JP3518909B2 - Vacuum cooling packaging system - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a vacuum cooling packaging system for rapidly cooling and packaging food immediately after cooking.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art In a conventional vacuum cooling packaging system for rapidly cooling and packaging food after cooking, the food immediately after cooking is transferred to a relatively large container while avoiding contact with the outside air as much as possible, and this container is placed in the container. Put in the storage, close the door and use the heat of vaporization to reduce the temperature of food rapidly to near room temperature. Alternatively, a predetermined amount of food immediately after cooking is immediately put in the packaging material, the packaging material is sequentially placed in the storage container, and when a certain amount is entered, the door is closed and the pressure is reduced to approximately room temperature.

Next, the door of the storage is opened, the container is taken out, a predetermined amount of the cooled food in the container is put into the packaging material, and the container is further sealed to obtain the final product. In addition, when a certain amount of food is contained in each packaging material, the packaging material should be taken out from the storage and sealed, and if it is necessary to put it in a bag etc. And

[0004]

However, in the above-mentioned conventional vacuum cooling packaging system, it is difficult to carry out each work continuously and integrally, so that automation is difficult,
It is not labor-saving because it requires human intervention.

[0005] Since humans intervene, foods are more likely to be mixed with various bacteria, which makes hygiene management difficult. In some cases the need for re-sterilization arises. Since each work is not continuously performed and human intervention is required, the cooling time varies depending on the food contained in the packaging material, the quality of the final food product is not constant, and quality control is difficult.

Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the above circumstances, and does not allow humans to be used by continuously carrying out the cooling and packaging work, does not give an opportunity to mix various bacteria, and easily controls the quality of food. An object is to provide a simple vacuum cooling packaging system.

[0007]

In order to solve the above problems, the vacuum cooling packaging system of the present invention has a plurality of containers for sequentially storing foods after heating and cooking, and a container circulation line for circulating the plurality of containers. On the container circulation line, a vacuum cooling line for receiving the containers sequentially containing food from the container circulation line, sealing the containers and sequentially vacuum cooling the food, and then supplying air to open the containers and return them to the container circulation line. And a packaging line for sequentially receiving and packaging the food after vacuum cooling from the container into the packaging material.

Further, a container circulation line having a plurality of containers for putting the cooked food into the packaging material and sequentially accommodating the packaging material, and circulating the plurality of containers, and a container open line sequentially opened from the container circulation line After receiving the container containing the packaging material, hermetically sealing the container and sequentially cooling the food in vacuum, and then supplying air to open the container and return it to the container circulation line, a vacuum cooling line and a container on the container circulation line after vacuum cooling And a packaging line for sequentially receiving and packaging the packaging material containing the food.

Further, it is preferable that a weighing and filling machine for food is provided in the container circulation line, a vessel washing machine is provided upstream thereof, and a weight and foreign matter checker is provided downstream of the weighing and filling machine. The vacuum cooling line has a plurality of holders for holding containers and a lid device for opening and closing the containers on the holders corresponding to the plurality of holders. A container circulation moving part for making one cycle a vacuum cooling zone of food stored in the container, an air supply zone of the container and an opening zone of the container, and a lid on the container on the sealing zone and the opening zone of the container circulation moving part. A lid control unit for operating the device, and a switching unit for connecting to a vacuum generation source and an air supply source in each container on the vacuum cooling zone and the air supply zone are preferable. Good that is sterile air.

[0010]

According to the vacuum cooling packaging system having the above-mentioned structure, a predetermined amount of food after heating and cooking is sequentially put into the container at an arbitrary position on the container circulation line, and the container containing the food is received by the vacuum cooling line. Then, the container is immediately sealed, and then the inside of the container is sequentially evacuated to cool the food. After vacuum-cooling the food to the target temperature, sequentially supply air into the container to make the pressure almost the same as the atmospheric pressure and open the container one by one, and then sequentially transfer the container to the container circulation line at the delivery site on the vacuum cooling line. After returning, the food in the container is sequentially charged into the packaging material on the corresponding packaging line at the downstream position, and the packaging material is sequentially sealed and packaged.

Further, at a desired position on the container circulation line, a predetermined amount of food after cooking is put into the container and the opened packaging material is sequentially put therein, and these containers are sequentially received at the receiving portion of the vacuum cooling line. Immediately after sealing the containers one by one, the inside of the containers is evacuated and cooled. After vacuum-cooling the food to the target temperature, sequentially supply air into the container to make the pressure almost the same as the atmospheric pressure and open the container one by one, and then sequentially transfer the container to the container circulation line at the delivery site on the vacuum cooling line. At the downstream position, the food in the container is sequentially charged into the packaging material on the corresponding packaging line at the downstream position to sequentially seal the packaging material.

