JP4961610B2 - Food drying method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a cold air drying method and apparatus for food containing fish, vegetables, etc., which can shorten the drying time and can easily set the drying atmosphere of the food to a desired temperature and humidity. Manufacturing is possible.

  Conventionally, when producing dried fish, it is dried by sunlight and natural wind by exposing the pre-treated fish body, such as removing scales and possibly salting, to the outdoors for a certain period of time. Thus, a so-called sun-dried manufacturing method for removing surface moisture is widely used. In sun-dried, in order to produce high-quality dried fish, the main conditions are a predetermined amount of sunlight, the atmospheric temperature, and the presence or absence of wind for water vaporization.

  For example, in the case of summer sun drying, although sufficient sunlight can be easily obtained, the atmospheric temperature is too high, so discoloration, odor, etc. are likely to occur and the quality is likely to deteriorate. In the sun drying, since the atmospheric temperature is low and the humidity is low, harmful microorganisms are reduced, and deterioration and deterioration due to abnormal fermentation are suppressed. Therefore, drying at a low temperature is efficiently performed, and high quality dried fish can be produced. By exposing to cold air and drying slowly over time, it is possible to remove as much water as necessary to condense the taste, thereby condensing fish flavor and fish flavor.

  However, traditional natural drying is inevitably affected by temperature and humidity, and is limited only to the time when the desired atmospheric temperature and the required sunshine hours are ensured. There was a problem that it was difficult to reliably produce dried fish of high quality. In addition, since fish are exposed to the outdoors, there is a problem that separate measures are required in terms of hygiene such as prevention of adhesion of foreign substances and germs in the air, and elimination of pests such as fly.

Conventionally, as an artificial method for producing dried fish by drying fish instead of sun-dried, for example, hot air drying, infrared drying, vacuum drying, dehumidifying cold air drying, and various combinations of these have been used. .
Of these, dehumidifying cold air drying is intended to produce high quality dried fish by simulating the environmental conditions of sun drying in the winter.

  Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-294896 discloses a cold air dryer. In conventional dehumidifying cold air drying, fish is placed on a storage shelf that is arranged in multiple stages on the top and bottom and made porous with a metal mesh or the like, and the storage shelf is stored in a drying chamber, and cold air is supplied from one direction between the storage shelves. A batch-type drying method of drying by flowing is employed. Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2001-103905 discloses a storage shelf used for such a drying process.

JP 11-294896 A JP 2001-103905 A

  However, in the conventional batch-type dehumidifying cold air drying, as shown in FIG. 12, the parallel flow of the dehumidifying cold air from one direction with respect to the fish body f placed on the storage shelf t composed of a wire net or the like in the drying chamber. c is supplied. In this case, since the dehumidified cool air c flows in one direction through the narrow gap between the storage shelves t, the amount of air hitting each fish f is reduced, so that the dehumidified cool air c does not sufficiently hit the surface of the fish f. Therefore, there is a problem that drying of each fish body f is difficult to promote.

  In addition, since the dehumidified cool air c flows from one direction, the more the dehumidified cool air c goes down, the more difficult the drying proceeds, which causes drying unevenness. In addition, since the storage shelves t are stacked in a vertical direction, drying unevenness also occurs in the vertical direction. Thus, in the conventional batch type dehumidification cold air drying, since drying efficiency is bad, there exists a problem that drying time becomes long and a drying nonuniformity generate | occur | produces.

  Furthermore, in the conventional batch type dehumidifying cold air drying, the temperature range in the drying chamber is set, and the dehumidifying cooling operation or the heating operation is repeated within the temperature range so that the temperature in the drying chamber is maintained within the set temperature range. Yes. For example, when the drying chamber is set to 25 ° C., if the room temperature reaches 23 ° C., the heating operation is performed to increase the room temperature, and if the room temperature reaches 27 ° C., the heating operation is stopped and dehumidification cooling is performed. Switching to driving. As described above, since the heating or cooling operation in the drying chamber is constantly repeated, it is difficult to obtain a constant temperature and humidity environment that is always set.

  In view of the problems of the prior art, the present invention solves the above-mentioned problems of the conventional batch-type dehumidifying cold air drying method, and improves the drying effect while maintaining the taste of foods including fish and vegetables. The purpose is to shorten the processing time. It is another object of the present invention to make it possible to form a uniform temperature and humidity environment in which a dry atmosphere around food is always set, thereby eliminating drying unevenness.

In order to achieve such an object, the method for drying a food of the present invention comprises:
In the method of drying foods that are dried by blowing cold air on the food,
A food is placed on a conveyor conveyer having a large number of ventilation holes on the conveyor surface, which is disposed through a drying chamber having a sealed space therein, and the food is conveyed into the drying chamber.
By colliding dehumidified cold air vertically from the nozzles disposed above and below the conveyor in the drying chamber toward the food, and forming a film of the dehumidified cold air on the upper and lower surfaces of the food,
The food is dried while being transported inside the drying chamber.

