is completed, the circulation fan (5) With the storage chamber stopped
The room temperature (tr) of (1) is the upper limit value (t) of the set storage temperature range.
rc + e) or more, the air conditioner (2)
The circulation air passage (6, 3, 4) and the storage chamber (1) were provided.
Cooling air dehumidifying operation to adjust
The room temperature (tr) of the storage chamber (1) is set to a set storage temperature range.
Is lowered back to the range of circumference, of the storage chamber (1) at room temperature (tr) is set storage temperature range
When the temperature falls below the lower limit (trc-e), the air conditioner (2)
The circulation air path (6, 3, 4) and the storage chamber
(1) Heating and dehumidifying transport that adjusts the air to low humidity and hot air
And set the room temperature (tr) of the storage chamber (1).
The temperature of the storage room (1) is raised and returned within the storage temperature range, and the operation of the air conditioner (2) is stopped.
Room temperature (tr) is the upper limit of the set storage temperature range (trc +
e) and higher than the lower limit (trc-e).
If the cooling condition continues for the set allowable time, the cooling
When the room temperature (tr) of the storage chamber (1) falls below the
Limit value (trc-e) or strong for a set time
Carry out the air-conditioning storage operation,
A dry storage method for storing an object to be treated (G) in the storage chamber (1) .