JP2008170016A - Cooling device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To simplify a constitution of a vacuum cooling means. <P>SOLUTION: In this cooling device comprising a cooling chamber 2 for receiving an article 3 to be cooled, a cooling heat exchanger 9 installed in the cooling chamber 2, a vacuum cooling means 4 for cooling the article 3 to be cooled by reducing the pressure inside the cooling chamber 2, and a control means 6 for controlling operation of the vacuum cooling means 4, the vacuum cooling means 4 is so formed that a pressure reducing means 16 is installed in a pressure reducing line 15 connected to the cooling chamber 2, and that an open/close valve 17 is disposed between the cooing chamber 2 and the pressure reducing means 16, and the control means 6 is adapted to sequentially perform a first vacuum cooling step by opening the open/close valve 17 and reducing the pressure inside the cooling chamber 2 by operation of the pressure reducing means 16, and a second vacuum cooling step by closing the open/close valve 17 to stop the operation of the pressure reducing means 16, and activating the cooling heat exchanger 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a cooling device such as a composite cooling device that performs vacuum cooling.

  As a conventional composite cooling device, the one described in Patent Document 1 is known. In this composite cooling device, the decompression means of the vacuum cooling means is constituted by a steam ejector, a heat exchanger and a water-sealed vacuum pump, and the cooling water of the heat exchanger is cooled by a cooling tower and a refrigerator. Yes. In this conventional apparatus, equipment is required to obtain a high vacuum such as a steam ejector.

JP 2002-318051 A

  The main problem to be solved by the present invention is to provide a cooling device capable of simplifying the configuration of the vacuum cooling means.

  This invention was made in order to solve the said subject, and invention of Claim 1 is a cooling chamber which accommodates a to-be-cooled object, the heat exchanger for cooling provided in this cooling chamber, The said cooling A cooling device comprising a vacuum cooling means for cooling the object to be cooled by reducing the pressure inside the chamber, and a control means for controlling the operation of the vacuum cooling means, wherein the vacuum cooling means is connected to the cooling chamber. The pressure reducing line is provided with a pressure reducing means, and an opening / closing valve is provided between the cooling chamber and the pressure reducing means, and the control means opens the opening / closing valve and depressurizes the cooling chamber by the operation of the pressure reducing means. A first vacuum cooling step and a second vacuum cooling step of closing the on-off valve, stopping the operation of the pressure reducing means, and operating the cooling heat exchanger are sequentially performed.

  According to the first aspect of the present invention, there is no need for a decompression means for obtaining a high vacuum as in the prior art, and the configuration of the vacuum cooling means can be simplified.

  According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the apparatus includes a cool air cooling unit that cools the object to be cooled by the air in the cooling chamber cooled by the cooling heat exchanger.

  According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first aspect of the invention, the cold air cooling means can be used to cool the object to be cooled, and the operation of the vacuum cooling means can be performed. Various cooling functions can be achieved in combination with vacuum cooling.

  According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the cold air cooling unit is configured to circulate air in the cooling chamber, and an object to be cooled and the cooling heat in the circulation flow by the air circulation unit. A circulation path constituting member that constitutes a circulation path so as to position the exchanger, and the circulation path constituting member divides the cooling chamber into a first area and a second area in an up and down direction by an opening for communication. In addition to including a partition wall communicating the first region and the second region, the object to be cooled and the heat exchanger for cooling are disposed in the first region and the second region, respectively.

  According to the invention of claim 3, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 2, the cooling heat exchanger is disposed in the lower part of the cooling chamber, so that the cooling heat exchanger is cleaned. Can be easily performed, and there is an effect that contamination of the foodstuff by the cleaning liquid can be prevented.

  According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the second aspect, the fan disposed in the cooling chamber for circulating the cold air, the motor disposed outside the cooling chamber for driving the fan, and the motor in the cooling chamber space. An airtight sealing means for hermetically shutting off is provided.

  According to the fourth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the second aspect of the invention, the airtight sealing means shuts off the cooling chamber, so that the motor is subjected to pressure fluctuation and a reduced pressure environment. Thus, the fan driving motor can be easily selected and the object to be cooled can be prevented from being contaminated.

  According to a fifth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect of the present invention, the drain stored in the cooling chamber is discharged by operating the decompressor when the cold air cooling means is operated.

  According to the invention described in claim 5, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, there is an effect that drain can be effectively discharged during cooling with cold air.