  The method of the present invention is not limited to fish, but can be applied to the entire food including vegetables. When the fish body is to be dried, the fish body that has been opened by pretreatment such as scale removal and salting in some cases is targeted. In the method of the present invention, fish bodies, vegetables, and other foods are placed on the transport conveyor and transported to the inside of a drying chamber that forms a sealed space. Inside the drying chamber, dehumidified cold air is collided in a vertical direction from nozzles disposed above and below the conveyor toward the food on the conveyor. This state is schematically shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the food f to be dried is transported in the direction of arrow b on a net-type transport conveyor s having a large number of vent holes. The dehumidified cold air is set to a low humidity, for example, a relative humidity of 30 to 35%.

The dehumidified cold air r sprayed in the vertical direction from the slit nozzle n or the like toward the food f on the conveyor s collides with the food f. And after a collision, it flows so that the surface of the food f may be licked, and the film | membrane R of the dehumidification cold air r is formed on the surface of the food f. After that, the dehumidified cold air r is discharged in the conveyance direction b of the food f or the direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction b. Since the conveyor s has a large number of air holes s ₁ such as a net type, for example, the dehumidified cold air r contacts the entire upper and lower surfaces of the food f. Therefore, dehumidification drying is promoted from the entire front and back surfaces of the food f.

For example, by arranging the slit nozzles n above and below the transport conveyor s in the width direction of the transport conveyor and providing each slit nozzle at a constant pitch along the transport direction of the transport conveyor s, the food f is always dehumidified cold air r. Therefore, a film of dehumidified cold air that is in close contact with the entire surface of the food f is formed. Therefore, drying of the food f is promoted and drying unevenness can be prevented.
Further, by adjusting the temperature and humidity of the dehumidified cold air r to an arbitrary temperature and humidity along the conveyance direction, the temperature and humidity environment in the drying chamber can always be made constant along the conveyance conveyor. Therefore, while maintaining the taste of food, the drying capacity can be improved and the drying process time can be shortened.

  In the method of the present invention, the temperature of the dehumidified cold air is preferably 10 to 40 ° C, and preferably 25 to 30 ° C. By setting the temperature of the dehumidified cold air to 40 ° C. or less, harmful microorganisms and the like are reduced, and alteration and decay due to abnormal fermentation are suppressed. For this reason, generation | occurrence | production of discoloration and an odor can be suppressed, and deterioration of quality can be prevented. Further, by setting the temperature of the dehumidifying cold air to 10 ° C. or higher, the drying capacity can be improved and the drying time can be shortened. Also, in this temperature range, enzymes, yeasts, etc. can be active enough, so the amino nitrogen and free amino acids, which are umami components, increase, and the same delicious dried fish as obtained by conventional sun drying Can be manufactured.

Further, in the method of the present invention, a refrigeration room or a freezing room is disposed adjacent to the drying room, or a refrigeration room or a freezing room is disposed adjacent to the drying room via a closed space, and food is transferred from the drying room to the refrigerating room or It is preferable to enable continuous conveyance without causing an increase in the temperature of food in the freezer compartment.
In this way, after the food is dried, it can be stored in a refrigerated or frozen state without causing an increase in the temperature of the food. Refrigerated storage is performed by maintaining the temperature in the refrigerator compartment at, for example, −2 to 8 ° C. Further, the temperature in the freezer compartment is kept at -20 ° C or lower, for example, -20 to -50 ° C for freezing.

  In this way, after the drying treatment, the food f can be stored in a cold storage or frozen without causing an increase in temperature, so that the food can be stored in a cold without causing harmful microorganisms and the like without causing alteration or spoilage. it can.

  Furthermore, in the method of the present invention, a plurality of conveyors are arranged in parallel at the same height in the drying chamber or arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and foods having different drying times are placed on each conveyor. By differentiating the conveying speeds of the conveyors, it is possible to simultaneously dry a plurality of types of foods having different drying times.

Further, in the method of the present invention, the nozzle for ejecting dehumidified cold air is formed into a chevron having a cross section that is tapered and has the same cross-sectional area as the ejection hole (n _{1 in} FIG. ₁ ) at the tip of the chevron. It is good to comprise d) of FIG. 1, and to comprise by the slit nozzle arrange | positioned in the width direction of a conveyance conveyor, and to arrange | position this slit nozzle in multiple rows along a conveyor conveyance direction.

  The reach of the dehumidified cold air can be increased by providing a running channel having a tapered cross-section and having the same cross-sectional area as the ejection hole at the tip of the chevron. Thereby, since the impact force of the impinging jet of dehumidified cold air hitting the food can be increased, the formation of the dehumidified cold air film on the food surface can be ensured and the food drying ability can be improved.

