JPH0446558Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Industrial Application Field This invention relates to a thawing device that can suitably thaw frozen foods such as fish and meat chunks by sprinkling water on them.

Conventional Technology Recently, in order to preserve foods such as fish and meat for long periods of time and to enable long-distance transportation while maintaining freshness, liquefied gas is sprayed onto the food to instantly heat it rapidly at extremely low temperatures. Freezing technology is widely used. This quick-frozen food is distributed in the market in its frozen state, and is thawed when it is ready for consumption by the end user. In order to thaw this frozen food, it is conceivable to leave it at room temperature and let it thaw naturally, but this takes an extremely long time and also causes meat juices to drip out, spoiling the taste of the food. There are drawbacks. For this reason, means have been commercialized to forcefully defrost food into a state suitable for consumption in a short period of time, and in this type of defrosting apparatus, water is generally sprayed onto the frozen food.

For example, in the water thawing device disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 61-792, as shown in FIG. It has a structure in which a plurality of units each consisting of a water tank 10 are arranged vertically. In addition, a water storage tank 14 is located below the lowest steamer 12.
is provided, and the water in this water tank 14 is pumped through the pump 1.
6 and a pipe 18, the water is continuously supplied to a watering tank 10 provided at the uppermost portion.

In this design, the water supplied to the top water tank 10 through the pipe 18 is transferred to the steamer basket 1 located below.
The water is shower-supplied to the material to be thawed M in the steamer 12, and then the water is collected in the water sprinkling tank 10 below the steamer 12, and from this water tank 10, the water is shower-supplied to the material to be thawed M in the next-stage steamer 12. .

Problems to be solved by the invention In the thawing device having the above-mentioned configuration, the pump 16
The water supplied by the thawing material M in the steamer 12
After being brought into contact with and thawed, the material is once collected in the water sprinkling tank 10 below, and then the cycle of supplying the material M from the water sprinkling tank 10 to the material M in the steamer basket 12 located below is repeated. Therefore, the temperature of the water that is subjected to thawing and comes into contact with the object M to be thawed decreases as it moves to the lower unit. In other words, in conventional thawing devices, the higher the thawing object M, the faster the thawing process, and the lower the thawing object M, the slower the thawing process.For this reason, in order to achieve uniform thawing, the operator must It is necessary to alternately change the plurality of steamer baskets 12 up and down and perform the thawing operation again. This is extremely complicated and time-consuming work for the operator.

In addition, in the conventional device described above, the water, which has passed through the plurality of steamers 12 and the water sprinkler tank 10 and is accompanied by a drop in water temperature, falls in a shower shape when it is collected into the water storage tank 14 provided at the bottom. As a result, foaming on the water surface of the water tank 14 increases, and as a result, the foam is sucked into the pump 16, resulting in a reduction in the suction efficiency of the pump.

Purpose of the invention This invention was proposed in view of the above-mentioned drawbacks inherent in the defrosting device according to the prior art, and was proposed to suitably solve the problem. It is an object of the present invention to provide a means for uniformly thawing objects placed on racks in each unit without replacing the racks. Furthermore, another purpose of the present invention is to
The objective is to eliminate foaming on the surface of water when it is collected in a water storage tank, and effectively prevent a drop in efficiency due to suction of foam by the pump.

Means for Solving the Problems In order to overcome the above-mentioned problems and achieve the intended purpose, the present invention has a bottom part that allows water to flow down, such as a net or a number of holes, and A rack capable of storing and placing objects to be thawed, a housing capable of loading and unloading a plurality of racks vertically, and a housing disposed at the bottom of the housing to supply water to the rack. A thawing device comprising a water storage tank for collecting and storing water, and a pump for forcefully feeding the water in the water storage tank to the racks, and a water sprinkling means correspondingly facing each of the plurality of racks; The rack comprises a water collecting means disposed below the part that allows the water to flow down, and the water from the pump is branched and supplied to the water sprinkling means, and the supplied water is collected by the water collecting means. It is characterized by being configured so that it can be recovered.

In this case, a water collection means of a desired shape is arranged below each of the plurality of racks, and a drainage port formed in the water collection means is made to face the vertical wall surface of the casing in close proximity to the water collection means. It is preferable that the water is collected into the water tank by discharging the water collected by the means through a drain port onto a vertical wall surface and causing it to fall along the vertical wall surface.

Embodiments Next, the thawing device according to the present invention will be described below with reference to preferred embodiments and the accompanying drawings. Fig. 1 is a transparent perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the thawing device according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows the arrangement relationship of the rack, water collection plate, and water sprinkling pipe arranged vertically inside the device main body. The schematic vertical sectional view shown in FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the rack and the water collecting plate separated for convenience.