  According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the control means supplies steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber before the second vacuum cooling step, and the cooling chamber is steamed. It is characterized in that an air exhausting step of exhausting air in the cooling chamber is performed by satisfying.

  According to invention of Claim 6, in addition to the effect by the invention of Claim 1 or Claim 2, there exists an effect that said 2nd vacuum cooling process can be performed effectively.

  A seventh aspect of the present invention includes a hot water tank connected to the cooling chamber via a steam supply valve according to the sixth aspect, and the control means includes the steam supply valve before the second vacuum cooling step. And an air exhausting process for supplying hot water together with steam into the cooling chamber is performed.

  According to the invention described in claim 7, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 6, since warm water is supplied into the cooling chamber together with the steam, there is an effect that the concentration in the warm water tank can be reduced.

  The invention according to claim 8 is characterized in that, in claim 7, the control means supplies water so as to overflow from the hot water tank when water is supplied to the hot water tank after the air exclusion step.

  According to the eighth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the seventh aspect of the invention, the concentrated water is discharged from the hot water tank, so that the concentration in the hot water tank can be further reduced. Play.

  The invention described in claim 9 includes, in claim 6, supply means for supplying steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber at the time of the air removal step, and in the defrosting step different from the air removal step, The cooling heat exchanger is defrosted with steam and / or hot water from the supply means.

  According to the ninth aspect of the invention, in addition to the effect of the sixth aspect of the invention, since the supply means for removing air and the supply means for defrosting can be used together, the apparatus configuration can be simplified. There is an effect.

  A tenth aspect of the present invention is the method according to the sixth aspect, further comprising supply means for supplying steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber at the time of the air evacuation step. The cooling chamber is sterilized with steam and / or hot water from the means.

  According to the invention described in claim 10, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 6, since the supply means for removing air and the supply means for sterilization can be used in combination, the apparatus configuration can be simplified. Play.

  According to an eleventh aspect of the present invention, in the first or second aspect, the cooling heat exchanger includes a fan for blowing air, and the fan is driven during the second vacuum cooling step.

  According to the invention of claim 11, in addition to the effect of the invention of claim 1 or 2, there is an effect that the second vacuum cooling step can be effectively performed.

  A twelfth aspect of the invention includes the pressure reducing capacity adjusting means for adjusting the pressure reducing capacity without supplying air into the cooling chamber according to the first or second aspect, wherein the control means operates the vacuum cooling means. In the first vacuum cooling step according to the method, the pressure reduction capacity is adjusted by the pressure reduction capacity adjusting means to adjust the cooling rate.

  According to the twelfth aspect of the present invention, in addition to the effect of the first or second aspect of the invention, the second vacuum cooling step is not disabled, and the object to be cooled in the first vacuum cooling step. There is an effect that the cooling rate of the object can be adjusted effectively.

  Furthermore, the invention described in claim 13 is characterized in that, in claim 1 or 2, a fan for blowing air to the cooling heat exchanger is provided, and the fan is driven in the initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step. Yes.

  According to the invention described in claim 13, in addition to the effect of the invention described in claim 1 or 2, the vacuum cooling time can be shortened by removing the rough heat of the object to be cooled by driving the fan. There is an effect.

  According to the present invention, the configuration of the vacuum cooling means can be simplified.

  Next, an embodiment of the cooling device of the present invention will be described. The embodiment of the present invention is applied to a cooling device that cools an object to be cooled in vacuum, or a cooling device (composite cooling device) that can cool an object to be cooled by cold air cooling and vacuum cooling.

  This embodiment will be specifically described. In this embodiment, a cooling chamber for storing an object to be cooled, a heat exchanger for cooling provided in the cooling chamber, a vacuum cooling means for cooling the object to be cooled by depressurizing the cooling chamber, and the vacuum And a control device for controlling the operation of the cooling means, wherein the vacuum cooling means is provided with a decompression means in a decompression line connected to the cooling chamber, and is opened and closed between the cooling chamber and the decompression means. The control means opens the on-off valve, the control means opens the on-off valve, and the decompression means operates to depressurize the cooling chamber; the on-off valve is closed and the decompression means stops operating In addition, the second vacuum cooling step of operating the cooling heat exchanger is sequentially performed.