  Furthermore, in the method of the present invention, by adjusting the temperature or humidity of the dehumidified cold air along the transport direction of the transport conveyor, if the interior of the drying chamber is always maintained at the set temperature or humidity, It becomes easy to adjust temperature and humidity so that it may become constant along the conveyance direction of a conveyance conveyor.

  Therefore, unlike the conventional batch type cold air drying, it is not necessary to repeat the heating operation and the cooling operation to adjust to the set temperature. Therefore, the atmosphere in the drying chamber can be maintained in a constant temperature and humidity environment that is always set, thereby shortening the drying time. In addition, depending on the type of food, the temperature or humidity can be given a gradient from the upstream side to the downstream side of the conveyor. That is, it is possible to make a downward trend, an upward trend, or a vertical trend from the entrance to the exit of the conveyor.

In addition, the food drying apparatus of the present invention,
In a food drying equipment that blows cold air on food to dry it,
It consists of a dehumidified cold air forming unit that forms dehumidified cold air for food drying, and a drying chamber that forms a sealed space inside,
A transport conveyor that transports food to the drying chamber and has a large number of vent holes on the surface of the conveyor passes through, and the dehumidified cool air formed by the dehumidified cool air forming unit is disposed above and below the transport conveyor inside the drying chamber. The dehumidified cold air is collided in the vertical direction toward the food from the formed nozzle, and a film of the dehumidified cold air is formed on the upper and lower surfaces of the food.

  In the apparatus according to the present invention, since the conveyor has a large number of air holes, the dehumidified cold air contacts the entire upper and lower surfaces of the food. Therefore, dehumidification drying is promoted from the entire front and back surfaces of the food. Further, since the food is transported while forming a film of the dehumidified cold air on the upper and lower surfaces, drying unevenness does not occur. Accordingly, it is possible to improve the drying ability and shorten the drying process time while maintaining the taste of the food, which is a feature of cold air drying.

According to the method of the present invention, in a method for drying a food that is dried by blowing cold air on the food,
A food is placed on a conveyor conveyer having a large number of ventilation holes on the conveyor surface, which is disposed through a drying chamber having a sealed space therein, and the food is conveyed into the drying chamber.
By colliding dehumidified cold air vertically from the nozzles disposed above and below the conveyor in the drying chamber toward the food, and forming a film of the dehumidified cold air on the upper and lower surfaces of the food,
Since the food is dried while being transported inside the drying chamber, the drying capacity can be improved and the drying time can be shortened compared with the conventional batch type cold air drying, and the food is placed and transported. The temperature and humidity conditions in the drying chamber can be easily set.

  As a result, the atmosphere surrounding the food can be set to a constant temperature and humidity environment, so that the drying time can be shortened and the temperature and humidity conditions are appropriately set to produce delicious dried fish similar to conventional sun-dried foods. be able to.

According to the apparatus of the present invention, in the food drying apparatus for drying by blowing cold air on the food,
It consists of a dehumidifying / cooling air forming unit that forms dehumidifying / cooling air for food drying and a drying chamber that forms a sealed space inside, and passes through the transport conveyor that transports food into the drying chamber and has a large number of vent holes on the conveyor surface. The dehumidified cool air formed by the dehumidified cool air forming unit in the drying chamber is collided with the dehumidified cool air vertically from the nozzles disposed above and below the conveyor toward the food, and the upper and lower surfaces of the food By forming the film of the dehumidified cold air in the same manner, the same effect as the method of the present invention can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative arrangements, and the like of the component parts described in this embodiment are not intended to limit the scope of the present invention to that unless otherwise specified.

(Embodiment 1)
Next, a first embodiment in which the present invention is applied to fish body drying will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 2 is an overall configuration diagram of the dehumidifying cold air drying apparatus according to the present embodiment. In FIG. 2, the dehumidifying cold air drying apparatus of the present embodiment includes an outdoor heat source unit 10 installed outdoors, and a dryer unit 20 and a conveyance unit 30 installed indoors. The outdoor heat source unit 10 includes a heat pump device 11 that uses NH ₃ as a heat exchange medium and a hermetic cooling tower 12.

In the heat pump device 11, water used as brine in an evaporator (not shown) is heat-exchanged with NH ₃ to obtain cold water, and cold water is supplied to the cooling / dehumidifying coil 24 of the dryer unit 20 through a pipe line 13 provided with a pump 13a. Supply. In the cooling and dehumidifying coil 24, the exhausted cold air a after being subjected to the drying of the fish is subjected to heat exchange with the cold water to cool and dehumidify the exhausted cold air a. The cold water after heat exchange with the exhaust cooling air a is returned to the heat pump device 11 via the pipe line 14.

