JP6427612B2 - Freshness holding device such as agricultural products - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a freshness holding apparatus for agricultural products and the like.

  Conventionally, it is important to maintain the freshness of harvested florets, fruits and vegetables (hereinafter, also simply referred to as agricultural products and the like) in storage conditions such as storage and distribution, in order not to reduce commercial value.

  In general, agricultural products and the like after harvest begin to suffer from respiratory degradation due to nutrient consumption accompanying respiration immediately after harvest, rotative degradation due to growth of microorganisms, and dry degradation due to a decrease in water content due to transpiration of water.

  Among the deterioration factors such as agricultural products etc., respiratory deterioration and rot deterioration can be suppressed as much as possible by low temperature management in a storage cabinet such as a refrigerator or refrigerator, while drying deterioration is caused by the reduction of humidity due to the low temperature environment inside the cabinet. There was a problem of being exacerbated rather than being exposed to dry air.

  In order to solve the problem of such drying deterioration, it is equipped with a water tank at the lower part of the humidifier body and a blower for blowing air to the surface of the stored water in the water tank, and the humidification usable in the storage An apparatus has been proposed (see, for example, Patent Document 1).

  According to this humidifying device, under low temperature conditions (about 0 to 40 ° C.), the energizing air taken from the outside of the humidifying device by the blower is brought into contact with the water surface of the stored water in the water tank to evaporate and evaporate the water. High humidity by replacing it with humid air with relative humidity of 90% or more, preventing dry deterioration of agricultural products etc without condensation and frost generation, and maintaining freshness of agricultural products etc over a long period of time It is supposed to be possible.

JP 2008-275301

  However, in the conventional humidifier, the contact area between water and air is limited due to the structure in which the energizing air by the blower is in direct contact with the water surface of the stored water in the water tank, and the humid air per humidifier unit is limited. The amount of production was reduced.

  As a result, in the conventional humidifier, it takes a long time to spread the moist air to every corner of the storage in a relatively large capacity and sealed storage, and in a short time, the entire storage is highly humidified It was difficult to make the atmosphere.

  Furthermore, it takes a long time to recover the humidity that was lost to the outside of the storage room due to the opening and closing operation of the door of the storage room accompanying storage work and removal work of agricultural products etc. frequently performed and the operation of the cooler. Maintaining the high humidity atmosphere was unstable.

  Therefore, it was not possible to say that the conventional humidifying device solved the problem of drying deterioration of agricultural products etc. by eroding the freshness holding period of the stored agricultural products etc. for the reasons as described above.

  The present invention has been made in view of such circumstances, and provides saturated steam to dry air in a storage unit to generate a large amount of saturated steam-containing air having a relative humidity of 95% or more and 100% or less. While being able to fill the inside of the storage with saturated water vapor-containing air in a relatively short time to create a high-humidity atmosphere, it is possible to stably maintain the same high-humidity atmosphere, and maintain freshness of agricultural products etc. for a long time Provide a device that can

In order to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems, the present invention communicates storage room for agricultural products etc. with saturated steam generation chamber, cools the storage chamber to 0 to 15 ° C., and saturated steam generation chamber has a predetermined space A case, a water tank provided at the bottom of the case, an air intake hole formed on one surface of the case for sucking air out of the case, and an air formed on the other surface of the case for flowing air in the case into the storage chamber Water discharge provided for water supply to the nonwoven fabric block disposed above the porous nonwoven fabric block and the porous nonwoven fabric block sealed and attached to the air suction hole, the fan provided in the air discharge hole, the air discharge hole It consists of a pipe and a circulating pipe for supplying water from the water tank to the watering pipe through a pump. Furthermore, the porous non-woven block folds the strip-like porous non-woven fabric in the left and right longitudinal direction, Filter ridges of a mountain fold ridge line portion disposed upstream of the air flow direction by connecting wires sewn along the zigzag surface of the high-quality non-woven fabric and filters of a valley fold ridge line portion disposed downstream of the air flow direction The zig-zag shape consisting of valleys is maintained to form a volume of 10 to 20% of the space in the case, and the folded end face of the porous non-woven fabric block is disposed at the top to be located on the upper end face As a sprinkling receiving surface from a sprinkling pipe , and further, the porous nonwoven fabric block is formed of a first porous nonwoven fabric block and a second porous nonwoven fabric block which are arranged two by two in the air flow direction. The non-woven fabric block and the second porous non-woven fabric block are arranged such that the filter ridges and the filter valleys face each other with their phases being shifted as they are. Between the respective non-woven fabric blocks to form a substantially similar shape to the shape of the porous non-woven fabric block and to form an air-blowing void space in a serpentine shape in plan view, the first porous non-woven fabric block being in contact with dry air As the quick-drying filter unit that evaporates the absorbed water relatively quickly to generate moist air, the air-blowing gap space passes the first porous nonwoven fabric block and generates the moist air as the second porous nonwoven fabric block The second porous non-woven fabric block is used as a flow path for focusing in the filter valley portion of the second porous non-woven fabric block as a slow-drying filter portion that generates relatively saturated steam containing air by relatively gently evaporating water absorbed by contacting wet air. It is intended to provide a freshness holding device for agricultural products and the like characterized in that they function .

Moreover, the freshness holding | maintenance apparatus of the agricultural products etc. which concern on this invention has the characteristics also in the following points.
(2) The porous non-woven fabric is composed of hydrophobic fibers that allow water spray from the water spray pipe to adhere to the surface thereof and hydrophilic fibers that absorb and retain water spray from the water spray pipe.
(3) In the porous non-woven fabric, the compounding ratio of the hydrophilic fiber to the hydrophobic fiber is such that the hydrophobic fiber is compounded more in the vicinity of the filter peak than the hydrophilic fiber, and the hydrophilic fiber is in the vicinity of the filter valley To be blended more than hydrophobic fibers.

According to the present invention, the storage room for produce etc. and the saturated steam generation room are communicated, the storage room is cooled to 0 to 15 ° C., and the saturated steam generation room is provided in the case having a predetermined space and the case bottom. A water tank, an air intake hole formed on one surface of the case for drawing air outside the case into the case, an air discharge hole formed on the other surface of the case for flowing the air in the case into the storage chamber, an air discharge hole A porous non-woven block tightly attached to the air suction hole, a water-spraying pipe disposed above the porous non-woven block to supply water to the non-woven block, and a pump The porous non-woven fabric block is a strip of porous non-woven fabric folded in a zigzag shape in the left and right longitudinal direction, and the porous non-woven fabric block is formed on the zigzag surface of the same porous non-woven fabric. A zig-zag consisting of a filter ridge of a mountain fold ridge line portion disposed upstream of the air in the flow direction by a connecting wire sewn together and a filter valley of a valley fold ridge line portion disposed downstream of the air flow. The shape is maintained, and it is formed to have a volume of 10 to 20% of the space in the case, and the folded end face of the porous non-woven fabric block is disposed at the upper position, and the upper end face portion is watered from the watering pipe Since the receiving surface is used, saturated steam can be generated by applying saturated steam to dry air in the store to set relative humidity to 95% or more and 100% or less, and a large amount of saturated steam-containing air can be generated. While being filled with saturated steam-containing air to provide a high humidity atmosphere, the same high humidity atmosphere can be stably maintained, and freshness of agricultural products etc. can be maintained for a long time.