The illustrated thawing device includes a casing 20 consisting of a vertically long box-shaped cabinet as an exterior body.
Inside the rack 0, each set of units consisting of a water sprinkling means 40 consisting of a water sprinkling pipe, a rack 22 capable of storing the goods to be thawed M therein, and a water collecting means 26 consisting of a water collecting plate are installed in the vertical direction, for example, 4 units. Arranged in layers. A water storage tank 28 is provided at the bottom of the housing 20 to collect water used for thawing and cyclically use it again for thawing.

The rack 22 has a rectangular frame body, and a wire gauze 24 made of net is stretched over the open bottom surface of the rack 22, and the upper part of the rack 22 is completely open. Note that, instead of using the wire mesh 24, a large number of through holes may be formed in the rack bottom plate as long as it allows water to flow down. In addition, the water collection plate 26 is connected to a vertical wall surface 20 that forms the back surface of the housing 20.
It consists of a rectangular dish with a bottom surface that gently slopes toward the direction a, and the upper part of the dish is completely open. This water collecting plate 26 is arranged and fixed horizontally at a predetermined interval inwardly on both side walls of the casing 20, and has edges 26a of a required width extending between both fixed parts.
The rack 22 is arranged at 26a so that it can be pulled out toward the front. That is, the rack 22 in each unit is placed in the vertical direction so that it can be taken in and out of the housing 20, and specifically, it can be pulled out onto both edges 26a, 26a of each corresponding water collection tray 26. Placed and supported.

In each unit consisting of the rack 22 and the water collecting plate 26, a water sprinkler pipe 40 is arranged above the rack 22 so as to face the corresponding one. That is, as is clear from FIG. 4, a main water supply pipe 32 that connects to the discharge side of the pump 30 that communicates with the water tank 28 stands vertically on the back side of the main body of the apparatus. This main water supply pipe 32 has branch pipes 34 at predetermined intervals.
A sprinkler pipe 40 is removably attached to each end of a water pipe 36 extending left and right from this branch pipe 34 via an elbow 38. This water pipe 40 is connected to the individual racks 2 constituting each unit.
Its position and dimensions are set so that it faces correspondingly slightly above 2. The sprinkler pipe 40 is
In the illustrated embodiment, each unit is provided with two, but a simple structure may be adopted in which one is located in the upper center of the rack 22. Each of the water sprinkler pipes 40 is provided with a large number of through holes 40a at appropriate intervals so as to uniformly spray water onto the wire mesh 24 stretched over the rack 22. Furthermore, water sprinkler pipe 4
A plug 42 is removably inserted into the opening opened at the free end of the plug 42, for example, by screwing or the like.

Furthermore, as shown in FIG. 2 and FIG.
A drain port 26b is provided which is oriented toward the drain port 26b. This drainage port 26b is formed of a notch of a predetermined size, and faces the vertical wall surface 20a with a slight gap. Therefore, it is supplied to the rack 22,
After the water falling through the wire mesh 24 is collected in the water collecting tray 26, it flows down the slope surface and is transmitted from the drain port 26b to the vertical wall surface 20a,
It continues to flow down the vertical wall surface 20a.

Next, the actual use of the thawing device according to the embodiment configured as described above will be explained. Water to be used for thawing is stored in the water tank 28 at a predetermined water level, and the articles M to be thawed are stored in the racks 22 in each unit. Said water tank 28
The water inside is pumped to the main water pipe 32 by operation of the pump 30.
The water is then forced upward through the water supply pipes 34 and 36 provided at predetermined intervals, and branched and supplied to the water sprinkler pipes 40 corresponding to each unit. The water is then sprayed in a shower-like manner through a number of holes 40a formed in the sprinkler pipe 40, and hits the article M placed on the rack 22 located below to thaw the article.

The water that has come into contact with the item M to be thawed is directly transferred to the wire mesh 2.
4 and falls onto the water collection tray 26 placed below, flows down the slope surface of this water collection tray 26, is discharged from the drain port 26b onto the vertical wall surface 20a, and falls along the vertical wall surface 20a. , and finally collected in the water storage tank 28. The supply of this water to the rack 22, the thawing of the articles M to be thawed, and the collection into the water collecting tray 26 are performed in exactly the same manner for each unit. Therefore, the temperature of the water that comes into contact with the thawed articles M placed on the racks 22 in each unit is the same, and therefore uniform thawing of the thawed articles M is achieved in all units.

Furthermore, since the water collected in the water collection tray 26 is collected in the water storage tank 28 through the vertical wall surface 20a of the device, unlike conventional devices, there is almost no foaming on the water surface of the water storage tank 28, and therefore the pump 30 can be avoided and the pump efficiency can be kept constant at all times.