  Further, heat is exchanged with water used as brine in a condenser (not shown) in the heat pump device 11, the water is heated to warm water, and the warm water is heated by the heating coil 22 of the dryer unit 20 via the pipe lines 15a and 15b. To supply. The hot water is subjected to heating of the dehumidified cold air by the heating coil 22, and then returned to the heat pump device 11 through the pipe line 17. A three-way valve 16 is provided in the pipe line 15a, and hot water unnecessary for the heating coil 22 is sent to the hermetic cooling tower 12 through the pipe line 15c.

  In the hermetic cooling tower 12, the hot water supplied via the pipe line 15c is cooled in an auxiliary manner. The hot water sent to the heating coil 22 is subjected to heating of dehumidified cold air and then returned to the heat pump device 11 via the pipe line 17. The water returned from the heating coil 22 via the pipe line 17 and the water cooled by the hermetic cooling tower 12 and returned via the pipe line 18 merge in the pipe line 19, and are pumped by a pump 19 a provided in the pipe line 19. It returns to the evaporator (not shown) of the heat pump device 11. With this configuration, the amount of hot water supplied to the heating coil 22 can be adjusted according to the required amount of heat in the longitudinal direction of the heating coil 22.

  In the drier unit 20, the exhausted cold air a used for drying the fish body f is first cooled and dehumidified by exchanging heat with cold water sent from the heat pump device 11 by the cooling and dehumidifying coil 24. Normally, the desiccant dehumidifying unit 23 is not required. However, when an environment with lower humidity and lower temperature than normal is required, the desiccant air a cooled and dehumidified by the cooling and dehumidifying coil 24 is further reduced by the desiccant dehumidifying unit 23. Dehumidify.

Thereafter, the exhaust cool air a is heat-dried by exchanging heat with hot water sent from the heat pump device 11 by the heating coil 22, and further heated by the auxiliary heater 21 as necessary to be adjusted to the set temperature and humidity. . Here, the cool air a is adjusted to 10 to 40 ° C. and the relative humidity is 35% or less, and is sent to the transport unit 30 as dehumidified cold air r.

  The transport unit 30 is provided with a drying chamber 31 sealed from the outside, and a transport conveyor 32 is provided through the drying chamber 31. The fish body f is placed on the transport conveyor 32 outside the drying chamber 31, and the fish body f is transported from the entrance of the drying chamber 31 to the inside by the transport conveyor 32. The dehumidified cold air r is applied to the fish f being transported in the drying chamber 31 from the vertical direction.

  3 is a perspective view showing the inside of the transport unit 30, FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the inside of the transport unit 30 from another angle, and FIG. 5 is a part of the transport unit 30 showing the flow of the dehumidified cold air c injected. It is a perspective view shown. 3-5, the drying chamber 31 which comprises the conveyance unit 30 is preferably comprised with the heat insulating wall. The drying chamber 31 is sealed except for an inlet opening and an outlet opening (not shown) through which the mesh belt 33 constituting the transfer surface of the transfer conveyor 32 enters and exits, and forms a sealed space in which the dehumidified cool air r circulates.

  The mesh belt 33 is made of, for example, a wire mesh and has a large number of pores through which cold air can pass. The fan 34 is attached to the frame 31 a at the upper part in the drying chamber 31. The dehumidified cool air r is supplied from the dryer unit 20 to the inside of the drying chamber 31 through the opening 35 provided in the partition wall of the drying chamber 31 by the driving force of the fan 34. An upper nozzle unit 36 is provided above the mesh belt 33, and a plurality of upper slit nozzles 36a are integrally formed in the upper nozzle unit 36. The mesh belt 33, the upper nozzle unit 36, and the like are supported by a support column 37.

  A vertical frame 38 is mounted between the columns 37, and a plurality of upper nozzle units 36 are placed on the vertical frame 38. The upper nozzle unit 36 is not fixed to the vertical frame 38 but is placed so as to be lifted with respect to the vertical frame 38. A lower nozzle unit 39 is provided at a lower position through which the mesh belt 33 passes. Similar to the upper nozzle unit 36, a plurality of lower slit nozzles 39 a are integrally formed in the lower nozzle unit 39 and supported by the horizontal frame 41 supported by the support column 37.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a plurality of upper and lower nozzle units 36 and 39 are arranged in the transporting direction of the mesh belt 33 at the upper and lower positions of the mesh belt 33 in the drying chamber 31, so that a large number of upper and lower slits are provided. The nozzles 36 a and 39 a are arranged in parallel along the entire width direction of the mesh belt 33 and are arranged in multiple stages along the conveying direction of the mesh belt 33. The cold air ejection holes of the upper and lower slit nozzles 36 a and 39 a are directed to the mesh belt 33.

