JPS63198963A - Thawing cabinet - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE:To obtain a thawing cabinet, capable of recovering excess water, sprinkled by a sprinkler and dripped from an evaporator and water jumping back from the evaporator in a water collector without draining and returning the water to a water storage tank. CONSTITUTION:A thawing cabinet obtained by forming housing parts 3 for a frozen food in the upper part of a cabinet divided by a heat insulating box 2, providing a plate fin type evaporator 9, water sprinkler 10 and a blower 11 in the lower part in the cabinet, installing a water collector 12 having the lower end edge for receiving an air blow-off surface (9B) of the evaporator 9 in the form of a recessed part (12A) under the evaporator 9 and water sprinkler 10 and a bottom plate 13 with a scattering preventing plate (13A) formed in the side end part of the recessed part (12A) under the blower 11.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (a) Field of Industrial Application The present invention relates to a thawing chamber for thawing frozen foods using humid cold air forcedly circulated by high-speed airflow.

(b) Conventional technology Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 61-205763 discloses that a partition plate is disposed inside the refrigerator defined by a heat insulating box to divide the interior into upper and lower sections, dividing the interior into an upper area and a lower area. , the upper section includes a plate-fin type evaporator, two eliminators placed at appropriate intervals on both sides of the evaporator, a blower fan placed behind the air outlet surface of the evaporator, and an evaporator. It is equipped with a water storage tank with an open upper surface located directly below the evaporator and both eliminators, and a water sprinkling pipe that sprinkles water from the water storage tank toward the air inlet surface of the evaporator. A thawing chamber is disclosed which is equipped with a storage section for storing frozen foods.

(c) Problems to be Solved by the Invention In the defrosting chamber of the prior art, the water storage tank directly collects the water dripping from the evaporator and the eliminator for preventing splashing water, and during defrosting, the defrosting chamber is designed to Since the rotation of the fan creates an extremely high-speed airflow, there is a limit to the ability of the eliminator to prevent water from scattering, making it impossible to prevent ice from falling outside the water storage tank, resulting in an increase in water consumption, which is uneconomical.

Furthermore, since the lower area of the insulation box is used as a storage area for frozen foods, it is troublesome to take in and take out foods, especially those on the bottom shelf, and the box is currently not being used effectively.

(d) Means for Solving the Problems In order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art, the present invention forms a storage section for frozen foods in the upper part of the refrigerator defined by a heat insulating box, and The refrigeration system is equipped with a plate-fin type evaporator for converting cold air into a high-humidity, high-speed airflow and circulating it to the storage section, a water sprinkler for sprinkling water on the evaporator, and a blower. Equipped with a water collector, and a water storage tank that stores the water collected in the water collector and the water supplied from the water supply pipe,
This thawing warehouse is equipped with a pump device for pumping water from the water storage tank to a water sprinkler.

(*) Function The present invention sprinkles water from the water storage tank (18) from the water sprinkler (10) to the evaporator (9>) during thawing operation, and
By rotating the , high-humidity, high-speed cold air is circulated to the storage section (3) to thaw the frozen products.

At this time, water dripping from the evaporator (9) and the evaporator (9)
All the water that bounces off falls into the water collector (12) and is then led to the water storage tank (18).

(F) Examples Examples of the present invention will be explained below based on the drawings. (1)
This is a thawing chamber whose main body is composed of an insulating box (2) with an open front, and a frozen food storage section (3) is formed in the upper part of the inside defined by the insulating box (2). In the storage section (3), a plurality of net shelves (4) on which frozen foods are placed are arranged at appropriate intervals in the vertical direction. ) on both sides of the insulation box (2) with a gap between them and the inner wall of the insulation box (2) to form a cold air supply path (6) and a return path (7). . (8)
is a heat insulating door that opens and closes the front opening of the storage section (3).

On the other hand, in the lower part of the chamber below the storage section (3), there is a plate fin type evaporator (9) and an air inlet surface (9A) of the evaporator (9).
), and a blower (11) arranged opposite to the air outlet surface (9B) of the evaporator (9). is an evaporator (9
), and the air outlet surface (9) of the evaporator (9) is inclined low in the direction of
A water collector (1) with a recess (12A) at the lower edge that receives B)
2) is arranged, and the blower (11) is provided below the blower (11).
The bottom plate (1) has a scattering prevention plate (13A) formed at the end of the recess (12A) to prevent water droplets from scattering due to high wind speeds.
3) is provided. (14) is a removable service door that closes the front opening of the lower part of the refrigerator.