The vacuum cooling means includes the first vacuum cooling means for performing a first vacuum cooling process and the second vacuum cooling means for performing a second vacuum cooling process, and the second vacuum cooling process is performed after the first vacuum cooling process. The cooling process is performed. The first vacuum cooling means performs the first vacuum cooling step by the operation of the pressure reducing means, and the second vacuum cooling means sets the cooling chamber in a sealed state under a low pressure, and the cooling heat exchanger. And the second vacuum cooling step is performed.

  The operation of the first vacuum cooling means is to open the on-off valve and operate the pressure reducing means, and the operation of the second vacuum cooling means is after the cooling chamber has created a low pressure state. The on-off valve is closed and the cooling heat exchanger is operated, that is, the refrigerant is supplied to perform the cooling action.

  In this embodiment, first, a first vacuum cooling step is performed. In the first vacuum cooling step, the cooling chamber is depressurized by the operation of the decompression means, and the object to be cooled is cooled by evaporation of moisture contained in the object to be cooled. When the first vacuum cooling step is completed, the second vacuum cooling step is performed. In the second vacuum cooling step, the on-off valve is closed to seal the cooling chamber, and the cooling heat exchanger is operated. Then, moisture in the object to be cooled evaporates, and the vapor moves to the cooling heat exchanger, where it condenses and promotes moisture evaporation of the object to be cooled. The evaporation and condensation of moisture are continuously performed, and the cooling chamber is maintained at a low pressure equal to or lower than the atmospheric pressure, and the second vacuum cooling step is performed. Here, the cooling heat exchanger functions as a cold trap (which can be referred to as an internal cold trap) that condenses steam in the cooling chamber.

  By the way, in this embodiment, the decompression means does not use a steam ejector, and is preferably a vacuum heat pump or a heat exchanger for condensation functioning as a cold trap outside the cooling chamber (referred to as an external cold trap). And a vacuum pump. Since this decompression means generates a vacuum state outside the cooling chamber, it can be referred to as an external vacuum generation means. The vacuum pump can be a water ejector.

  In general, when the decompression means is a combination of a vacuum pump and a heat exchanger for condensing with cooling water at room temperature, the cooling chamber can be cooled to about 30 ° C. (water temperature + about 7 ° C.). it can. Further, when the decompression means is a combination of a vacuum pump and a heat exchanger for condensing with cooling water as cold water, it can be cooled to a cold water temperature of about + 7 ° C. (up to about 20 ° C. for cold water using an ordinary chiller). it can. Further, by adding a steam ejector or the like as the decompression means, it is possible to cool to a lower temperature.

  However, as described above, when the decompression means is a water-sealed vacuum pump only, or a water-sealed vacuum pump and a heat exchanger for condensing heat exchanger having cooling water as room temperature water, only up to about 30 ° C, Where the cooling chamber cannot be cooled, according to this embodiment, it is possible to cool to about 10 ° C. by performing the second vacuum cooling step.

  In order to perform this second vacuum cooling step, as in this embodiment, when the pressure reducing means has a low pressure reducing capability, the steam generated by boiling the sealed water from the water sealed vacuum pump flows backward. Then, since the pressure in the cooling chamber does not decrease, it is necessary to disconnect the decompression means from the cooling chamber. It is the on-off valve that performs this separation function.

  Further, in order for the steam to condense in the heat exchanger for condensation in the second vacuum cooling step, it is necessary that the residual air partial pressure in the cooling chamber is lowered to a certain level due to the exclusion of air in the cooling chamber. By the way, when the initial temperature of the food material (hereinafter referred to as the initial product temperature) is high, steam is emitted from the object to be cooled from a time much earlier than the time when the pressure reducing means reaches the pressure reducing capacity limit. The air partial pressure can be lowered by eliminating air.

  However, when the initial product temperature is lower than the temperature corresponding to the decompression capability limit of the decompression means (for example, the initial product temperature is 20 ° C. and the decompression capability limit is 30 ° C.), the decompression means reaches the decompression capability limit. Even when the pressure is reduced, no vapor comes out of the object to be cooled, so that the cooling chamber remains filled with air of that pressure. As a result, the condensation of steam in the cooling heat exchanger is not performed well. When the initial product temperature is low, it is necessary to perform an air removal step of removing the air in the cooling chamber before the start of the second cooling step.