  Water sprinkling from the water sprinkling pipe is sprinkled on the sprinkling receiving surface of the nonwoven fabric of the porous nonwoven fabric block, drips the gap formed by the zigzag shape of the porous nonwoven fabric, or flows down along the nonwoven fabric surface It is absorbed and absorbed into the interstitial spaces in the single wall thickness of the porous nonwoven fabric. Also, water is retained in the non-woven fabric of the porous non-woven block, and the overflowing water is drained from the lower end face of the porous non-woven block.

  Thus, when the moisture held in the porous nonwoven fabric block comes in contact with the air from the outside of the case, the moisture is vaporized when the air passes through the porous nonwoven fabric block, and the humidity of the air in the case is increased.

  At this time, the humidity caused by the vaporization of water is kept at about 0 to 15 ° C., which is the same as the humidity in the case and the storage room for agricultural products etc. It is possible to maintain

  That is, saturated water vapor does not condense and water droplets do not form, so that the water droplets do not stick to produce etc. in the storage room, while the atmospheric humidity of about 0-15 ° C prevents respiration of produce etc., ie water transpiration Forcing agricultural products etc. to become so-called temporary death state by forcibly suppressing, and maintaining its freshness does not deteriorate.

  The temporary death state of such agricultural products etc. is realized by the efficient vaporization of water performed by the porous non-woven block. Since the porous nonwoven fabric block is formed by folding a strip-shaped porous nonwoven fabric in a zigzag shape in the left and right longitudinal direction, an opportunity for air and moisture to meet also occurs between the internal tissues of the porous nonwoven fabric and moisture is air Create an environment that is easy to

  That is, a large amount of saturated water vapor-containing air of 95% or more and 100% or less of relative humidity with increased humidity can be generated, and the storage room can be stabilized in a relatively short time under a low temperature condition of about 0 to 15 ° C. High humidity atmosphere.

In addition , the generation efficiency of water vapor is dramatically improved by overlapping the venturi effect of water vaporization by the double filter structure, and the water flow into the case is carried out in multiple stages from the upstream side to the downstream side. It is possible to provide a humidified gradient structure in a freshness holding device such as agricultural products that can reliably produce water vapor-saturated air.

  In addition, the porous non-woven fabric was attached to the surface of the hydrophobic fiber because it was composed of a hydrophobic fiber to which the water spray from the water spray pipe adheres to its surface and a hydrophilic fiber to adsorb and hold the water spray from the water spray pipe. The water can be vaporized as quickly as possible and the adsorbed moisture of the hydrophilic fiber can be gradually vaporized from the outer surface in contact with air, causing a difference in evaporation rate to produce saturated steam-containing air without interruption. it can.

  Further, in the porous nonwoven fabric, in the compounding ratio of the hydrophilic fiber to the hydrophobic fiber, more hydrophobic fibers are blended in the vicinity of the filter peak portion than in the hydrophilic fiber, and hydrophilic fibers in the vicinity of the filter valley portion. Since it is comprised so that it may mix | blend more than a hydrophobic fiber, when the distribution | circulation air passes between each fiber, the water | moisture-content amount drawn out by a venturi effect can be increased, and mass evaporation can be promoted.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is explanatory drawing which shows the outline of the whole freshness holding | maintenance apparatus which concerns on this embodiment. It is an appearance perspective view of a saturated steam generation room concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing the internal configuration of the saturated steam generation room concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing the internal configuration of the saturated steam generation room concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing a porous nonwoven fabric block concerning this embodiment. It is an enlarged view of the porous nonwoven fabric concerning this embodiment. It is the enlarged view by planar view of the porous nonwoven fabric block which concerns on this embodiment. It is a schematic diagram which shows arrangement | positioning of the porous nonwoven fabric block which concerns on this embodiment. It is the enlarged view by planar view of the porous nonwoven fabric block which concerns on this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing a verification example of a degree of freshness holding device concerning this embodiment. It is an explanatory view showing a verification example of a degree of freshness holding device concerning this embodiment.

  The apparatus for maintaining freshness such as agricultural products according to the present invention can make the inside of the storage room have a high humidity atmosphere in a relatively short time from the operation of the freshness holding apparatus, and can also stably maintain the same high humidity atmosphere. Long-term freshness holding device.

  In particular, the freshness holding apparatus for agricultural products according to the present invention communicates the storage room for agricultural products etc. with the saturated steam generation chamber, the storage chamber is cooled to about 0 to 15 ° C., and the saturated steam generation chamber has a predetermined space , A water tank provided at the bottom of the case, an air intake hole formed on one surface of the case to suck air outside the case, and the other surface of the case to flow air in the case into the storage chamber The air discharging hole, the fan provided in the air discharging hole, the porous non-woven block sealed in the air suction hole, and the porous non-woven block provided above the porous non-woven block to supply water to the non-woven block And a circulation pipe for supplying water from the water tank to the water injection pipe through the pump, and the porous non-woven fabric block folds the strip-like porous non-woven fabric in the left and right longitudinal direction, A filter ridge of a mountain fold ridge line portion disposed upstream of the air in the flow direction by a connecting wire sewn along the zigzag surface of the porous nonwoven fabric, and a valley fold ridge line portion disposed downstream of the air flow direction The zig-zag shape consisting of the filter valleys is maintained and formed so as to have a volume of about 10 to 20% of the space in the case, and the folded end face of the porous non-woven fabric block is disposed upward to be the upper end face It is characterized in that the part is a surface for receiving water from the water supply pipe.

  In the general market, agricultural products after harvest are emphasized in color, color and luster, but transpiration of water reduces the moisture content inside the agricultural products and the like, causing "staining" and significantly reducing the commercial value. . In particular, if the moisture content of agricultural products etc. decreases by 5%, the commercial value will be lost.

  It is known that such dry deterioration of agricultural products and the like can suppress the transpiration of water from the inside of agricultural products and the like by setting the environment in which the agricultural products and the like are stored and stored under a low temperature condition to a high humidity state.

  Storage As a method of setting the storage environment to a high humidity state, it is conceivable to place a humidifying device in the storage to humidify the air in the storage, but a heating type in which water is heated to a predetermined temperature to evaporate In the humidification method by the mist type which sprays water in a liquid state and the ultrasonic type which vaporizes water by ultrasonic vibration, condensation of the vaporized water is likely to occur.