Further, a water level control device (15) is provided below the bottom plate (13).
) A water storage tank (18) with an open top is provided to store water supplied from a water supply pipe (17) when a water supply electromagnetic valve (16) is opened. This water tank (
18) and the bottom of the recess (12A) of the water collector (12) are connected through a return pipe (19), and further connected to the water storage tank (12A).
8) and the water sprinkler (10) are connected to each other by a water pipe (21) with a pump device (20) interposed therebetween. A drain pipe (2) is connected from the water pipe (21) between the water storage tank (18) and the pump device (20) through a drain valve (22).
3) is branched, and the water in the water storage tank (18) can be drained by opening the drain valve (22). The tip of this drain pipe (23) is arranged oppositely under the opening (24) formed in the bottom wall of the insulation box (2).
), and then the drain plate (25) along with the drain pipe (23).
The pipe (26) facing the above is placed directly under the lowermost shelf (4) to receive drips when thawing frozen products.
It communicates with the drain port (27A) of 7).

Note that the electric compressor (28), condenser (29), and condenser air cooling blower (30) that constitute the refrigeration system together with the evaporator (9) are installed on the top wall of the insulation box (2). There is.

Next, the operation of the thawing chamber (1) will be explained.

This operation is carried out in three stages. In other words, thawing operation involves thawing frozen food with humid cold air of 0°C or higher, and in order to eliminate the temperature difference between the surface temperature and the center temperature of the thawed food, the temperature is slightly lower than 0°C, which is called ice temperature. A water-cooling operation that forms an ice film on the surface of the food while preserving the food at a certain temperature to thaw the center of the food (tight thawing operation). A preservation operation is performed in which food is cooled to a temperature that exceeds 0°C.

Furthermore, the thawing operation will be explained in detail. First, frozen food (31) such as meat is placed on the shelf (4) of the storage section (3). At this time, since the storage part (3) is not formed in the upper part of the inside of the insulation box (2), the frozen food (31) is not placed on the bottom shelf (4).
can be taken in and out easily, and the storage section (3) can be used effectively.

Therefore, the refrigeration device, the blower (11) and the pump device (2
0), the cold air that has undergone heat exchange in the evaporator (9) is transferred from the sprinkler (10) to the air inlet surface (9A) of the evaporator (9).
), it becomes humid as it contains fine particles of water that has been sprayed.
The humid, high-speed cold air that passes through the evaporator (9) in a high-speed airflow by the blower II (11) is circulated to the storage section (3) as shown by the arrow in Figure 1, where it thaws the frozen food (31). This thawing operation is controlled by a timer (not shown), and the set temperature of the storage section (3) is maintained at, for example, about 5° C., and the humidity is maintained at 95% to 100%.

By the way, the water sprinkled on the evaporator (9) is not all contained in the cold air and circulated, but the excess water is sent to the evaporator (9).
9) to the water collector (12). In addition, the evaporator (9
) also falls into the water collector (12). The water that has fallen into the water collector (12) flows into the recess (1) of the water collector (12).
2A) through the return pipe (19) to the water storage tank (18)
be collected and reused.

(G) Effects of the Invention As described above, the present invention ensures that the water collector collects the excess water that is sprinkled from the water sprinkler and falls from the evaporator, and the water that has rebounded from the evaporator without draining it. Water can be returned to the storage tank and reused, reducing water consumption.
It has extremely economical effects.

Furthermore, since the storage section is formed in the upper part of the refrigerator, it is easy to take in and take out frozen food over the entire area of the storage section, and the storage section can be used effectively.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a longitudinal sectional front view of the thawing chamber of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the thawing chamber of the present invention. (2)...insulation box, (3)...storage section, (≦)・
... Evaporator, (10) ... Water sprinkler, (11) ...
Air blower, (12)...water collector, (18)...water storage tank, (20)...pump device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A storage section for frozen food is formed in the upper part of the chamber defined by an insulated box, and a plate-fin type evaporator in the refrigeration system is used in the lower section of the chamber to turn cold air into high-humidity, high-speed airflow and circulate it to the storage section. a water collector, a water sprinkler for sprinkling water on the evaporator, and a blower, and a water collector is provided below the evaporator and the water sprinkler, and the water collected in the water collector and the water supplied from the water supply pipe are provided. A thawing warehouse comprising: a water storage tank for storing water; and a pump device for pumping water from the water tank to the water sprinkler.