  Preferably, the air exhausting step is performed by supplying steam to the cooling chamber (steaming) and / or supplying hot water (feeding water) and operating the decompressor to fill the cooling chamber with steam. Configure to eliminate. Moreover, this air exclusion process can be configured to be performed in the order of the exhaust gas → the steam supply → the exhaust gas, and this can be performed once or a plurality of times. Supply means are provided to supply steam and / or hot water used in the air exclusion process. This supply means can be any one of hot water supply means for supplying hot water into the cooling chamber under reduced pressure, steam supply means for supplying steam, hot water and steam supply means for supplying hot water and steam.

  This air evacuation step is preferably in the middle or late stage of the first vacuum cooling step, and before the pressure in the cooling chamber reaches a pressure corresponding to the pressure reducing capability limit of the pressure reducing means (hereinafter referred to as a limit pressure). Configure to do. More specifically, before reaching the limit pressure, water having a temperature equal to or higher than the limit pressure equivalent temperature (for example, about 40 ° C.), that is, hot water is injected into the cooling chamber. The injected hot water starts to generate steam from the hot water when the pressure in the cooling chamber is reduced to a temperature equal to or lower than the saturated steam pressure of the hot water, and the generated steam can discharge the air in the cooling chamber to the outside. . In the air exclusion performed by injecting hot water, vacuum cooling can be performed without increasing the temperature of the object to be cooled as compared with the case where the air is excluded by steam. In addition, the use of a hot water generator produces an effect that measures for water treatment and concentration can be easily performed as compared with a steam generator. The required amount of hot water injection can be proportional to the volume of the cooling chamber.

  In addition, a hot water tank of a hot water generator is connected to the cooling chamber via a steam supply valve, and the steam supply valve is opened during the air exhausting step so as to supply hot water together with steam into the cooling chamber. be able to. By supplying the hot water in the hot water tank into the cooling chamber, the concentration of water in the hot water tank can be reduced.

  In order to further ensure this concentration reduction, it is desirable to supply water so as to overflow from the hot water tank when water is supplied to the hot water tank after the air exclusion step. In this case, water supply is performed from the lower end of the hot water tank of the hot water generator, and an overflow pipe is provided at the upper end of the hot water tank, so that the concentrated water can be easily discharged.

  The air exclusion step can be performed before the first vacuum cooling step. In this air evacuation step, steam is supplied to the cooling chamber (steaming) or hot water is supplied (water supply) while the decompressor is operated, so that the cooling chamber is filled with steam so as to exclude air. Constitute. Moreover, this air exclusion process can be configured to be performed in the order of the exhaust gas → the steam supply → the exhaust gas, and this can be performed once or a plurality of times. This air evacuation method is inferior in that it requires extra time and the cooling time becomes longer because the air evacuation step is provided separately from the method performed during the first vacuum cooling step. Moreover, when using steam, it is inferior also in the point to which a to-be-cooled object is heated with steam.

Moreover, in this embodiment, the defrosting means of the said heat exchanger for cooling can be provided. In the second vacuum cooling step, the cooling heat exchanger is frosted (including icing) depending on conditions. Then, since condensation of steam is not performed, the defrosting means is operated,
Perform defrosting.

  When the cooling heat exchanger is an evaporator of a refrigerator, the defrosting means is a so-called hot gas defrost that defrosts by flowing hot gas from the compressor of the refrigerator to the cooling heat exchanger. Can be configured. Moreover, this defrosting means can be used as a heater for heating the cooling heat exchanger. By defrosting the cooling heat exchanger, defrosting can be started by detecting the temperature or pressure of the evaporator. In addition, the pressure and the product temperature in the cooling chamber do not reach the set values, or the temperature or pressure of the evaporator, the pressure in the cooling chamber and the amount of change in the product temperature do not reach the set values. It can comprise so that defrosting may be started by detecting.

  The defrosting means may be configured to defrost the cooling heat exchanger with steam and / or hot water from the supply means in a defrosting process different from the air removing process. The defrosting means is configured to perform defrosting of the cooling heat exchanger by supplying steam and / or hot water in a state where the inside of the cooling chamber is depressurized to an atmospheric pressure or lower as in the air removing step. According to the structure of this defrosting means, since the supply means of the steam for exhausting air and / or hot water is not required separately, the structure of the apparatus can be simplified and the cost can be reduced.

  Moreover, in this embodiment, the sterilization means which sterilizes the said cooling chamber can be provided. The sterilization means includes a configuration in which only the cooling heat exchanger is targeted for sterilization and a configuration in which not only the cooling heat exchanger but also the entire cooling chamber is targeted for sterilization. .