  High humidity such as drainage water generated by condensation adheres to the inner wall and agricultural products in the storage room to promote the growth of microorganisms, and wets the shipping cardboard for storing agricultural products etc. and agricultural products etc and reduces the strength of the cardboard Make a fault. On the other hand, if a vaporization type humidifier is used, such high humidity problems do not occur.

  By the way, the storage for storing agricultural products etc. shipped to the market is generally designed to have a large volume so as to be able to store a large amount of agricultural products etc. in large quantities.

  Therefore, when a general vaporization type humidifier is installed, the inside of a large-capacity storage can not be filled with saturated water vapor-containing air in a short time to reach every corner, and the entire inside of the storage can not be made into a high humidity atmosphere. As a result, a stable high humidity atmosphere could not be realized.

  That is, agricultural products, etc., have a low temperature range suitable for storage at about 0 to 15 ° C. (hereinafter simply referred to as a suitable storage temperature range) and not only suppression of water transpiration but also high humidity problems as much as possible. Long-term freshness retention is secured by forming and storing a constant high humidity atmosphere in the storage while preventing it.

  The freshness holding apparatus for agricultural products according to the present embodiment generates saturated water vapor-containing air by forcibly vaporizing water in a saturated water vapor generation chamber placed in a storage area properly stored in a storage room. It can be said that it is also a freshness holding device capable of making the entire storage room have a constant high humidity atmosphere and preventing high humidity problems due to condensation as well as suppressing the transpiration of water.

  Here, agricultural products and the like are not particularly limited as long as they are general crops harvested by an agricultural method, and for example, they may be florets, fruits and vegetables. Also, multiple types of agricultural products can be mixed and stored in the same storage room.

The storage room may be a cold storage and cold storage facility having a space for storing agricultural products and the like, and includes, for example, a transport container and a truck having a freezing and cold storage function. Also, but are not limited particularly internal volume of the storage chamber, for example, about the inner volume at a large size 50 to 250 m ^3, about 25～50M 3 in a ^medium-about 10 to 25 ³ in a small size Can be adopted. When the height dimension is about 3 to 7 m, in-house circulation of convective air is facilitated.

  Although the temperature of the storage room varies depending on the type of agricultural products stored and stored, it is preferable to set the appropriate storage temperature range to about 0 to 15 ° C and about 0 to 5 ° C for long-term storage.

  The installation location of the saturated steam generation chamber in the storage chamber is not particularly limited as long as the saturated steam-containing air generated from the saturated steam generation chamber convects in the storage chamber. For example, in the storage room, the saturated steam generation chamber may be mounted on the floor surface of the storage room, mounted on a wall surface, or may be suspended from a ceiling surface. Moreover, it is also possible to attach a caster to the bottom part of a saturated steam generation room, and to comprise a floor surface so that a movement is possible.

  The fan of the saturated water vapor generation chamber may be any fan as long as the flow velocity of the circulating air passing through the saturated water vapor generation chamber through the porous nonwoven fabric block is 0.5 m / s to 7.0 m / s.

  At a flow velocity lower than 0.5 m / s, air flowing into the saturated water vapor generation chamber is not only blocked by the porous nonwoven fabric block and can not pass through the filter, and evaporation of water is not appropriately performed, and saturated water vapor-containing air Is not generated.

On the other hand, if the flow velocity is higher than 7.0 m / s, the amount of air flowing into the saturated steam generation chamber is too large relative to the amount of evaporation of water. As a result, when the flowing air passes through the filter, the water of the filter is blown away to form a mist, and the saturated water vapor-containing air is not generated without causing the appropriate vaporization of the water.

  Therefore, by setting the flow velocity of the flowing air to 0.5 m / s to 7.0 m / s, more preferably 2.0 m / s to 6.5 m / s, a large amount of saturated water vapor-containing air can be generated. It is possible to replace the saturated water vapor-containing air as quickly as possible to provide a high humidity atmosphere with a relative humidity (RH) of 95% or more and 100% or less.

  Moreover, it is preferable that the porous nonwoven fabric block which comprises a porous nonwoven fabric block is a volume of about 10 to 20% of space in a case from the relationship with the above-mentioned flow rate of air.

  If the volume of the porous block is less than 10% relative to the space inside the case, the amount of water absorbed and held by the filter decreases, and a sufficient amount of water to be provided for vaporization can not be secured. On the other hand, if the volume of the porous block is larger than 20% relative to the space inside the case, the pressure loss of the air introduced through the porous non-woven block will be increased, and the amount of air containing saturated steam will be reduced.

  Also, the number of porous non-woven blocks is not limited as long as the volume is about 10 to 20% of the space in the case. For example, two or more porous non-woven blocks may be juxtaposed.

  In addition, the amount of generation of the saturated steam-containing air from the saturated steam generation chamber may be such that the inside of the storage chamber can be completely made into a high humidity atmosphere in about 5 to 40 minutes.

That is, the generation amount of the saturated steam-containing air is determined by the relationship between the air volume q (Nm ³ / min) by the fan and the internal volume V of the storage room. In the present embodiment, the relationship between the air volume q by the fan and the internal volume V (m ³ ) of the storage chamber may be approximately 0.004 ≦ V / q ≦ 0.5.

In addition, the porous non-woven block is structured to expand its surface area as much as possible. That is, by setting the surface area of the porous non-woven fabric block to 1.0 to 3.0 m ² , more preferably 1.5 to 2.8 m ² , the amount of water to be absorbed and held, and the opportunity for contact with the water and the circulating air are increased, Saturated steam-containing air can be generated in accordance with the flow rate of air and the number of times of saturated steam-containing air replacement in the storage chamber.

  The material of the porous nonwoven fabric block, that is, the material of the porous nonwoven fabric, is not particularly limited as long as it can retain moisture. The material of the porous non-woven fabric may be hydrophobic fibers and / or hydrophilic fibers such as cotton, hemp, pulp, silk, polyvinyl chloride, nylon, rayon, polyester, polypropylene, acrylic, vinylon, zeolite, silica gel, activated carbon, etc. Any or these composite fibers can be employed.

  Hereinafter, a freshness holding apparatus (hereinafter, simply referred to as a freshness holding apparatus) for produce etc. according to the present embodiment will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In the following description, first, the entire structure of the freshness holding device will be described, and a porous nonwoven fabric block of a saturated water vapor generation chamber, which is a particularly characteristic portion, will be described. FIG. 1 is an explanatory view showing an outline of the whole of the freshness holding device.

  Here, in the following description, "dry air" is air that has been cooled in the storage chamber and has not yet passed through the saturated steam generation chamber. Also, air in a state where saturated steam is added to the dry air taken into the saturated steam generation chamber is referred to as "wet air", and among the wet air, air having a relative humidity of 95% or more and 100% or less is particularly It is called "saturated water vapor-containing air". Therefore, the “outside case air” described later is a concept including “dry air”, “wet air”, and “saturated steam-containing air”, and in particular, air to which saturated steam is applied by the saturated steam generation chamber is “dried”. Intended as "air" and "wet air".

