JPH0454898Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] (Field of Industrial Application) The present invention relates to a cooling/drying device for water-cooling and drying vacuum-packed products such as meat, poultry, or processed foods.

(Prior Art) Meat and processed foods are increasingly being sold as packaged products. For example, in the case of meat, the carcass is divided into appropriate sizes, wrapped in heat-shrinkable film or placed in a heat-shrinkable film bag, and passed through a hot water shrinker that sprays hot water at 70-95°C for about 2-3 seconds. Shrink the heat-shrinkable film and vacuum pack it. Water droplets on the packaged products are then blown away by air blasting, weighed, and packaged. When packaging products, dry ice is sometimes placed in the box together with the packaged products in order to cool them down.

When hot water is sprayed with a hot water shrinker to shrink the heat-shrinkable film, the food is also heated, making oil and drips more likely to come out. Therefore, in meat cut factories, after shrinking the heat-shrinkable film in a hot water shrinker, the packaged products are immersed in a water tank filled with cooling water to cool them down in a short time.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the method of immersing the packaged product that has passed through a hot water shrinker into a tank of cooling water, a worker is required to take out the packaged product from the tank and feed it into the air blast.

The present invention provides a device that can cool packaged products heated for vacuum packing or the like with water in a short time, and can automatically dry water adhering to the packaged products using a conveyor system. The purpose is to

(Means for Solving the Problems) In the cooling/drying device of the present invention, the bar conveyor that conveys the material from the inlet at one end to the outlet at the other end is separated into an inlet side bar conveyor and an outlet side bar conveyor. At the same time, the bar conveyor on the inlet side is connected to the bar conveyor on the outlet side so as to transfer the conveyed articles, and at least on the outlet side bar conveyor, a bar on which the conveyed articles are placed is rotatably attached, and the upper surface of the bar conveyor A cooling system comprising: a bar conveyor mechanism provided with a guide in contact with the rod on the lower side and rotating as the rod moves; and a cold water injector that sprays cold water onto the conveyed items from above and below the upper surface of the entrance side bar conveyor. a drying section equipped with an air blast that sprays high-pressure air onto the conveyed items from above and below the top surface of the outlet side bar conveyor; a cold water tank located at the bottom of the bar conveyor mechanism for cooling water with a refrigerator; The cold water circulation path includes a pump that guides cold water from a cold water tank to the cold water injector, and a guide member that is provided below the bar conveyor mechanism and returns used water to the cold water tank.

(Operation) When a heated object is carried in from the entrance of the apparatus, the object is conveyed by a bar conveyor. First, the conveyed object is cooled by being sprayed with cold water from above and below in the cooling section. The material to be transported is then transported to a drying section by a bar conveyor. In the drying section, high-pressure air is blasted from above and below the conveyed object using an air blast to remove water droplets attached to the conveyed object.

In the drying section, the rods of the bar conveyor rotate while moving to convey the conveyed items, so if high-pressure air is sprayed onto the conveyed items from an air blast, no water will remain between the conveyed items and the rods.

The water coming out of the cold water injector in the cooling section drips onto the guide member in the cooling section or drying section and returns to the cold water tank.

(Example) FIG. 1 shows an example. FIG. 2 is a plan view showing the bar conveyor portion of the same embodiment, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing a portion of the bar conveyor, and FIG. 4 is a front view of the air blast portion as seen from the exit side.

Reference numeral 2 denotes an entrance of the apparatus into which the conveyed goods 6, which are packaged products, are brought in, and 4 is an exit of the apparatus from which they are taken out.
2 for conveying the conveyed object 6 toward the outlet 4 from
Two bar conveyors 8, 10 are provided. The bar conveyor 8 is for the cooling section, and the bar conveyor 10 is for the drying section.

The bar conveyor 8 includes a chain 16 hooked on gears 12 and 14 and a chain 22 hooked on gears 18 and 20.
2 are parallel to each other. Between the chains 18 and 22, a plurality of rods 2 are installed parallel to each other with appropriate spacing.
4 is rotatably attached. Gear 12 and gear 18 are coaxially mounted, and gear 14 and gear 20 are coaxially mounted. The rotation of these gears 12, 14, 18, 20 causes the rod 24 to move together with the chains 16, 22.
The conveyed object 6 on 4 is conveyed.

The bar conveyor 10 also has the same structure as the bar conveyor 8. The bar conveyor 10 has gears 26, 28
The chain 30 is provided with a chain 30 that is hung on the
and chain 36 are parallel to each other. A plurality of rods 38 are rotatably mounted between the chains 30, 36 and parallel to each other at appropriate intervals. Gear 26 and gear 32 are coaxially mounted, and gear 28 and gear 34 are coaxially mounted. By rotationally driving these gears 26, 28, 32, 34, the rod 3 is rotated together with the chains 30, 36.
8 moves to convey the object 6 on the rod 38.