  The former form of sterilization means can be configured to flow hot gas to the cooling heat exchanger to dry and sterilize the cooling heat exchanger. Moreover, as the sterilization means of the latter form, the cooling chamber can be sterilized at a high temperature of about 80 ° C. by supplying steam from the steam supply means for the air exclusion process into the cooling chamber. This steam supply means can be replaced with the warm water supply means or the warm water and / or steam supply means.

  In this embodiment, as a result of experiments by the inventors, there were cases where the desired cooling effect could not be obtained by the second vacuum cooling step. This is considered to be due to the following reason. That is, the steam in the cooling chamber condenses in the cooling heat exchanger that has become low temperature by the second vacuum cooling step, and the pressure decreases. However, when the air removal step is not performed effectively, residual air is taken along with the steam and gathers on the surface of the heat exchanger for cooling, which becomes a heat transfer obstacle. As a result of the heat transfer failure, the steam is not effectively cooled, so that the desired cooling is not performed by the second vacuum cooling step.

  Therefore, in this embodiment, preferably, the cooling heat exchanger is provided with a fan for blowing air, and the fan is driven during the second vacuum cooling step. By adopting such a configuration, the air attached to the surface of the cooling heat exchanger can be blown off by driving the fan. Thereby, the heat transfer failure is eliminated, and the desired vacuum cooling can be performed. This heat transfer obstruction elimination effect has been confirmed experimentally.

  Preferably, the fan is driven so that the fan can be rotated in the reverse direction and the gas flow can be reversed, and the forward rotation and the reverse rotation are performed one or more times. By adopting such a configuration, air can be effectively blown not only on the surface of the cooling heat exchanger facing the fan but also on the surface opposite to the facing surface. The fan is preferably driven in all the steps of the second vacuum cooling step. However, a part of the step, that is, the fan can be driven intermittently.

  Furthermore, in this embodiment, preferably, the cooling heat exchanger is provided with a fan for blowing air, and the fan is driven in the initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step. When the fan is driven, the cooling heat exchanger is deactivated. By adopting such a configuration, it is possible to improve the effect of removing the rough heat of the object to be cooled. The initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step means a period until the pressure in the cooling chamber becomes a set pressure or less, and this period is controlled by a sensor that detects the pressure in the cooling chamber or the product temperature, It can be controlled by a timer that measures the time from the start of the vacuum cooling process corresponding to the set pressure.

  Next, each component of this embodiment will be described. The object to be cooled is preferably a food, but is not limited thereto. The cooling chamber may be of any type, type, and size as long as it forms a sealed space for accommodating the object to be cooled and can take in and out the object to be cooled. This cooling chamber can be referred to as a cooling chamber, a cooling compartment, a cooling container, or the like.

  The cooling heat exchanger may be a heat exchanger that can be set to a temperature lower than the target cooling temperature (preferably about −10 ° C.) or less, and is preferably supplied from a condensing unit of the refrigerator. And an evaporator that cools the air in the cooling chamber by indirect heat exchange. However, the heat exchanger for cooling can be a heat exchanger that uses cold water supplied from a cold water production apparatus (chiller) or brine supplied from a branler as a refrigerant.

  And the said heat exchanger for cooling, Preferably, it comprises so that a to-be-cooled object may make a part of cold air cooling means to cool air. The cold air cooling means includes an air circulation means for circulating the air in the cooling chamber, and a circulation path that constitutes a circulation path so that the object to be cooled and the cooling heat exchanger are positioned in the circulation flow by the air circulation means. It shall be provided with the structural member. The circulating means is composed of a fan driven by a motor. The circulation path is preferably configured by forming the heat exchanger and the fan in the cooling chamber so as to be formed in the cooling chamber.

  The configuration of the circulation path is preferably configured such that the cooling chamber is vertically divided by a partition wall into a first region and a second region, an object to be cooled is accommodated in the first region, and the cooling is performed in the second region. A heat exchanger is installed. The fan is preferably arranged in the second region.

  The first region and the second region form a first opening and a second opening between the partition wall and the cooling chamber wall, or form the first opening and the second opening in the partition wall. Thus, a circulation path of the first region → the first opening → the second region → the second opening → the first region is formed.