[1. Configuration of Freshness Holding Device]
As shown in FIG. 1, the freshness level holding device A is configured to communicate the storage chamber 1 of produce etc. N with the saturated water vapor generation chamber 2. The freshness holding device A includes a storage chamber 1 having a predetermined space, and a saturated water vapor generation chamber 2 placed at the bottom of the storage chamber 1. The freshness holding device A replaces the dry air G1 in the storage chamber 1 in a substantially sealed state with the saturated steam-containing air G3 generated by the saturated steam generation chamber 2.

  Storage room 1 is provided with a rectangular storage room main body 15 having a predetermined space capable of storing agricultural products and the like, and a cooler 16 installed in storage room main body 15, and one side of storage room main body 15 The door 12 is pivotally supported openably. The air in the storage room 1, that is, the air outside the case G, is constantly cooled by the cooler 16 to the proper storage temperature range (about 0 to 15 ° C.) of produce N etc. It is possible to store N in a cooling atmosphere.

  Saturated steam generation chamber 2 generates steam Saturated steam-containing air G3 by applying steam to dry air G1 under a saturated steam pressure corresponding to an appropriate temperature range (0 ° C. to 15 ° C. It is an apparatus (hereinafter, also simply referred to as a saturated water vapor-containing air generating apparatus) for providing a high humidity atmosphere with a relative humidity (RH) of 95% or more and 100% or less. Fig.2 (a) is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the back side of a saturated water vapor generation chamber, FIG.2 (b) is a perspective view which shows the external appearance of the front side of a saturated water vapor generation chamber. Further, FIG. 3 is a side view showing the internal configuration of the saturated water vapor generation chamber, and FIG. 4 is a front view showing the internal configuration of the saturated water vapor generation chamber.

  As shown in FIGS. 2 to 4, the saturated steam generation chamber 2, that is, the saturated steam-containing air generating device 2, includes a case 3 having a predetermined space, a water tank 4 provided at the case bottom, and case outside air in the case 3. Air suction holes 5 formed on one side of the case for suction, air discharge holes 6 formed on the other side of the case for flowing air in the case into the storage chamber 1, and fans 7 provided on the air discharge holes 6 A porous non-woven block 8 sealingly attached to the air suction hole 5; a water-sprinkling pipe 9 disposed above the porous non-woven block 8 for supplying water to the porous non-woven block 8; And 10, a circulation pipe 11 for supplying water from the water tank 4 to the water injection pipe 9. In addition, four casters 13 for moving the saturated water vapor-containing air generating device 2 are attached to corners of the outer bottom surface of the case 3.

  The case 3 is formed of a box-shaped member having a predetermined space, and various functional members for generating saturated water vapor-containing air are disposed in the inner space thereof. The dimensions of the case 3 can be appropriately selected according to the size of the saturated water vapor-containing air producing device 2 desired, but the height is about 60 to 130 cm, the width is about 40 to 80 cm, and the depth is about 30 to 50 cm It is preferable from the viewpoint of convenience and vaporization efficiency. The case 3 of the present embodiment is formed to have a height of about 120 cm, a width of about 80 cm, and a depth of about 40 cm.

  At the bottom of the case 3, as shown in FIG. 2, a bottomed box-shaped water tank 4 capable of storing a predetermined volume of water to be vaporized is provided. The water tank 4 is provided at a lower position of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 described later, and has an upper opening so as to receive excess water flowing down the porous nonwoven fabric block 8. The storage capacity of the water tank is about 2 to 12 L, and the water tank 4 of the present embodiment is configured to be able to store about 10 L of water.

  As shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a drain hole 4 a is provided in a predetermined position on the bottom of the water tank 4. A drainage cylinder 4 b formed lower than the height of the water tank 4 is attached to the drainage hole 4 a in a watertight manner so as to protrude upward toward the opening in the water tank 4. A drainage pipe 4 c is attached to the drainage hole 4 a of the outer bottom surface of the water tank 4 in a watertight manner.

  That is, the drainage pipe 4b communicates with the drainage pipe 4c in a watertight manner via the drainage hole 4a at the bottom of the water tank 4, and when the water level of the stored water in the water tank 4 reaches the opening of the uppermost end of the drainage pipe 4b Water is prevented from overflowing from the opening of the water tank 4 by draining the water and making the maximum water level of the stored water constant.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a water supply pipe 4 d whose base end is connected to a water supply source is provided above the opening of the water tank 4 so that the water supply port thereof faces the water tank 4. A stop water float 4e is provided in the middle of the water supply pipe 4d to block the communication between the water supply source and the water tank 4 when the water tank 4 is full.

  As shown in FIG. 2 (a), the air suction hole 5 is formed on one side of the case, that is, on the upper half of the case back 3b. More specifically, as shown in FIG. 3, the air suction hole 5 is formed in the shape of a rectangular window in a rectangular case back cover 3a formed removably. The air suction hole 5 is formed to have an area ratio of about 1/3 to 1/4 with respect to the entire surface of the case. A dustproof filter 5 a is attached to the air suction hole 5.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 2 (b), the air discharge hole 6 is formed on the other surface of the case, that is, the case front 3c. More specifically, the air discharge hole 6 is formed in the upper half of the case front 3 c in the shape of a rectangular window narrower than the air suction hole 5. The air discharge hole 6 is formed to have an area ratio of about 1/4 to 1/5 with respect to the front of the case. In the air discharge hole 6, a plurality of blade members 23a, which can adjust the air blowing direction over the upper and lower sides, are mounted horizontally.

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a fan 7 is provided at an upper portion inside the case 3 and at a position where the air discharge hole 6 is provided. In the case, the fan 7 generates an air flow that sucks out-case air into the case and discharges the saturated steam-containing air generated in the case.

  The fan 7 has four wings 7a and a drive unit 7b that rotationally drives the fan in a predetermined direction. The drive part 7b is connected with the fan switch 7c provided in the vicinity position of the air discharge hole 6 of case front, as shown to Fig.2 (a).

  As shown in FIG. 3 and FIG. 4, a rectangular porous non-woven block 8 is removably provided on the case back lid 3 a so as to seal the air suction hole 5. On the case back cover 3a, a filter engaging portion 14 for installing the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 is provided in a protruding manner along the left and right end edges and the lower end edge of the air suction hole 5.

  The filter locking portion 14 is a member for installing the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 in the case, and is a frame formed by bending a strip-shaped plate in a U-shape along the outer shape of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8. The filter locking portion 14 includes left and right plates 14 a and 14 b in contact with and engaged with the left and right side surfaces of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 and a bottom plate 14 c in contact with and engaged with the bottom side surface of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 There is.

  The bottom plate 14c is formed with a plurality of surplus water discharge holes 14d at predetermined intervals. The excess water discharge hole 14 d is a hole that allows water overflowing without being absorbed into the structure of the nonwoven fabric of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 to be drained from the lower end face of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8. It opens toward the upper opening of the installed water tank 4.