The container on the container circulation line on the upstream side of the food weighing and filling machine is washed by the container washing machine, and the weight and foreign matter are confirmed by the weight and foreign matter checker on the downstream side. When the holder on the container circulation moving unit is in the transfer zone, the container is received from the outside, and when the container moves together with the holder to the sealing zone, the lid control unit operates to seal the container with the lid device. When the container comes to the vacuum cooling zone, the switching unit operates while the container is kept closed to connect the inside of the container and the vacuum source to make the inside of the container into a vacuum and cool the food. When the container together with the holder comes to the air supply zone at the time when the food is vacuum cooled to the target temperature, the switching unit operates and the inside of the container is switched from the vacuum generation source to the air supply source and air is supplied to the container and the outside air pressure is reached. To about the same pressure. At this point, when the container comes to the open zone with the holder, the connection with the air supply source is cut off, the lid control unit operates and the lid device opens the inside of the container, and when the container comes to the transfer zone together with the holder, the holder comes out of the holder. Pass the container to the outside.

Then, aseptic air is supplied from the air supply source into the container so as to be substantially the same as the outside air.

[0014]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the accompanying drawings. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a vacuum cooling packaging system of the present invention. In the figure, the vacuum cooling packaging system 1 has a plurality of containers 3 for sequentially storing foods 2 after heating and cooking, and a plurality of containers. 3. A container circulation line 4 for intermittently circulating 3 in the A direction, and a container 3 containing food 2 sequentially received from the container circulation line 4 and intermittently rotated in the B direction to hermetically seal the container 3 to sequentially food 2. After vacuum cooling, air is supplied to open the container 3 and return it to the container circulation line 4, and the vacuum-cooled food 2 is sequentially received from the container 3 on the container circulation line 4 into the packaging material 6 for packaging. And a packaging line 7.

The heat-treated food 2 is not particularly limited, and includes all foods that are boiled, baked, cooked, fried, steamed, or heated. Further, the above food 2 includes feeds for farmed fish, livestock, pets, etc., and can be applied to medical products and sanitary products that need to be heat treated to maintain a sterile condition in some cases.

The shape, size, material, etc. of the container 3 are not particularly limited, but it is not preferable that the food 2 is directly contacted with the container 3 to corrode or the food 2 has an odor.
Furthermore, the container 3 is in a vacuum state, for example, 450 mmHg to 750 mmHg.
It is preferable that the material has such strength that it does not deform even when a vacuum of a certain degree is reached. There are a plurality of containers 3 and these containers 3 are circulated by a conveyor or the like to form a container circulation line 4.

On the upstream side of the transfer part 4a of the container 3 on the container circulation line 4, there is provided a weighing and filling machine 10 for weighing the food 2 just after cooking and filling it into the container 3, and further upstream thereof. A container washer (not shown) is provided on the side, and a weight and foreign matter checker (neither is shown) is provided downstream of the weighing and filling machine 10 and upstream of the transfer part 4a of the container 3. Therefore, when there is an excess or deficiency in the weight of the food 2 contained in the container 3 after the metering and filling, or when a foreign substance enters the container 3, the whole container 3 is excluded from the container circulation line 4. Become.

As shown in FIG. 2, the vacuum cooling line 5 has a plurality of holders 20 for holding the containers 3, and a lid device 21 for opening and closing the containers 3 on the holders 20 corresponding to the plurality of holders 20. 1 cycle including the container transfer zone S1, the container closed zone S2, the vacuum cooling zone S3 of the food stored in the container 3, the container air supply zone S4 and the container open zone S5 shown in FIG. Container circulation moving part 22
And a lid control unit 23 for operating the lid device 21 on the container 3 located on the closed zone S2 and the open zone S5 of the container circulation moving unit 22, and on the vacuum cooling zone S3 and the air supply zone S4. Vacuum source 24 and air supply source 25 in container 3
The switching unit 26 to be connected to and is a main component.

A plurality of holders 20 of the container circulating / moving unit 22 are mounted on a table 32 fixed to a shaft 30 by pins 31.
For example, 16 pieces are attached every 22.5 degrees. However, the number of holders 20 varies depending on the vacuum cooling capacity.
This holder 20, as shown in FIG.
There is a storage box 20b at the back. The shaft 30 is supported by a bearing 34 mounted on a pedestal 33, and is intermittently driven to rotate by an intermittent drive index unit 35 via a drive gear 36 and a driven gear 37. This intermittent drive index unit 35 is the table 32
According to the quantity of the upper holder 20, for example, if there are 16 pieces, 16
The shaft 30 is set to rotate once by intermittent driving.