  As shown in FIG. 6, the upper and lower slit nozzles 36 a and 39 a have chevron shapes 36 b and 39 b having a tapered cross section, and a running duct d having the same cross-sectional area as the ejection holes 36 c and 39 c is provided at the tip of the chevron portion. ing. As a result, the reach distance of the dehumidifying cold air r ejected from the ejection holes 36c, 39c can be increased. Therefore, the pressing force of the dehumidified cold air r that strikes the fish body f can be increased, and the dehumidified cold air r that impinges on the fish body f can be further adhered to the surface of the fish body f, so that the drying ability can be enhanced.

  In the present invention, the upper and lower slit nozzles 36a and 39a may have an opening continuous in the width direction of the mesh belt 33, or form the air curtain according to the type of the fish f, or the width of the mesh belt 33 You may make it arrange | position an ejection hole intermittently to a direction.

  Ducts 42 are alternately arranged on both sides of the mesh belt 33 with the vertical frame 38, and an opening 42 a of the duct 42 opens upward at the same height as the vertical frame 38. The dehumidified cold air r is directed toward the upper nozzle unit 36 by the fan 34 as indicated by an arrow. A part of the dehumidified cool air r is introduced into the duct 42 from the opening 42 a of the duct 42 and is introduced into the duct 43 disposed below the lower nozzle unit 39. Thereafter, the fish body f is jetted upward from the lower slit nozzle 39 a toward the lower surface of the mesh belt 33, and the fish body f is cooled from the lower surface of the mesh belt 33.

  In this embodiment, since the mesh belt 33 is made of steel having a good heat transfer rate, the heat transfer rate of the cold air of the dehumidified cold air r is good, and the mesh belt 33 is rapidly cooled by the dehumidified cold air r, so that the fish f The cooling effect can be enhanced.

  In this embodiment having such a configuration, as shown in FIG. 5, the fish body f is placed on the mesh belt 33 inside the drying chamber 31 and moved in the direction of the arrow b. On the other hand, the dehumidified cold air r is directed to the upper nozzle unit 36 by the fan 34 as shown by the arrows in FIG. 3 or FIG. 4, and is ejected from the upper slit nozzle 36a toward the fish body f of the mesh belt 33 in the vertical direction. Cool the fish body f. A part of the dehumidifying cold air r is introduced into the opening 42a of the duct 42, and is ejected from the duct 42 through the duct 43 and the lower slit nozzle 39a to the lower surface of the mesh belt 33 from the ejection hole 39c of the lower slit nozzle 39a. To do.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the dehumidifying cold air r that collides with the upper and lower surfaces of the fish body f flows so as to lick the entire surface of the fish body f by the Coanda effect, and then, as shown in FIG. 5, the upper and lower slit nozzles 36a and 39a Through the concave portion (exhaust passage) 44 formed between the two sides of the mesh belt 33. Thereafter, the exhaust cool air a returns to the dryer unit 20 through the opening 45 provided in the partition wall of the drying chamber 31.

  According to this embodiment, the flow is rectified by the upper and lower slit nozzles 36a, 39a having the run-up pipeline d having the same cross-sectional area as the ejection holes 36c, 39c formed at the tip of the mountain-shaped portion with a tapered section. Since the dehumidified cold air r having a directionality in the flow and having a long reach distance h collides with the fish body f in the vertical direction, the fish body f is brought into close contact with the surface of the fish body f over the entire length of the fish body f by the Coanda effect. A stable thin film flow R (see FIG. 1) can be formed. Therefore, the dehumidifying effect of the fish body f can be made extremely good, and the drying effect of the fish body f can be improved.

  Further, after supplying the dehumidified cold air r to the upper space in the drying chamber 31 and ejecting it to the fish body f through the upper slit nozzle 36a, it is discharged to the exhaust passage 44 arranged in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction of the mesh belt 33, A part of the dehumidified cold air r is introduced into the lower slit nozzle 39a through the ducts 42 provided on both sides of the mesh belt 33, and is ejected from below to the fish body f and then discharged to the exhaust passage 44. By forming such a circulation path of the dehumidifying cold air r, the mesh belt can be smoothly passed without disturbing the dehumidifying cold air r and the atmosphere around the fish body f which is discharged from the fish body f after being discharged to the fish body f. It is discharged from around 33.

  Further, the exhaust path 44 for the exhaust cooling air a is formed in parallel in the concave portion between the upper and lower slit nozzles 36a and 39a toward the side of the mesh belt 33, so that the formation of the exhaust path 44 obstructs the arrangement of the upper and lower slit nozzles. There is no longer to do. Therefore, there is an advantage that injection of the dehumidified cool air r onto the fish body f and discharge of the exhaust cool air a can be performed while reducing pressure loss as much as possible.

