JPS6155943B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for chilled preservation of fresh foods. Temperature-controlled preservation methods for fresh foods are generally divided into refrigeration and freezing, but when comparing their preservation properties, refrigeration has a good balance between freshness and quality preservation, but it is short-term. Freezing is effective in preserving freshness over a long period of time, but has the disadvantage of causing quality changes. In other words, each has its advantages and disadvantages, and may work against the intended purpose. Therefore, if we focus on chilled storage, which is located between refrigeration and freezing, there is no particular problem in the process of cooling the food to the chilled temperature (hereinafter referred to as chilled high temperature), which is slightly higher than the freezing temperature of the food. At a chilled temperature slightly lower than the freezing temperature of the food (hereinafter referred to as "chilled low temperature"), it is impossible to preserve the food in a chilled state by itself because if it is used as is, it will freeze slowly and deteriorate its quality. The present invention proposes and embodies a novel proposal in order to overcome these drawbacks and realize effective chilled storage. The principle is to temporarily use frozen cold air to rapidly cool the food, detect that it has reached a chilled low temperature, remove the frozen cold air, and simultaneously convert it into chilled cold air, which is slightly below the freezing temperature of the food. The purpose is to quickly fix the product at a low chilled storage temperature to prevent quality deterioration.

The processing conditions are to minimize temperature fluctuations by storing the product at a chilled low temperature, avoiding temperatures that are considerably lower than the freezing temperature as much as possible.
In addition, if the volume of the food is large, the temperature difference between the center and the surface will be large, resulting in a difference in quality. Rapid cooling while shrinking.

The configuration of the present invention will be described in detail below.The rapid cooling is performed using the cold air of the freezer, which is controlled to a freezing temperature considerably lower than the freezing temperature by a rapid cooling refrigerator, and the temperature is reduced to a chilled temperature slightly lower than the freezing temperature. This is detected, the frozen cold air is forcibly removed, and the chilled cold air from the chilled storage, which is controlled by the chilled refrigerator at a temperature slightly lower than the freezing temperature, is used to store the chilled air there. A chilled preservation method for food that quickly fixes the food at a chilled preservation temperature slightly lower than the freezing temperature of the food to be preserved; A chilled storage with an interlocking electric movable platform with a shielding plate that can shut off the opening in any direction, and one side is equipped with a chilled refrigerator and a manual door. , the other is a freezer equipped with a rapid cooling refrigerator and a manual/electric door that allows ventilation with outside air, and controls the chilled refrigerator and rapid cooling refrigerator, as well as opening/closing the manual/electric door. In addition, by temporally controlling the movement of the electric movable platform,
It consists of a device for chilled preservation of food and a control device for accurately controlling the desired temperature change.

Next, the structure and operation of the present invention will be explained based on embodiment diagrams.

The chilled storage 1 is equipped with a chilled refrigerator 2 and a fan 3 that can change the set temperature between chilled high temperature and chilled low temperature, and the built-in automatic defrost heater 4 is also used for temperature control when necessary. You can also do that. Furthermore, a manual door 5 is provided for putting in and taking out the preserved food.

The freezer 6 is a rapid cooling refrigerator 7 that controls the freezing temperature.
and a fan 8, which is used as a defrosting chamber when stopped, and a built-in automatic defrosting heater 9 is also used for heating and defrosting. Furthermore, it is equipped with a manual/electrically operated door 10 that can discharge frozen cold air and allow ventilation with outside air during thawing.

The openings 11 of the chilled storage 1 and the freezer 6 are prevented from temperature interference between the two by a track bed 12 and an electric movable platform 15 equipped with shielding plates 13 and 14 that can be blocked even when moving in any direction on the track. It is also possible to move back and forth while storing the food to be preserved.

The control device 16 includes switches and a microcomputer-controlled program timer for automatically performing the above operations.

As an initial state, it is assumed that the chilled storage 1 is controlled to a chilled high temperature, the freezer 6 is controlled to a frozen temperature, and the electric movable table 15 is located on the chilled storage 1 side.

When storing fresh food in a chilled state, if the food is placed in the chilled storage chamber 1 in its initial state, it will be stored at a high temperature. When the quick cooling switch is activated by setting the precooling time to make the processing conditions for quick freezing constant depending on the size and cooling condition of the cooling process and the quenching time and operation to match the chilled low temperature, the precooling starts first and then the chilled temperature starts. In the chilled storage 1 that is controlled at a high temperature, the pre-cooling time set in advance is shorter when the volume of the food to be preserved is small or when the cooling is sufficient, and longer when the capacity is large or when the cooling is insufficient. Controlled and constant processing conditions.

When the pre-cooling is completed and the electric movable table 15 is moved to the freezer 6, quenching starts and the food to be preserved is stored in the freezer 6, which is controlled to the freezing temperature, according to a preset quenching time and operation. It is rapidly cooled to a chilled low temperature, but if the food to be preserved is large in volume, intermittent rapid cooling is performed depending on the degree. At that time, the set temperature of chilled storage 1 is changed to chilled low temperature and the next preparation is made, but if the temperature inside chilled storage 1 drops extremely due to the influence of frozen cold air during movement, The heater 4 is automatically operated to restore the set temperature in a short time.