Further, one lid device 21 is provided above the one container 3 stored in the storage portion 20b of the holder 20 in the number corresponding to the holder 20, and the container 3 can be sealed or opened. In this lid device 21, a lid 38 is fixed to an air cylinder 39 with a hollow shaft, and the air cylinder 39 with a hollow shaft is fixed to a bracket 40 fixed on a table 32. Further, in the lid 38, a hole 38 a for connecting the hole of the air cylinder 39 with a hollow shaft and the container 3 to connect to the vacuum generating source 24, and a hole 38 b for connecting to the air supply source 25.
Are worn respectively. Therefore, the lid device 21 is
By operating the air cylinder 39 with a hollow shaft, the lid 38 is attached to and detached from the container 3, and the container 3 is sealed or opened.

Reference numeral 41 in FIG. 2 denotes a guide rail provided to prevent the container 3 from falling out of the storage portion 20b during rotation of the holder 20, and only at a position where the lid 38 is attached to and detached from the container 3. It is installed. In addition, reference numeral 42 in FIG. 2 is a sealing material provided on the lid 38 to improve the airtightness between the container 3 and the lid 38. Conversely, if the sealing material 42 is provided on the container 3 side, the same result is obtained. is there.

A rotary slide valve 51 is fixed to the upper portion of the shaft 30 in FIG. 2 by a pin 50, and a fixed slide valve 53 fixed by a supporter 52 is fitted to the rotary slide valve 51. The lid control unit 23 includes a mechanical valve 54 provided on the rotary slide valve 51 for sending compressed air corresponding to the air cylinder 39 with a hollow shaft of the lid device 21, and a fixed slide valve.
It has a slide cam 55 fixed to 53. This mechanical valve 54 is connected to a port 51a of a rotary slide valve 51 through a passage 30a of the shaft 30 from a compressed air rotary joint 56 provided at the upper end of the shaft 30, and communicates with a source of air pressure (not shown). There is. When this mechanical valve 54 moves rotationally with the rotation of the rotary slide valve 51 and is positioned from the transfer zone S1 to the closed zone S2, the mechanical valve 54 is operated by the slide cam 55 fixed to the fixed slide valve 53. The compressed air is sent to the port 39a of the air cylinder 39 with a hollow shaft, and the lid 38 is seated on the container 3 to seal it. The mechanical valve 54 maintains this state even if it is rotationally moved to the vacuum cooling zone S3 and the air supply zone S4, but when it is located in the open zone S5, the influence of the slide cam 55 disappears and the mechanical valve 54 is switched to the hollow state. Compressed air is sent to the port 39b of the shaft-equipped aa cylinder 39 to separate the lid 38 from the container 3 to open it, and this state is maintained up to the transfer zone S1.

The switching unit 26 is provided in the container 3 and the vacuum source 24.
A vacuum switching unit 60 for disconnecting and connecting with the inside of the container 3 and the air supply source 25
And an air supply switching unit 61 for disconnecting and connecting the. In the vacuum switching unit 60, the vacuum source 24 and the port 53a of the fixed slide valve 53 are connected to each other, and the rotary slide valve 51 is connected.
Port 51b and the hollow shaft port 39c of the air cylinder 39 with a hollow shaft are connected. The ports 53a and 51b communicate with each other only when the container 3 and the holder 20 are rotationally moved to the vacuum cooling zone S3 by matching the passages. Therefore, in this vacuum cooling zone S3, the vacuum generation source 24 is the port 53a,
Fixed side slide valve 53 passage, rotating side slide valve
It communicates with the inside of the container 3 through the passage 51, the port 51b, the hollow shaft port 39c, the hollow shaft passage, and the hole 38a of the lid 38.

On the other hand, the air supply switching section 61 is connected to an air supply source 24, for example, a sterile air generation source and a sterile air rotary joint 62 attached to the lower end of the shaft 30, and the sterile air rotary joint 62 is The passage 30b of the shaft 30 and the passage of the ring body 63 which is fixed on the boss of the table 32 and rotates together with the shaft 30.
It communicates with the port 63b through 63a. This port
63b is connected to an air operated valve 64, and the air operated valve 64 is a lid 38.
Is connected to the passage 38b. In addition, this air operated valve 64
Is connected to the valve operating mechanical valve 65 installed on the mechanical valve 54, and is connected to the port 51a of the rotary slide valve 51, thereby connecting to the compressed air source.
The air supply switching unit 61 operates the air supply mechanical valve 65 by the cam 66 only when the container 3 and the holder 20 are located in the air supply zone S4, sends compressed air to the air operation valve 64, and operates to open the air supply mechanical valve. Aseptic air is supplied into the container 3. That is, aseptic air is a source of aseptic air that is the air supply source 25,
The sterile air rotary joint 62, the passage 30b of the shaft 30, the passage 63a of the ring body 63, the port 63b, the air actuated valve 64, the hole 38b of the lid 38, and the inside of the container 3 are brought to almost the same pressure as the atmospheric pressure. .