  In addition, since the upper and lower nozzle units 36 and 39, each of which is formed by integrating a plurality of slit nozzles 36a and 39a, are arranged, it becomes very easy to manufacture and attach the slit nozzle. Furthermore, by placing the upper nozzle unit 36 on a vertical frame 38 provided on both sides of the mesh belt 33 so that it can be lifted, the upper nozzle unit 36 can be removed during cleaning and other maintenance inspections. There is an advantage that it becomes easy.

  In the present embodiment, the dehumidifying cold air r set at the same temperature and humidity in the drying chamber 31 is used. However, the dehumidifying cold air r having a different temperature or humidity is jetted for each nozzle unit so as to be conveyed. You may make it vary the temperature or humidity of the dehumidification cold wind r injected along a direction. For example, a relatively high temperature and high humidity dehumidified cold air r is jetted on the inlet side of the drying chamber 31 to form a low temperature and low humidity dehumidified cold air r toward the outlet side, and the temperature and humidity are gradient along the conveying direction. The fish body f can be uniformly dried from the surface to the inside. As a result, dried fish with a taste that does not cause cracks on the surface can be produced.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 7, the refrigerator compartment or freezer compartment 50 is provided in the conveyance direction downstream of the conveyance unit 30. As shown in FIG. A closed space 51 is formed between the transport unit 30 and the refrigerator compartment or freezer compartment 50, and the inside of the closed space 51 is maintained in a temperature and humidity state similar to that in the drying chamber 31. The fish body f that has been dried by the transport unit 30 is transported to the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment 50 while being placed on the transport conveyor 32.

  At that time, since the closed space 51 is formed between the transport unit 30 and the refrigerator compartment or the freezer compartment 50, the temperature of the fish f dried by the transport unit 30 is not increased, and the refrigerator compartment is continuously provided. Or it can convey to the freezer compartment 50. Therefore, after the drying treatment, the fish f can be stored in a refrigerated or frozen state without increasing harmful microorganisms and the like without causing alteration or spoilage. In this embodiment, by using water as the brine, it is possible to install an ice heat storage system that produces ice at night, and a system that produces cold water and cold seawater. Moreover, it is possible to manufacture (heat storage) the internal washing water of the drying unit 20 using the warm (warm) side.

(Embodiment 2)
Next, a second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 8, in this embodiment, three sets of transfer conveyors 61 to 63 are arranged in parallel with respect to the transfer unit 30. The required time for drying the fish body to be dried varies depending on the fish species or the fat content of the raw material added during the pretreatment. The conveyor 61 is a conveyor having a large conveying speed, and a fish f having a short drying time is placed on the conveyor 61. The conveyance conveyor 62 is a conveyor having a medium conveyance speed, and a fish f having a middle drying time is placed here. The conveyor 63 is a conveyor having a small conveying speed, and a fish f having a long drying time is placed on the conveyor 63.

  With this configuration, it is possible to simultaneously dry a plurality of types of fish f having different drying times, so that the entire drying time can be shortened.

(Embodiment 3)
Next, a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This embodiment shows embodiment which has arrange | positioned several conveyance conveyor to the up-down direction. In FIG. 9, four stages of conveyors 71 a to 71 d are arranged in the vertical direction inside the conveyor unit 30. The upper and lower nozzle units used in the first embodiment are arranged at the upper and lower positions of these conveyors, and are configured to blow a collision jet of dehumidified cold air r from the upper and lower directions on each conveyor.

  An input stock roller conveyor 72 is disposed upstream of the transport unit 30. The feeding stock roller conveyor 72 includes four stages of roller conveyors 73a to 73d fixed to the support frame 74 in the vertical direction. The conveyor surfaces of the respective roller conveyors are arranged at the same height as the conveyor surfaces of the transport conveyors 71a to 71d, and the fish bodies f placed on the respective roller conveyors 73a to 73d via the tray 79 are transport conveyors in the transport unit 30. 71a-d can be changed.

  A discharge stock roller conveyor 75 is disposed on the downstream side of the transport unit 30. The discharge stock roller conveyor 75 is also composed of four stages of roller conveyors 76a to 76d fixed to the support frame 77 in the vertical direction. The conveyor surfaces of the roller conveyors are arranged at the same height as the conveyor surfaces of the conveyors 71a to 71d, and the fish f dried by the conveyors 71a to 71d is transferred to the roller conveyors 76a to 76d. It is carried out of the transport unit 30.

  Also in the present embodiment, as in the second embodiment, since multiple types of fish f having different drying times can be simultaneously dried, the overall drying time can be shortened. In FIG. 9, one-dot oblique lines 78a to 78c are doors for batch processing. When you want to dry the fish body f in batch mode, open any of the doors 78a to 78c, move the tray 79 on which the fish body f is placed in the left-right direction (perpendicular to the paper), and transfer the fish body f to the transport unit. Take out 30.