  Further, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, a water spray pipe 9 is provided at the upper position on the back side inside the case 3, that is, at the upper position of the porous non-woven block 8 when the case back lid 3a is attached. There is. A plurality of water sprinkling holes are formed in the water sprinkling pipe 9 with the openings directed downward at predetermined intervals. The water spray pipe 9 has one end thereof closed and the other end connected to the circulation pipe 11 so as to be in communication with the water tank 4.

  The base end of the circulation pipe 11 is connected to a pump 10 placed in the water tank 4, and the water W is sent from the water tank 4 to the water spray pipe 9 by driving the pump 10. The drive unit of the pump 10 is connected to a switch 10 a provided at a position near the left and right of the air discharge hole 6.

[2. Configuration of porous non-woven block]
Next, the configuration of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 will be described more specifically. Fig.5 (a) shows the upper perspective view of a porous nonwoven fabric block, FIG.5 (b) shows the top view of a porous nonwoven fabric block. Moreover, FIG. 6 shows the enlarged view of a porous nonwoven fabric.

  As shown in FIG. 5, the porous non-woven fabric block 8 has a strip-like porous non-woven fabric 30 folded in a zigzag shape in the left and right longitudinal direction, and a zigzag shape is formed by the connecting wire 32 sewn along the zigzag surface of the same porous non-woven fabric 30. Hold and form. That is, the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 has a pleated shape in which the porous nonwoven fabric 30 is alternately repeated in a mountain fold and a valley fold in the left and right longitudinal direction, and two porous nonwoven fabric blocks 8 in which the pleat shape is held by the connection wire 32 It is composed by polymerization.

  The strip-like porous non-woven fabric 30, as shown in FIG. 6, is formed of hydrophobic fibers 35 and hydrophilic fibers 36, and has a large number of fine tissue pores 37 between intricately interwoven fibers. ing. In the present embodiment, vinyl chloride is used as the hydrophobic fiber 35 and a low-solubility pulp is used as the hydrophilic fiber 36. The porous non-woven fabric 30 has a length of about 4 to 7 m, a height of about 35 to 40 cm, and a thickness of about 0.5 to 2.0 mm, and the compounding ratio of the hydrophobic fiber 35 to the hydrophilic fiber 36 is about 5: 5. And

  The porous non-woven fabric 30 adopts a porosity of about 15 to 55 vol% in relation to the tissue micropores 37 described later, and a pore diameter of the tissue micropores 37 of about 10 to 900 μm. It aims at the stable maintenance of the water retention, the evaporation efficiency of the water at the time of making it contact with the circulation air, and the reduction of the pressure loss of the flow velocity.

  The connection wire 32 is a clip member made of resin and plastically deformed to hold the shape of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8. A plurality of connection wires 32 are mounted horizontally in the vertical direction of the surface of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 at predetermined intervals. The connection wire 32 is plastically deformed along the zigzag surface of the porous non-woven fabric 30 in plan view to form a certain gap 33 as shown in FIG. It holds a zigzag shape.

  The porous nonwoven fabric block 8 is disposed on the filter ridge portion 41 of the mountain fold ridge line portion disposed on the upstream side in the flow direction of air and the downstream side in the flow direction of air in the zigzag shaped bent portion of the porous nonwoven fabric A plurality of filter valleys 42 of valley fold ridge line portions are provided. The porous non-woven block 8 has a height of about 35 to 40 cm, a width of about 30 to 35 cm, a thickness of about 2.0 to 2.5 cm, and a length from the filter peak 41 to the filter valley 42 of 3.0 to 3.5 cm It is formed in. Further, about 50 to 60 filter ridges 41 and filter valleys 42 are formed in the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 respectively.

  The gap 33 formed between the zig-zag porous nonwoven fabric 30 forming the filter peak portion 41 and the filter valley portion 42 is gradually narrowed in a triangular shape toward the filter valley portion 42 at the tip.

  The porous nonwoven fabric block 8 is disposed in the saturated water vapor-containing air producing device 2 so that the folded end surface 40 of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 is positioned upward as shown in FIG. And the front face of the porous non-woven fabric block 8 is used as an air receiving surface of the air flowing in from the air suction holes 5.

  In other words, the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 is disposed to be orthogonal to the air flow direction, and the filter peak portion 41 is positioned on the air flow upstream side and the filter valley portion 42 is positioned on the air flow downstream side. The water sprayed from above the folding end face 40 flows downward from the upper end face of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 and the zigzag gap, and the water which is not wetted or moistened in the porous nonwoven fabric 30 in the middle of the flow is porous It is made to flow down the non-woven fabric block and be discharged into the water tank.

  With such a configuration, the dry air G1 and the moist air G2 flowing from the air suction holes 5 pass through the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 and become the moist air G2 and the saturated water vapor-containing air G3. Hereinafter, the process in which the dry air G1 is provided with the saturated steam in the saturated steam-containing air generation device 2 and becomes the wet air G2 will be described. FIG. 7 shows an enlarged view of the porous non-woven block in a plan view.

  As shown in FIG. 7, the dry air G1 (shown by thin line arrows in FIG. 7) sucked into the case 3 from the air suction holes 5 strikes the entire front face of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8.

  In particular, the dried air G1 that abuts against the filter crest 41 in front of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 becomes a diverted air G4 that is diverted to the left and right with the filter crest 41 as the center. That is, the filter mountain portion 41 functions as a diverting portion of the circulating air.

  The dried air G1 that has become the divided air G4 flows toward the zigzag non-woven fabric 30. The diverted air G4 forcibly collects the water in contact with the porous nonwoven fabric 30 into the filter valley portion 42 by the diverted negative pressure function.

  That is, the water absorbed by the porous non-woven fabric 30 and the water flowing down along the surface of the porous non-woven fabric 30 are drawn into the split air G4 by the negative pressure function by the Venturi effect accompanying the flow rate of the split air G4 and are sucked.

  As a result, these moisture concentrates in the filter valley 42 and is forced by the flow velocity stress of the divided air G4 into the case 3 from the air outflow surface side of the porous nonwoven fabric 30, ie, the outer surface of the filter valley 42. It is pushed out and filled up.

  Thus, the flowing air vaporizes the contained water absorbed by the zigzag non-woven fabric 30. As a result, the humidity in case 3 increases.

  More specifically, the dry air G1 which is the flow air, in particular the split air G4, circulates in contact with the surface of the zig-zag porous non-woven fabric 30 and the zigzag inner surface of the zig-zag porous non-woven fabric 30 by the venturi effect. Is a negative pressure.

  As a result, the flowing air draws the infiltration moisture in the zigzag non-woven fabric 30 to the constant gap 33 side by negative pressure function, takes it into the air, and discharges it from the opposite side of the non-porous fabric 30 to the case 3 The relative humidity of the air in case 3 is increased.