Container transfer zone S1 of the vacuum cooling line 5
The container circulation line 4 that has received the container 3 containing the food 2 after vacuum cooling feeds the food 2 after vacuum cooling into the packaging material 6 on the input packaging line 7.

As in the vacuum cooling line 5 described above, the receiving and packaging line 7 has a table 70 that intermittently rotates in the C direction, as shown in FIG. Is provided with eight holding devices for the packaging material 6. One of these eight holding machines is the packaging supply zone P
When the number reaches 1, the packaging material 6 is supplied and held by the supply storage device 71, and when the holding machine reaches the printing zone P2 together with the packaging material 6, the printing machine 72 prints the packaging material 6 on the manufacturing date, trademark. Print, manufacturer, etc. Further, when the holding machine reaches the open zone P3, the packaging material 6 is opened by the suction part 73 of the holding machine, and when reaching the feeding zone P4, the food 2 after vacuum cooling is fed into the packaging material 6 by the feeding machine 74. To do. This throwing machine 74 turns the container 3 over and puts the food 2 in the packaging material 6. Then, when the holding machine reaches the stabilization zones P5 and P6, an adjusting machine (not shown) adjusts and stabilizes the accommodation condition of the food 2 in the packaging material 6. Further, when the holding machine reaches the sealing zone P7, the packaging material 6 is sealed by the sealing machine 75, and when the holding machine reaches the delivery zone P8, the packaging material 6 is separated to carry out the conveyor 76.
Dropped on top and carried out.

The packaging material 6 may be any material such as a tray or a packaging container as long as it can package the food 2 without any inconvenience. Next, the operation of the vacuum cooling packaging system 1 having the above configuration will be described.

First, the food 2 immediately after being cooked is weighed and filled into the container 3 on the container circulation line 4 by the weighing and filling machine 10. Container 3 if there is a weight and foreign matter checker
The inside is checked, and if inconvenient, the container 3 is removed from the container circulation line 4. The inconvenient container 3 is successively transferred at the transfer portion 4a on the container circulation line 4 onto the holder 20 in the transfer zone S1 of the container of the vacuum cooling line 5. When the container 3 reaches the container sealing zone S2 together with the holder 20, the container 3 covers the container 38 with the lid 38 to seal the container. In this state, when the container 3 reaches the food vacuum cooling zone S3, a vacuum source is generated. The food 2 in the container 3 is vacuum-cooled by 24. At the time when the food 2 is near the target temperature, the container 3 reaches the air supply zone S4 of the container, and the air supply source
Aseptic air is supplied from the aseptic air source 25, and the pressure becomes almost the same as the external pressure. When the container 3 reaches the container open zone S5, the lid 38 is removed from the container 3 and opened by the lid device 21, and the container 3 is again opened in the container transfer zone S5.
When it reaches 1, it is delivered to the delivery site 4a on the container circulation line 4. Furthermore, the food 2 in the container 3 is moved by the charging machine 74 near the food charging portion 4b on the container circulation line 4.
It is placed in the packaging material 6 which is located in the loading zone P4 of the loading packaging line 7 and is held by the holding machine.

On the other hand, in the input packaging line 7, when the holding machine reaches the packaging bag supply zone P1, the packaging material 6 is supplied by the supply storage device 71, and the holding machine holds the packaging material 6,
In the printing zone P2, the packaging material 6 is printed by the printing machine 72, the packaging material 6 is opened by the suction part 73 in the open zone P3, and the food 2 is loaded into the packaging material 6 by the loading machine 74 in the loading zone P4 as described above. Then, the packaging material 6 is stabilized by the adjusting machine in the stabilization zones P5 and 6, the packaging material 6 is sealed by the sealing machine 75 in the sealing zone P7, and the delivery zone P8.
Then, the holding machine separates the packaging material 6 and carries it out as the final product by the conveyor 76.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the food 2 immediately after being cooked is put directly in the container 3, cooled in vacuum, and then the food 2 is put in the packaging material 6 for packaging.
However, as another embodiment, the adjusting and sealing machine 75 is removed from the above-described charging and packaging line 7, and the weighing and filling machine 10 is provided in place of the charging machine 74. The subsequent food 2 is put, and the packaging material 6 containing the opened food 2 is put into the container 3 on the container circulation line 4. In this state, the food 2 is vacuum-cooled by the vacuum cooling line 5, and the adjusting machine Also, after the above-mentioned input packaging line 7 remaining in the sealing machine 75 is used as a packaging line, the packaging material 6 containing the food 2 in the opened state is adjusted and stabilized by the adjusting machine and sealed by the sealing machine 75 in this packaging line. The result is the same even if the holding machine separates the packaging material 6 and carries it out as the final product by the conveyer conveyor 76. In this embodiment, there is almost no possibility that the food 2 will adhere to the container 3, and it is expected that the weight of the food 2 is insufficient and the process of washing and drying the container 3 is not necessary.