A guide 40 is provided below the bar 24 of the bar conveyor 8 and is in contact with the bar 24.
A guide 41 also in contact with the rod 38 on the lower side of the rod 38
is provided. As the chains 16 and 22 advance, the rod 24 rotates on the guide 40 as shown in FIG. 3, and as the chains 30 and 36 advance, the rod 38 rotates on the guide 41.

A gear 42 is further attached to the connecting shaft of the gears 26 and 32, and this gear 42 is connected to a gear 48 of a drive motor 46 by a chain 44. Also, the gear 1 of the bar conveyor 8 on the cooling section side
Both bar conveyors 8, 10 are connected by a chain between the gear 50 attached to the connecting shafts of the bar conveyors 4 and 20 and the gear 52 attached to the connecting shafts of the gears 28 and 34 of the bar conveyor 10 on the drying section side.
are operated simultaneously by the drive motor 46.

A conveyed object 6 is placed at the joint between both bar conveyors 8 and 10.
A rod 54 is provided for smooth transfer of the material.

The upper part on the inlet side serves as a cooling section 56. In the cooling section 56, in order to cool the conveyed object 6, a cold water injector 58 injects cold water from below the bar 24 on the top surface of the bar conveyor 8, and a cold water injector 60 that sprays cold water from above the conveyed object 6. is provided. The cold water injectors 58 and 60 are pipes arranged in a direction perpendicular to the direction in which the bar conveyor 8 moves, with a plurality of holes 59 formed therein. Cold water injector 58, 60
Both holes are opened upward, and a reflecting plate 62 is provided above the upper cold water injector 60 to reflect the cold water downward.

The upper part on the exit side is a drying section 64. In the drying section 64, an air injector 66 injects high-pressure air from below the bar 38 on the top surface of the bar conveyor 10 in order to blow away water droplets attached to the conveyed object 6;
An air blast is provided with an air injector 68 that injects high-pressure air from above the conveyed object 6.

The lower air injector 66 is a pipe arranged in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the bar conveyor 10 and has a vertical slit 67 provided therein. The air injector 66 is oriented and fixed so as to blow air obliquely upward in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the bar conveyor 10.

The upper air injector 68 is also a pipe arranged in a direction perpendicular to the direction of movement of the bar conveyor 10 and provided with a vertical slit. The air injector 68 is oriented and supported by the support member 70 so as to blow air obliquely downward in a direction opposite to the direction of movement of the bar conveyor 10. Support member 7
0 is rotatably attached to a fixture 74 by a shaft 72. Air injector 68 across shaft 72
A weight 76 is provided on the opposite side to smooth the rotational movement of the air injector 68. When the conveyed object 6 passes through the drying section 64, the support member 70 comes into contact with the conveyed object 6 and rotates the support member 7 around the shaft 72.
0 rotates. As a result, the height of the upper air injector 68 changes according to the size of the conveyed object 6, and regardless of the size of the conveyed object 6, the conveyed object 6 and the air injector 68
The interval is kept constant.

The air blast air injector 66 receives high pressure air from a turbo fan 78, and the air injector 68 receives high pressure air from another turbo fan (not shown).

Reference numeral 78 denotes a switch such as a limit switch that is activated by rotation of the support member 70. This switch 78 is for controlling the operation of the two turbo fans so as to stop the two turbo fans when the transported object 6 does not pass for a certain period of time.

A partition 80 is provided at the upper portion between the cooling section 56 and the drying section 64 to prevent water splashed in the cooling section 56 from entering the drying section 64.

A cold water tank 82 is provided at the bottom of the device and stores cold water. A cooling coil 86 connected to a refrigerator 84 is provided at the bottom of the cold water tank 82 to cool the water. 88 is a condenser of the refrigerator.

A temperature sensor such as a thermocouple is provided underwater in the cold water tank 82, and an ice sensor is provided near the cooling coil 86 to detect the thickness of ice.
The operation of the refrigerator 84 is controlled by the temperature sensor and the ice sensor so that the temperature of the cold water is, for example, 0.5° C., and the thickness of the ice is, for example, several centimeters. 90
is a water supply port to the cold water tank 82.

Reference numeral 92 denotes a circulation pump, which guides cold water taken in from a cold water intake port 94 provided at the lower part of the cold water tank 82 to the cold water circulators 58 and 60 through a flow path 96. A bypass flow path 97 is provided in the flow path 96 via a valve 98, and the bypass flow path 97 is led to the cold water tank 82 and used for stirring the inside of the cold water tank 82. The valve 98 can adjust the flow rate ratio of cold water flowing into the flow path 96 and the bypass flow path 97.

A lid 99, which is a guide member, is provided at the bottom of the bar conveyors 8, 10 so as to cover the tops of the cold water tank 82, motor 46, two turbo fans 8, pump 92, etc., and the lid 99 is used to take in cold water. The water that falls on the lower side of the bar conveyors 8 and 10 is transferred to the cold water tank 82, which slopes downward toward the side opposite to the opening 94.
Return to

Reference numeral 100 denotes a control panel for starting and stopping the device and displaying the temperature of the cold water.