  The dry air G1 sucked from the air suction hole 5 becomes the left and right divided air G4 divided by the filter valley 42, specifically at the downstream side of the flow just downstream, ie, at the filter valley 42. As a result, the space between the filter valleys 42 generates a complicated swirling flow (turbulence) with increased wind pressure, which produces an additional venturi effect and is infiltrated into the porous nonwoven fabric 30. The moisture becomes more fine water vapor and is extracted from the surface of the porous non-woven fabric 30 and is evaporated into dry air.

  That is, the swirling air G5 in the filter valley portion 42 is in contact with the porous nonwoven fabric 30 to evaporate moisture from the nonwoven fabric, and mixes air and steam to increase the relative humidity in the air.

  The swirling air G5 whose relative humidity has been increased is pressure-fed by the dry air G1 which is not supplied from the upstream side of the air flow direction and is supplied by pressure, and passes through the tissue micropores 37 of the porous non-woven fabric 30, and the moist air G2 (in FIG. Indicated by shaded thick arrows.

  As a result, the dry air G1, which is the flow air, forms a large amount of wet air G2 whose flow direction is the air discharge hole 6 on the air discharge surface side of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8.

  In addition, it is also possible to pull up the passage efficiency of distribution | circulation air, and to reduce pressure loss by making the pore diameter and the porosity more large than the other part. For example, by setting the porosity of the filter valley portion 42 to about 1.2 to 2 times and the pore diameter to about 1.5 to 3 times in the porous nonwoven fabric 30, the passing efficiency of the flowing air in the filter valley portion 42 or It can dramatically improve the Venturi effect.

  As described above, the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 forcibly induces the flow direction of the flowed air to the zigzag gap of the filter valley portion 42 while causing the swirling air G5 in the valley portion 42 to contact the flow air with moisture. The forced evaporation filter structure is used to forcibly raise the evaporation efficiency while extracting the water impregnated by the venturi effect by increasing the opportunity.

  In the case 3 of the saturated water vapor-containing air producing device 2, two porous non-woven block as described above are arranged side by side in the case 3, and in particular, the zig-zag shaped filter ridges are zig-zag shaped of the other porous non-woven block It is arranged to face the filter peak of

  That is, the saturated steam-containing air generating device 2 includes the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8 a and the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8 b having the same shape, size, and configuration as the first porous nonwoven fabric block. FIG. 8 shows a schematic view showing the arrangement of two porous nonwoven fabric blocks, and FIG. 9 shows a process in which dry air becomes saturated water vapor-containing air by the first porous nonwoven fabric block and the second porous nonwoven fabric block. It is a top view.

  As shown in FIG. 8 and FIG. 9, the two porous nonwoven fabric blocks 8 shift the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b to the downstream side of the air flow while leaving the phase of the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a in plan view. It arrange | positions and it is comprised so that it may become about 10 to 20% of volume of the space in a case, forming the ventilation gap space 38 which is a gap | interval of planar view snake shape between mutual nonwoven fabric faces.

  More specifically, the two porous blocks are positioned such that the filter peaks 41a and 41b face each other and the filter valleys 42a and 42b face each other in plan view, The virtual back surface formed by the plurality of filter valleys 42a of the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a and the virtual front surface formed by the plurality of filter ridges 41b of the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b are arranged to face each other Between the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a and the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b, the space between the plurality of filter valleys 42a of the first porous nonwoven fabric block and the plurality of filter peaks 41b of the second porous nonwoven fabric block It forms so that the ventilation gap space 38 of the planar view wedge shape which connected with the gap space may be formed.

The first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a is a quick-drying filter portion which contacts the dried air G1 flowing in by the fan 7 first and evaporates the absorbed water relatively quickly. The first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a generates the wet air G2 having a relative humidity of about 70 to 80% by passing the dry air G1 by the above-described forced vaporization filter structure.

The air blowing clearance space 38 is a space having a serpentine shape in plan view substantially similar to the shape of the porous nonwoven fabric block 8. The air blow gap space 38 functions as a flow path for causing the wet air G2 generated by passing through the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a to converge to the space of the filter valley of the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b. In addition, the width | variety (The space | interval width | variety between the 1st porous nonwoven fabric block 8a and the 2nd porous nonwoven fabric block 8b) of the ventilation gap space 38 of this embodiment is about 5-15 mm.

  The second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b is a slow-drying filter portion that contacts the wet air G2 that has passed through the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a and vaporizes the absorbed water relatively slowly. As shown in FIG. 9, the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b applies saturated vapor to the wet air G2 passing through the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a by forced evaporation with a forced vaporization filter structure.

  More specifically, when the moist air G2 circulates between the zigzag porous nonwoven fabrics 30b of the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b, it circulates in contact with the surface of the zigzag porous nonwoven fabric 30b, and the zigzag due to the Venturi effect The moisture infiltrated into the inside of the porous nonwoven fabric 30b is forcibly drawn to the surface of the zigzag porous nonwoven fabric 30b while being evaporated, and the relative humidity is increased.

  In particular, the two porous nonwoven fabric blocks 8 are arranged such that the filter ridges 41a and 41b and the filter valleys 42a and 42b face each other in the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a and the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b. doing.

  Therefore, the flow of air, which has passed from the filter valley portion 42a of the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a, goes straight forward to the filter valley portion 42b of the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b without losing its flow velocity. In the filter valleys 42b of the nonwoven fabric 30b, the venturi effect is further improved to produce an efficient water evaporation.

  Then, the moist air G2 generates a complicated swirling flow (turbulence) with increased wind pressure in the space of the filter valley portion 42b in the same manner as in the case of the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a, and a further Venturi effect of the swirling flow. As a result, the moisture infiltrated into the porous non-woven fabric 30 is vaporized into the dry air G1 as more fine water vapor to increase the relative humidity in the air.

  Thus, the two porous non-woven fabric blocks 8 dramatically improve the generation efficiency of water vapor by overlapping the Venturi effect with a double filter structure, and the upstream side to the downstream side of the circulating air in the case 3 The water vapor can be applied in multiple stages, and a humidification gradient structure can be provided in a freshness holding device such as agricultural products that can reliably generate water vapor-saturated air.

  The water spray pipe 9 has a virtual back surface formed by the plurality of filter valleys 42a of the first porous nonwoven fabric block 8a and a virtual front surface formed by the plurality of filter ridges 41b of the second porous nonwoven fabric block 8b. It may be arranged at the upper position of the folding end face of each porous non-woven fabric block so as to be along the boundary between them.

  With such an arrangement, in the first porous non-woven fabric block 8a, water is flow-down-impregnated around the filter valley portion 42a, and in the second porous non-woven block 8b, around the filter crest portion 41b. It is also possible to promote multistage steam delivery efficiency to the circulating air.