[0031]

As described in detail above, according to the vacuum cooling and packaging system of the present invention, the cooling and packaging work of food after cooking is automatically and continuously performed without human intervention, thus saving labor. Since there is almost no chance of contamination with germs, hygiene management is easy, there is no need for re-bacterial work, and finally there is no variation in the cooling time for each food contained in the packaging material. There are effects such as homogenization.

The same effect as described above can be obtained by first putting the cooked food in the packaging material, putting it in a container and sealing it, and vacuum cooling the packaging material in the opened state. In addition, since food does not adhere to the container,
There is an effect that the weight of food is insufficient and the process of washing and drying the container is unnecessary.

If a container washer, a weight checker, and a foreign matter checker are provided upstream and downstream of the food weighing and filling machine in the container circulation line, the capacity and quality of the food can be further guaranteed in addition to the above effects. It becomes possible to do.

Further, the vacuum cooling line is a container circulation moving section,
If it is composed of a lid control unit and a switching unit, it continuously receives the container circulating in the container circulation line, seals it,
Since it is vacuum-cooled, air-supplied, opened, and returned to the container circulation line, it is naturally possible for humans to take a long time in the vacuum-cooling zone, and it is necessary to make the vacuum source larger than necessary. Therefore, the food in the container can be efficiently vacuum-cooled.

When the air supply source is aseptic air, there is an effect that hygiene management is more complete.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a schematic configuration of a vacuum cooling packaging system of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a partially sectional side view showing a vacuum cooling line of the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a flowchart showing each process zone of the vacuum cooling line of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing a holder for holding the container of the vacuum cooling line of the present invention.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 vacuum cooling packaging system 2 food 3 container 4 container circulation line 5 vacuum cooling line 6 packaging material 7 input packaging line 20 holder 21 lid device 22 container circulation moving unit 23 lid control unit 24 vacuum source 25 air supply source 26 switching unit S1 Container transfer zone S2 Container seal zone S3 Food vacuum cooling zone S4 Container air supply zone S5 Container open zone

─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (58) Fields surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) B65B 61/00 B65B 61/08 A23L 1/00

Claims (5)

(57) [Claims] 1. A container circulation line having a plurality of containers for sequentially storing the cooked food and circulating the plurality of containers, and a container for receiving the containers sequentially containing the food from the container circulation line and sealing the container to seal the food. Vacuum cooling line to supply air to open the container and return it to the container circulation line, and a packaging line for sequentially receiving and cooling the vacuum-cooled food from the container on the container circulation line into the packaging material. And a vacuum cooling packaging system. 2. A container circulation line having a plurality of containers for putting the cooked food in a packaging material and sequentially containing the packaging material, and circulating the plurality of containers; and a container opening line sequentially opened from the container circulation line. After receiving the container containing the packaging material, hermetically sealing the container and sequentially cooling the food in vacuum, and then supplying air to open the container and return it to the container circulation line, a vacuum cooling line and a container on the container circulation line after vacuum cooling And a packaging line for sequentially receiving and packaging the packaging material containing the food, and a vacuum cooling packaging system. 3. The container circulation line is provided with a weighing and filling machine for food, a container washing machine is provided upstream thereof, and a weight and foreign matter checker is provided downstream of the weighing and filling machine.
Or the vacuum cooling packaging system according to 2. 4. The vacuum cooling line has a plurality of holders for holding containers and a lid device for opening and closing the containers on the holders corresponding to the plurality of holders. A closed zone, a vacuum cooling zone for food contained in the container, an air supply zone for the container, and a container circulation moving section for one cycle of the container opening zone; and the closed zone and the open zone of the container circulating movement section. 2. A lid control unit that operates the lid device on the container in FIG. 2; and a switching unit that connects the vacuum generation source and the air supply source in each container on the vacuum cooling zone and the air supply zone. Or the vacuum cooling packaging system according to 2. 5. The air supply source is sterile air.
The vacuum cooling packaging system described.