(Embodiment 4)
Next, a fourth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 10, in this embodiment, an indoor dryer unit 80 and an outdoor heat source unit 90 are provided. The indoor dryer unit 80 includes a dryer unit 81 and a transport unit 82. The dryer unit 81 is provided with a cooling / dehumidifying coil 83 and a heating coil 84. The cooling air dehumidified a that has been used for drying the fish f by the transport unit 82 is cooled and dehumidified by the cooling / dehumidifying coil 83, and then heated by the heating coil 84. Thus, the dehumidified cold air r is produced, and this dehumidified cold air r is returned to the transport unit 82 by the fan 85.

  In the transport unit 82, transport conveyors 86 for placing and transporting the fish f are arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction. The dehumidified cold air r passes through the duct 87 and is jetted from the nozzle unit 89 to the fish body f through the duct 88 disposed at the upper and lower positions of the transport conveyor 86.

The outdoor heat source unit 90 includes a heat pump device 91 using NH ₃ as a heat exchange medium, a hermetic cooling tower 92, an ice heat storage tank or cold water (seawater) tank 93, and a hot water tank 94. Water as a brine cooled by the heat pump device 91 is discharged to a pipe line 95a provided with a pump 96, and supplied to the cooling and dehumidifying coil 83 through a three-way valve 97 and a pipe line 95b. Then, the cooling dehumidification coil 83 exchanges heat with the exhaust cooling air a to cool and dehumidify the exhaust cooling air a, and then returns to the heat pump device 91 through the pipes 98a and 98b.

  The hot water heated by the heat pump device 91 is discharged to the pipe 99a and supplied to the heating coil 84 through the three-way valve 101 and the pipe 99b. The heat coil 84 heat-exchanges the exhaust cool air a to heat the exhaust cool air a, and then passes through the conduit 106 in which the conduit 102, the three-way valve 103, the conduit 104, the three-way valve 105, and the pump 107 are interposed. Return to device 91. A part of the hot water is supplied from the three-way valve 101 to the hermetic cooling tower 92 through the pipe line 99c, and is cooled by the hermetic cooling tower 92 in an auxiliary manner. Thereby, the flow rate of the hot water supplied to the heating coil 84 can be adjusted according to the required heat amount of the heating coil 84. The hot water cooled by the hermetic cooling tower 92 is returned to the heat pump device 91 through the pipes 108, 104 and 106.

  A part of the cold water discharged from the heat pump device 91 to the pipe line 95a is sent to the ice heat storage tank or the cold water (seawater) tank 93 via the branch pipe line 95c, and the cold heat of the ice heat storage tank or the cold water (seawater) tank 93 is supplied. Served as a source. The cold water after being provided as a cold heat source for the ice heat storage tank or the cold water (seawater) tank 93 is returned from the pipe line 95d to the pipe line 98a. A part of the hot water discharged from the heating coil 22 to the pipe line 102 is supplied from the three-way valve 103 through the pipe line 109 to the hot water tank 94 and is used as a heat source for the hot water tank 94. The hot water supplied to the heat source of the hot water tank 94 is returned from the hot water tank 94 to the heat pump device 91 via the pipe line 110.

According to this embodiment, the cold heat of the water used as the brine of the heat pump device 91 is supplied to the cold heat source of the ice heat storage tank or the cold water (seawater) tank 93, and the cold water stored in the ice heat storage tank or the cold water (seawater) tank 93 is used. From the pipe line 111, it can be supplied to charged water, air conditioning equipment in the factory, or the like.
Moreover, 40 degreeC warm water can be made in the warm water tank 94 with the heat | fever of the warm water used as a brine of the heat pump apparatus 91, and this warm water can be used as washing | cleaning water, a heat source for thawing | decompression, etc.

  Next, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. This example was performed using the apparatus of the first embodiment of the present invention. As a comparative example, batch type cold air drying was performed by placing a storage shelf in a drying chamber and performing a drying process. The result is shown in FIG. In FIG. 11, in the method of the present invention, the dehumidifying cold air r of 10 ° C. and 25 ° C. was used, but in the case of using the dehumidifying cold air r of 25 ° C., the drying time was ¼ to It can be shortened to 1/5.

  In addition, it was found that the drying time can be shortened to ½ in the method of the present invention even when the dehumidifying cold air r of 10 ° C. is used compared to the conventional method. Therefore, in the present invention, it was found that the dehumidifying ability is high even at a low temperature of 10 ° C. cold air.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, the drying process of the whole foodstuff including a fish body, vegetables, etc. can be performed continuously in a short time, and the production efficiency of a dried product can be improved. Further, drying unevenness can be eliminated, and dried fish with the same taste as conventional sun-dried can be produced.