A bar conveyor 102 that conveys the goods 6 to the entrance 2 is installed close to the outside of the inlet side of the device, and a bar conveyor 102 that conveys the goods 6 from the outlet 4 to the outside of the device is installed for weighing and packing the goods 6 from the outlet 4. A bar conveyor 104 is provided nearby to transport the bar to the location.

The apparatus of this embodiment can be used, for example, in a meat vacuum packing line as shown in FIG.

106 is a vacuum packing chamber for wrapping meat with a heat-shrinkable film; 108 is a hot water shrinker for spraying warm water onto the wrapped meat; and 110 is a cooling/drying device of this embodiment. Meat is vacuum packed in room 10.
6. It is also conveyed by a bar conveyor through the hot water shrinker 108 and sent to the cooling/drying device 110.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

The conveyed object 6 is vacuum-packed by being sprayed with hot water by the hot water shrinker 108 to shrink the heat-shrinkable film, and is then cooled and packed in the heated state.
It is fed into the inlet 2 of the drying device 110. Entrance 2
The conveyed items 6 that have been placed on the bar conveyor 8 are heated to 0°C by being sprayed from above and below by cold water injectors 58 and 60.
It is rapidly cooled by cold water close to . after that,
The conveyed object 6 is transferred to the bar conveyor 10 and then to the drying section 64.
to go into. In the drying section 64, water droplets attached to the conveyed articles 6 are blown off by high-pressure air jetted from above and below the bar conveyor 10. The dried material 6 exits from the outlet 4 and rides on the bar conveyor 104.

In the embodiment, the bar conveyors include a bar conveyor 8 for the cooling section 56 and a bar conveyor 1 for the drying section 64.
Since the bar conveyor 8 of the cooling section 56 is separated into 0 parts, there is an advantage that water adhering to the bar conveyor 8 of the cooling section 56 is not carried into the drying section 64.

Bars 24 and 38 rotate in contact with guides 40 and 41 on bar conveyors 8 and 10. Therefore, this is effective in preventing water from remaining between the conveyed object 6 and the rod 38, especially in the drying section 64. However, the present invention is not limited to the guides 40, 41.

The cold water injectors 58 and 60 of the cooling section 56 and the drying section 6
The structure of the air injectors 66, 68 of the air blast of No. 4 is not limited to that of the embodiment, but can be modified to perform the same function.

(Effects of the invention) In this invention, in order to shrink the heat-shrinkable film, the heated material is transported by a bar conveyor and cooled with cold water in the cooling section, and then air blasted in the drying section. By drying,
Cooling and drying of conveyed items can be performed unattended.

By circulating the cooling water through the circulation path, the power consumption of the refrigerator can be reduced.

Furthermore, since the bar conveyor is separated into an inlet side bar conveyor (cooling section side) and an outlet side bar conveyor (drying section), water attached to the bar conveyor in the cooling section is not carried into the drying section. Furthermore, at least on the exit side bar conveyor, the bar on which the conveyed items are placed rotates as it moves, so when high-pressure air is sprayed onto the conveyed items from the air blast,
No water remains between the conveyed object and the rod, which improves drainage.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is a sectional view showing one embodiment, Fig. 2 is a plan view showing a bar conveyor part of the same embodiment, Fig. 3 is a sectional view showing a part of the bar conveyor, and Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing an air blast part. FIG. 5, which is a front view seen from the exit side, is a block diagram showing a line for meat packs in which this embodiment is used. 2...Entrance, 4...Exit, 6...Transferred object, 8,
10...Bar conveyor, 56...Cooling section, 58,
60...Cold water injector, 64...Drying section, 66,6
8...Air injector, 82...Cold water tank, 84...
... Refrigerator, 92 ... Pump, 99 ... Lid as a guide member.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] The bar conveyor that conveys the goods from the entrance at one end to the exit at the other end is separated into an entrance side bar conveyor and an exit side bar conveyor, and the goods are transferred from the entrance side bar conveyor to the exit side bar conveyor. At least on the exit side bar conveyor, a bar on which the conveyed items are placed is rotatably attached, and a guide that contacts the bar is provided on the lower side of the upper surface of the bar conveyor, so that the bar is connected to the bar conveyor. A bar conveyor mechanism that rotates as the bar conveyor moves, a cooling unit equipped with a cold water injector that sprays cold water onto the conveyed items from above and below the top surface of the entrance side bar conveyor, and a cooling unit that sprays high-pressure air onto the conveyed items from above and below the top surface of the exit side bar conveyor. a drying section equipped with an air blast that sprays water; a cold water tank that is located at the bottom of the bar conveyor mechanism and cools water with a refrigerator;
Cooling of conveyed objects, comprising: a pump that guides cold water from the cold water tank to the cold water injector; and a cold water circulation path provided at the bottom of the bar conveyor mechanism to return used water to the cold water tank.・Drying equipment.