When the quenching is finished and the quenching refrigerator 7 and fan 8 are stopped, the manual/electric door 10 is automatically opened.
The door is left half-open for 10 seconds, and the frozen cold air is discharged outside the refrigerator, and the manual/electric door 10 is closed and the electric movable platform 15 is opened.
is moved to the chilled storage 1 and stored at the changed chilled low temperature.

If the operation is to be repeated, move the food to be stored in chilled storage 1 to another dedicated chilled refrigerator and activate the initial state return switch to return to the initial state and return to the state where fresh food can be stored in the chilled state. Become.

If you want to thaw chilled stored food at any time, you can only thaw the food that is already stored at a chilled low temperature in chilled storage 1 and the food that is stored at a chilled low temperature in another dedicated chilled refrigerator. put it in chilled storage 1, select low temperature thawing, normal temperature thawing, or heated thawing depending on the thawing method, and set the timer for the start and end time of thawing.When the timer activates and the thawing start time comes, chilled refrigerator 2 and fan 3 stops, the electric movable table 15 moves to the freezer 6 where the quenching refrigerator 7 and the fan 8 are stopped, and thawing is performed at a slow low temperature due to its own heat capacity.

For normal temperature thawing, the electric movable stand 15 moves to the freezer 6 where the rapid cooling refrigerator 7 and fan 8 are stopped, the manual/electric door 10 is automatically half-opened, and only the fan 8 is operated to circulate outside air. Thaw at room temperature.

Heating and thawing is used for thawing or rapid thawing in winter, and the electric movable stand 15 moves to the freezer 6 where the quick cooling refrigerator 7 and fan 8 are stopped, and the manual/electric door 10 is automatically opened. The fan 8 and the built-in automatic defrosting heater 9 operate only during heating and defrosting, and the outside air is circulated and heated to defrost.

When the defrosting end time is reached due to the operation of the timer, the
When the electric door 10 is closed or automatically closed, the fan 8 and heater 9 of the freezer 6 are stopped, and the chilled refrigerator 2 and fan 3 that control the set temperature to a chilled high temperature are activated, and the electric movable platform is closed. 15 is moved to the chilled storage 1 and stored at a chilled high temperature. The same thing will happen if the manual/electric door 10 is manually closed before the defrosting end time.

At this time, if the initial state return switch is activated, the initial state will be restored, and if the operation setting release switch is activated, the initial state will also be canceled at the same time, and the chilled storage 1 and the freezer 6 will become normal chilled refrigerators and freezers. Can be used separately as a quick freezer.

FIG. 1 shows the temperature characteristics when 500 g of meat is stored in a chilled state using the above-mentioned example, where a is the control temperature, b is the center temperature of the meat, and c is the surface temperature.

The effects of the present invention will be explained below.
The chilled preservation of the present invention brings out the latent advantages of chilled preservation, maintains freshness and quality in a well-balanced manner, and enables medium-term preservation. In addition, freezing causes rapid quality deterioration in quality changes after thawing, but in the chilled storage of the present invention, quality deterioration is gradual, which is close to the characteristics of refrigeration. Furthermore, repeated use of freezing results in extremely poor quality, but the chilled storage of the present invention is well-balanced in all respects, with no abnormalities observed even after repeated use about two times. This is thought to be due to the fact that the thermal shock is smaller than in frozen storage. Additionally, if the temperature is controlled to suit ice making as a by-product, it is possible to make free-form transparent ice.

Due to the above effects, if it is used to control the freshness of meat, fish, processed foods, etc. that do not keep well, it can be expected to be effective, although there are some exceptions. Furthermore, this device also has a defrosting function, which makes it convenient for defrosting, and allows for significant labor savings by promoting rational freshness management.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a temperature characteristic diagram of chilled storage according to the present invention, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the apparatus of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view. 1... Chilled storage, 2... Chilled refrigerator,
3...Fan of the chilled refrigerator, 4...Heater built in the chilled refrigerator, 5...Manual door, 6...Freezer, 7...Quick cooling refrigerator, 8...
Fan of the rapid cooling refrigerator, 9... Heater built into the rapid cooling refrigerator, 10... Manual/electric door, 11... Opening, 12... Track bed, 13.1
4... Shielding plate, 15... Electric movable table, 16... Control equipment.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Rapid cooling using frozen air from a freezer, which is controlled to a freezing temperature considerably lower than the freezing temperature by a rapid cooling refrigerator, and reaching a chilled temperature slightly lower than the freezing temperature. The frozen cold air is forcibly removed, and the chilled cold air from the chilled storage is controlled by the chilled refrigerator to a temperature slightly lower than the freezing temperature, and the stored items are stored there. A chilled storage method for food that quickly fixes the food at a temperature slightly lower than the freezing temperature of the food. 2 An opening and a track bed are provided between two consecutive rooms forming a storage for cooling, and a shielding plate is attached and interlocked on the track that can block the opening no matter which direction it is moved. In addition to installing an electric movable platform for storage, one side is equipped with a chilled storage room equipped with a chilled refrigerator and a manual door, and the other side is equipped with a rapid cooling refrigerator and a manual/electrically operated door that allows ventilation with the outside air. It functions as a freezer, and accurately controls the desired temperature change by controlling the chilled refrigerator and rapid cooling refrigerator, opening and closing manual and electric doors, and moving the electric movable table over time. A device for chilled preservation of food, consisting of control equipment for