It is a schematic diagram which shows the behavior of the dehumidification cold air of this invention. 1 is an overall configuration diagram of a drying apparatus according to a first embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view which shows the inside of the conveyance unit 30 of the said 1st Embodiment. It is a perspective view which shows the inside of the conveyance unit 30 of the said 1st Embodiment from another angle. It is a perspective view which shows a part of conveyance unit 30 which concerns on the said 1st Embodiment, and shows the flow of the injected dehumidification cold wind c. It is sectional drawing of the conveyance conveyor 32 vicinity of the said 1st Embodiment. FIG. 2 is a plan view arrangement view of the entire apparatus along the conveyor 32 of the first embodiment. It is a planar view layout drawing of the whole apparatus concerning a 2nd embodiment of the present invention. It is a front view of the drying device concerning a 3rd embodiment of the present invention. It is a whole block diagram of the drying apparatus which concerns on 4th Embodiment of this invention. It is a diagram which shows the Example of this invention. It is a schematic diagram which shows the drying process of a conventional system.

Explanation of symbols

10, 90 Outdoor heat source unit 11, 91 Heat pump device 20, 81 Dryer unit (dehumidifying cold air forming unit)
22, 84 Heating coil (second heat exchanger)
24, 83 Cooling dehumidification coil (first heat exchanger)
30, 82 Conveyance unit 31 Drying chamber 32, 61-63, 71a-d Conveyor 33 Mesh belt 36a Upper slit nozzle 36b, 39b Yamagata 39a Lower slit nozzle 36c, 39c Ejection hole 50 Refrigeration room or freezer room 51 Closed space 93 Ice storage tank or cold water (seawater) tank 94 Hot water tank d Run-up pipeline f Fish (food)
n ₁ ejection hole r Dehumidified cold air R Dehumidified cold air film s Conveyor s ₁ Air hole

Claims (10)

In the method of drying foods that are dried by blowing cold air on the food,
A food is placed on a conveyor conveyer having a large number of ventilation holes on the conveyor surface, which is disposed through a drying chamber having a sealed space therein, and the food is conveyed into the drying chamber.
By colliding dehumidified cold air vertically from the nozzles disposed above and below the conveyor in the drying chamber toward the food, and forming a film of the dehumidified cold air on the upper and lower surfaces of the food,
A method for drying food, wherein the food is dried while being transported inside the drying chamber.   The food drying method according to claim 1, wherein the food is a fish body that has been pretreated and opened.   The method for drying a food according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dehumidified cold air has a temperature of 10 to 40 ° C. A refrigeration room or a freezing room is disposed adjacent to the drying room, or a refrigeration room or a freezing room is disposed adjacent to the drying room via a closed space,
2. The method for drying food according to claim 1, wherein the food can be continuously conveyed from the drying chamber to the refrigerator compartment or freezer chamber without causing an increase in temperature of the food.   A plurality of conveyors are arranged in parallel at the same height in the drying chamber or arranged in multiple stages in the vertical direction, and foods with different drying times are placed on each conveyor and the conveyance speed of each conveyor The method for drying a food according to claim 1, wherein a plurality of foods having different drying times are simultaneously dried by differentiating them.   The nozzle is a slit nozzle formed in a chevron with a tapered cross section and a running channel having the same cross-sectional area as the ejection hole at the tip of the chevron, and arranged in the width direction of the conveyor, 2. The method for drying food according to claim 1, wherein the slit nozzles are arranged in a plurality of rows along the conveyor conveyance direction.   The temperature or humidity of the dehumidifying cold air is adjusted along the conveying direction of the conveying conveyor so that the interior of the drying chamber is always maintained at the set temperature or humidity. Food drying method. In a food drying equipment that blows cold air on food to dry it,
It consists of a dehumidified cold air forming unit that forms dehumidified cold air for food drying, and a drying chamber that forms a sealed space inside,
Nozzles that transport foods to the drying chamber and have a transport conveyor having a large number of vent holes on the conveyor surface, and have dehumidified cold air formed by a dehumidifying cold air forming unit inside the drying chamber disposed above and below the conveyor A food drying apparatus characterized in that dehumidified cold air is collided in the vertical direction from the food to the food to form films of dehumidified cold air on the upper and lower surfaces of the food. A first heat exchanger that cools and dehumidifies the exhaust air after the dehumidification / cooling air forming unit has dried the food in the drying chamber, and a second heat exchanger that heats the exhaust air that is cooled and dehumidified by the heat exchanger. Prepared,
The food drying apparatus according to claim 8, further comprising a heat pump device that supplies the refrigerant body to the first heat exchanger and supplies a heat medium to the second heat exchanger.   An ice heat storage tank and a hot water tank are provided, and a part of the stored cold heat of the refrigerant body is provided as a cold heat source of the ice heat storage tank, and a part of the heat storage medium is provided to the heat source of the hot water tank. The food drying apparatus according to claim 9.

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