  By the way, focusing on the concept of the humidification gradient as described above, the porous non-woven fabric 30 forming each porous non-woven fabric block 8 is made by using a technology composed of hydrophobic fibers 35 and hydrophilic fibers 36. , A micro-humidifying gradient structure freshness preservation technology can be revealed. Hereinafter, the phenomenon based on each fiber of the porous nonwoven fabric 30 is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIG. 6, on the surface of the hydrophobic fiber 35, the water sprayed by the water spray pipe 9 adheres as fine water droplet W1 due to the interfacial tension. The fine water droplet W1 attached to the surface of the hydrophobic fiber 35 has an extremely large spread area of its distribution, and the contact area with the air flowing into the saturated water vapor-containing air producing device 2 also increases to its polarization degree It is vaporized as soon as possible.

  On the other hand, the hydrophilic fibers 36 adsorb and hold moisture. In the hydrophilic fiber 36, the adsorbed moisture is gradually promoted from the outer surface in contact with air. In particular, the air flowing through the tissue micropores 37 between the fibers causes a venturi effect on the fiber surface, and forcibly draws out and evaporates the water impregnated and held in the hydrophilic fiber 36. Therefore, the moisture infiltrated and contained in the hydrophilic fibers 36 is vaporized in the flowing air to produce the flowing air converted into saturated vapor.

  As described above, the flow velocity of the flowing air becomes uneven among the fibers, and the difference in the evaporation rate can be generated without interruption so that various forms of steam generation can be generated. Therefore, when the flow velocity of air is increased to increase the amount of the saturated steam-containing air G3, the moisture on the surface of the hydrophobic fiber 35 is preferentially vaporized while the moisture contained in the hydrophilic fiber 36 is vaporized. While the speed is uneven and becomes uneven, it becomes possible to increase the sustained release rate of water vapor in combination with the transpiration vapor from the surface of the hydrophobic fiber 35, which makes it possible to apply stable saturated vapor to the circulating air, and produce agricultural products etc. Saturated steam-containing air sufficient to maintain freshness can be generated without forming condensation on the surface.

  The Venturi effect can be maximized by making the blending ratio of fibers more hydrophilic fibers than the hydrophobic fibers. For example, in the porous non-woven fabric 30, the compounding ratio of the hydrophilic fiber to the hydrophobic fiber is such that the hydrophobic fiber is compounded more than the hydrophilic fiber near the filter peak 41 and the hydrophilic near the filter valley 42 The fibers may be formed to be blended more than hydrophobic fibers.

  By setting the compounding ratio of the hydrophobic fiber 35 to the hydrophilic fiber 36 in the filter valley portion 42 to be about 3: 7 to 4: 6, the moisture extracted from the venturi effect when the flowing air passes between the respective fibers It is also possible to increase the amount to promote mass evaporation.

  As described above, the porous non-woven fabric block 8 is formed not only by the forced vaporization type filter structure by the porous non-woven fabric block alone but also by forming the porous non-woven fabric block in parallel in the air flow direction. The relative humidity of the entire circulating air is controlled by the stepwise humidity control means of the humidification gradient structure and the second humidification gradient structure generated from each porous non-woven block made of hydrophilic fibers and hydrophobic fibers. It can be pulled up in stages from one humidifying gradient structure to a second humidifying gradient structure, which makes it possible to generate a large amount of saturated vapor-containing air.

  Further, since the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 is formed to have a volume of about 10 to 20% of the space in the case, forced convection in the direction of the air discharge hole 6 by the fan 7 is caused in the space in the case. Ensuring a sufficient amount of air and forcibly drawing in the air flowing in through the porous nonwoven fabric block 8 from the air suction hole 5 for drawing air out of the case, thereby reducing the pressure loss of the circulating air as much as possible Has achieved a good air flow.

  In the freshness holding apparatus A configured as described above, when the saturated steam generation chamber 2 (a saturated steam-containing air generating device) is operated in the storage chamber 1, the saturated steam generation chamber 2 in the storage chamber 1 is substantially sealed. The dry air G1 is taken in to generate the saturated steam-containing air G3 and the saturated steam flow just before draining is supplied to the storage room to fill the storage room 1 with the saturated steam-containing air G3 to make a high humidity atmosphere Yes, and humidification of agricultural products etc. is done sufficiently.

[3. Verification of Saturated Air Production Ability by Freshness Holding Device]
Hereinafter, verification of the saturated water vapor-containing air generation ability by the saturated water vapor-containing air generation device according to the freshness maintenance device according to the present invention was performed. Verification of the saturated water vapor-containing air generation ability by the saturated water vapor-containing air generation device was performed by evaluating the transition of relative humidity in the storage chamber.

First, by measuring the time until the inside of the storage is made into a high humidity atmosphere with a relative humidity of 95% or more and 100% or less, the saturated water vapor-containing air generating ability was evaluated. Specifically, a saturated water vapor-containing air generator (saturated water vapor generation chamber) was installed in a substantially sealed storage chamber of relative humidity 25%, about 5 ° C., and about 165 m ³ capacity.

  The verification is a verification section A in which two porous nonwoven fabric blocks are juxtaposed in a case of about 120 cm high, about 80 cm wide, and about 40 cm deep in a saturated water vapor-containing air generating device in communication with a storage chamber; The comparative experiment was divided into three verification sections, that is, verification section B in which the non-woven fabric block is disposed and verification section C in which the non-woven non-woven fabric block is not disposed.

  In addition, in the verification zone C, only the fan was operated and the pump was stopped. In each verification zone, the wind speed and the air volume were constant, and the relative humidity of the storage room was measured every 30 seconds from the operation of the apparatus with a humidity measuring instrument. The results are shown in FIG.

  According to the verification graph of relative humidity shown in FIG. 10, in verification area A, relative humidity in the storage room began to rise significantly as compared with the other target areas immediately after operation of the apparatus. The relative humidity in the storage room reached about 95% (shown by a broken line in FIG. 10) about 15 minutes after the operation of the apparatus, and reached about 100% in about 20 minutes. In particular, the relative humidity reached to 100% stably maintained the equilibrium state thereafter.

  Although the relative humidity began to rise immediately after the operation of the device in the verification area B, the humidity increase tendency was slower than that in the verification area A. The relative humidity in the storage room reached 95% about 25 minutes after the operation of the apparatus. The relative humidity rising slope was stable.

  Although the relative humidity increased in the verification zone C after the operation of the device, the values were significantly lower than those in the other verification zones. The relative humidity rising slope was unstable, and the relative humidity remained around 65% even about 25 minutes after the verification zone B reached the high humidity atmosphere.

  Next, we examined the ability to recover the lost humidity when the storage door was opened. The two verification zones of verification zone A and verification zone B similar to the above-mentioned verification were performed by comparison. Inside the storage cabinet, the devices in each verification zone were operated to bring the relative humidity to 100%. After that, the door was opened for about 30 seconds while the apparatus was in operation, and the transition of relative humidity in the storage was measured while the door was closed again. The results are shown in FIG.

  According to the graph of FIG. 11, in the verification zone A, the relative humidity in the storage gradually dropped and became about 91% in about 15 minutes from the door closing. After that, the relative humidity began to rise almost linearly, and reached 95% about 17 minutes after the door was closed, and reached 100% after about 22 minutes.