Note that FIG. 5 shows another embodiment of a means that can effectively suppress bubbling on the water surface when the water used for thawing is recovered into the water storage tank 14. That is, in this example, in the thawing apparatus according to the prior art shown in FIG.
A water collection plate 26 having the above-described structure is provided. Therefore, as mentioned above, the multiple stages of units located above the lowest steamer basket 12
2 and a watering tank 10 with slats. In this case as well, the water flowing down through each steamer basket 12 and the water sprinkler tank 10 is collected by the water collection tray 26 disposed below the lowest steamer basket 12, and
Since it flows into the water storage tank 14 through 0a, foaming on the water surface can be effectively suppressed.

Furthermore, depending on the type of the item M to be thawed, various impurities (for example, fish scales, shrimp carapace, etc.) may be mixed into the thawing water as the thawing progresses, and this may be collected in the water storage tank 28. After that, the water is mixed with water and supplied to the water sprinkler pipe 40 again. Therefore, the through hole 40
In this case, the apparatus according to the present invention allows the plug 42 to be removed from the tip of the water spray pipe 40, so that it can be easily cleaned. Further, the water sprinkler pipe 40 can be easily completely removed from the elbow 38 if necessary.

Effects of the Invention As explained above, according to the thawing device according to the present invention, even if a large number of racks containing items to be thawed are stacked vertically, water for thawing is supplied to each unit individually. Therefore, the temperature of the supplied water does not differ between the racks on the upper stage and the racks on the lower stage, and the articles to be thawed can always be thawed uniformly. Therefore, there is no need for the operator to perform the thawing operation again by changing the upper and lower racks during or after thawing, and the thawing efficiency is significantly improved.

In addition, the water used for thawing in each unit is collected into a water storage tank via a water collecting plate with a slope, along the vertical wall of the main body of the device.
There is no foaming in the water tank, and the pump efficiency can always be kept constant.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a transparent perspective view schematically showing the internal structure of the thawing device according to the present invention, and Fig. 2 shows the arrangement relationship of the rack, water collection plate, and water sprinkling pipe arranged vertically inside the device main body. FIG. 3 is an explanatory perspective view showing the relationship between the rack and the water collection tray separated for convenience; FIG. 4 is a schematic explanatory view of the device according to the present invention viewed from the rear side; FIG. Figure 6 is an explanatory diagram showing another embodiment of a means that can effectively suppress foaming on the water surface when the thawed water is collected into a water tank; Figure 6 is a schematic longitudinal section showing an example of a thawing device according to the prior art. It is a diagram. 20... Housing, 20a... Vertical wall surface, 22...
Rack, 24...Wire mesh, 26...Water collection means, 26
b... Drain port, 28... Water tank, 30... Pump, 32... Main water supply pipe, 34... Branch pipe, 40...
... Watering means, 40a... Watering hole, 42... Plug.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] [1] A rack 22, which is provided with a portion 24 at the bottom that allows water to flow down, such as a net or a number of holes, and in which an object to be thawed M can be stored and placed; A housing 20 in which a plurality of racks 22 can be loaded in and out in the vertical direction, and a water storage tank 28 disposed at the bottom of the housing 20 to collect and store water supplied to the racks 22. , this water tank 2
A thawing device comprising a pump 30 that pressure-feeds water in the rack 8 and supplies it to the racks 22, a water sprinkling means 40 correspondingly facing each of the plurality of racks 22, and a water sprinkling means 40 facing each of the plurality of racks 22, water collection means 26 disposed below the part 24 that allows water to flow down, the water from the pump 30 is branched and supplied to this watering means 40, and the supplied water is collected by the water collection means 26. A thawing device characterized in that it is configured to be able to do so. [2] A drainage port 26b formed in the water collection means 26 provided in each of the plurality of racks 22,
The drain port 2 is placed close to the vertical wall surface 20a of the casing 20, and the water collected in the water collecting means 26 is drained from the drain port 2.
Utility model registration claim 1, characterized in that the water is discharged onto the vertical wall surface 20a through the vertical wall surface 20a, and is collected into the water storage tank 28 by falling along the vertical wall surface 20a.
Defrosting device as described in section. [3] The water sprinkling means 40 is composed of a water sprinkling pipe branched and connected to the main water supply pipe 32 communicating with the discharge side of the pump 30, and the water sprinkling pipe 40 has a large number of water sprinkling holes 40a opening toward the rack 22. A thawing device according to claim 1 or 2 of the utility model registration claim, wherein the thawing device is provided with: [4] The water sprinkler pipe 40 opens at a free end opposite to the side where it branches from the main water supply pipe 32,
The thawing device according to claim 3, wherein a plug 42 is removably inserted into the opening. [5] The thawing device according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the water sprinkler pipe 40 is detachably connected to a branch pipe 34 from the main water supply pipe 32.