  On the other hand, in the verification zone B, relative humidity in the storage started to fall rapidly immediately after the door closure compared with the verification zone A and became about 68% around 13 from the door closure. After that, the relative humidity started to rise gradually, reaching 95% about 29 minutes after the door was closed.

  As described above, according to the freshness maintenance device of the present invention, a large-volume storage room can be filled with saturated steam-containing air with a relative humidity of 95% or more in a relatively short time, and is dissipated by the opening / closing operation of the door. Recovery of humidity was also fast, and it was shown that the storage room can be stably maintained in a high humidity atmosphere.

[4. Verification of freshness of agricultural products etc. by freshness holding device]
Next, the freshness holding ability of agricultural products and the like by the freshness holding device according to the present invention was verified.
In this verification, it carried out using verification area A and verification area B which are freshness holding devices of the same conditions as verification of saturated steam content air containing ability. Moreover, the control section D which does not put a saturated-steam containing air generation apparatus in a storage room was used as a comparison control. As agricultural products stored in the storage room, we adopted lettuce stored in cardboard.

The number of days until dry deterioration occurs in the evaluation of freshness holding ability was measured by measuring the weight of agricultural products etc. every seven days after storage room storage in each verification section. The difference between the measured values and the weight when stored in the storage room was converted as the moisture content (% by weight) of agricultural products etc., and it was judged that those with a weight of agricultural products etc. of 95% or less caused dry deterioration. The results are shown in Table 1.

  Although the moisture content of lettuce in verification section A and verification section B decreased relatively slowly after storage in the storage room, even on the 21st day, the moisture content did not reach a value to be evaluated as dry deterioration. In addition, the cardboard used for storage was in a dry state in any of the verification sections, and no high humidity failure was observed.

  On the other hand, the moisture content of lettuce in the control area D had a remarkable tendency to decrease with the passage of days from storage room storage as compared with the inspection area A and the inspection area B. As a result, on the 21st day, the water content of lettuce was 93.5%, and it was recognized that the water was deteriorated by drying.

Next, in the stored agricultural products etc., the freshness evaluation items were divided into "freshness feeling", "discoloring", "taste", "softening", "corruption" and "disease occurrence", and were respectively verified. Each survey item standard was divided into five levels (good 5 to 1 bad), and the number of days from storage of the storage room of lettuce to the standard limit value "3" that can be eaten raw was measured. The results are shown in Table 2.

  According to this verification result, in the control area D, the number of days until reaching the limit value “3” was earlier in any evaluation item than in the inspection area A and the inspection area B. That is, it was shown that in the control area D, the freshness of the agricultural products and the like is reduced due to the drying deterioration caused by the refrigeration and the like, and the long-term storage can not be performed.

  On the other hand, in verification area A and verification area B, particularly in verification area A, the lettuce stored in the storage room also has a relatively long time until the limit value "3" in the evaluation item, and long-term preservation is performed. Even it kept good freshness. In other words, in Verification Area A and Verification Area B, the reduction of moisture content of agricultural products, etc. is suppressed as much as possible by suppressing the respiration of agricultural products, etc. in a stable high humidity atmosphere, and the freshness of agricultural products, etc. is maintained for a long time It has been shown that it is possible to save.

  Thus, the freshness holding apparatus for agricultural products and the like according to the present invention can generate saturated steam-containing air with a relative humidity of 95% or more and 100% or less by providing saturated steam to dry air in the storage room. The inside of the storage can be filled with saturated water vapor-containing air in a relatively short time to create a high humidity atmosphere, and the same high humidity atmosphere can be stably maintained, and agricultural products can be produced for a long time without causing high humidity problems. Can maintain the freshness of

  Finally, the description of the above-described embodiments is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments. Of course, various changes can be made according to the design and the like without departing from the technical concept.

A Freshness Holding Device 1 Storage Room 15 Storage Room Body 16 Cooler 2 Saturated Water Vapor Generation Room 3 Case 7 Fan 8 Porous Non-woven Block G1 Dry Air G3 Air Containing Saturated Water Vapor

Claims (3)

A storage room for agricultural products etc. is in communication with a saturated steam generation room, the storage room is cooled to 0 to 15 ° C., the saturated steam generation room is a case having a predetermined space, a water tank provided at the bottom of the case, and the outside of the case An air suction hole formed on one surface of the case for sucking air into the case, an air discharge hole formed on the other surface of the case for flowing air in the case into the storage chamber, a fan provided on the air discharge hole; A porous non-woven fabric block sealed and attached to an air suction hole, a water-sprinkling pipe disposed above the porous non-woven fabric block and provided for supplying water to the non-woven fabric block Consists of a circulating pipe to supply
Moreover, the porous non-woven fabric block is formed by folding a strip-like porous non-woven fabric in a zigzag shape in the left and right longitudinal direction, and by connecting wires sewn along the zigzag surface of the same porous non-woven fabric Holds a zig-zag shape consisting of the filter ridges of the fold ridge line and the filter valleys of the valley fold ridge line part disposed downstream of the air flow direction so that a volume of 10 to 20% of the space in the case And the upper end surface portion of the porous non-woven fabric block is positioned so that the folded end surface of the porous non-woven fabric block is positioned above ,
Furthermore, the porous non-woven fabric block may be a first porous non-woven fabric block and a second porous non-woven fabric block arranged in parallel two in the air flow direction,
Moreover, the first porous non-woven fabric block and the second porous non-woven fabric block are arranged such that the filter ridges and the filter valleys face each other with their phases shifted as they are, and the non-woven fabric blocks are mutually Between the two, forming a substantially similar shape to the shape of the porous non-woven fabric block and forming a serration-like air-blowing space in plan view,
The first porous nonwoven fabric block is used as a quick-drying filter portion which generates wet air by relatively quickly evaporating the water absorbed by contact with dry air.
The air blow gap space is a flow path for focusing wet air generated by passing through the first porous nonwoven fabric block to the filter valley of the second porous nonwoven fabric block,
The second porous non-woven fabric block functions as a slow-drying filter portion which generates a saturated steam-containing air by relatively gently vaporizing the absorbed water in contact with the moist air to produce an agricultural product characterized in that Freshness holding device etc. The porous nonwoven fabric, according to claim 1, wherein the hydrophobic fibers to deposit watering from the water spray pipe to the surface, that the watering from the water spray pipe was more configuration as hydrophilic fibers for holding suction Freshness holding device such as agricultural products. In the porous nonwoven fabric, in the compounding ratio of the hydrophilic fiber to the hydrophobic fiber, more hydrophobic fibers are blended in the vicinity of the filter peak than in the hydrophilic fiber, and the hydrophilic fibers are more hydrophobic in the vicinity of the filter valley The apparatus for maintaining the freshness of agricultural products or the like according to claim 1 or 2 , characterized in that the composition is compounded in a larger amount than fibers.