  The partition wall is preferably configured to be detachable, and is configured so that the cooling heat exchanger is exposed from an opening through which the object to be cooled is taken in and out of the cooling chamber. With such a configuration, the cooling heat exchanger can be easily cleaned and inspected.

  As the circulation path constituting member, a first air guide that returns the cold air after cooling the object to be cooled to the first opening of the partition wall and guides the cold air from the second opening of the partition wall toward the object to be cooled. A second air guide that performs the operation can be provided in the second region. The first air guide and the second air guide are preferably configured to be detachable from the partition wall. The first air guide and the second air guide are preferably formed in a duct shape.

Further, in the first configuration, a fan as the air circulation means is disposed in the cooling chamber, preferably in the second region. The fan disposed in the cooling chamber is configured to be driven by a motor disposed outside the cooling chamber. In this configuration, in order to prevent a vacuum leak during the vacuum cooling step, a sealing unit that hermetically blocks the motor from the cooling chamber space is provided.

  The configuration of this sealing means will be described more specifically. The fan is connected to the motor by a rotating shaft that penetrates the cooling chamber wall. The rotating shaft is preferably detachably connected to the motor shaft of the motor and the fan by a shaft joint and a fan boss, respectively.

  The sealing means hermetically seals the rotating shaft portion. Specifically, the sealing means is preferably fixed to the cooling chamber wall so as to penetrate therethrough and have a fixed cylinder having a through hole through which the rotary shaft passes, and the rotary shaft supported in the through hole. And a seal member that hermetically seals the end of the fixed cylinder on the cooling chamber side.

  The seal member is a member for hermetically sealing between the rotating shaft and the fixed cylinder. The sealing member is attached to the sealing plate so as to seal the end portion of the through-hole that passes through the rotation shaft and faces the cooling chamber. The sealing plate is attached to the sealing plate. A first annular packing that seals between the inner wall of the through hole and the rotating shaft, and a second annular seal that is also mounted on the sealing plate and seals between the outer peripheral wall of the sealing plate and the inner wall of the through hole. It has a two-ring packing.

  According to the structure of the sealing means, the rotating shaft is hermetically sealed by the first annular packing and the second annular packing attached to the sealing plate.

  The controller controls the air exclusion process, the vacuum cooling process, and the cold air cooling process. When performing the vacuum cooling step, when the on-off valve is a check valve, the on-off valve is not directly controlled by the controller but indirectly controlled by the control of the decompressor.

  The present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and can be a cooling device that performs slow cooling after rapid cooling in the first vacuum cooling step. In the embodiment, the cooling device includes a decompression capacity adjusting unit that adjusts a decompression capacity of the decompression unit, and the control unit is configured to perform the decompression capacity during the first vacuum cooling step by the operation of the vacuum cooling unit. By adjusting the adjusting means, the cooling rate of the object to be cooled is adjusted. The adjustment of the cooling rate can be configured such that rapid cooling is performed by increasing the decompression capacity, and then slow cooling is performed by decreasing the decompression capacity.

  The decompression capacity adjusting means is configured such that air does not enter the cooling chamber during slow cooling. Preferably, the pressure reducing capacity adjusting means is an adjustment valve (which can be referred to as a vacuum valve) having an adjustable opening degree provided between the cooling chamber and the pressure reducing means, but is upstream of the pressure reducing means. An air supply line that branches off from the pressure reducing line, and an adjustment valve that can adjust the opening degree provided in the air supply line. Moreover, the said pressure reduction capability adjustment means can also be comprised by controlling the rotation speed of the vacuum pump which comprises the said pressure reduction means.

  According to the cooling device provided with such pressure reducing capacity adjusting means, since the outside air (air) does not enter the cooling chamber at the time of slow cooling, the effect can be obtained without disabling the second vacuum cooling step that requires a high degree of vacuum. Can be done automatically.

Further, in the embodiment, when the cold air cooling means is operated by the control means, a cold air cooling process is performed. In this cold air cooling step, the air in the cooling chamber is cooled by the cooling heat exchanger, and the object to be cooled is cooled by the cooled air. During this cold air cooling step, drain is generated on the surface of the cooling heat exchanger. In this embodiment, the control means operates the decompressor during the cold air cooling process, so that the drain generated in the cooling chamber can be discharged out of the cooling chamber through the decompression line.

  Hereinafter, a specific embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram of a composite cooling device 1 as a cooling device of the first embodiment, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of an enlarged cross section of the main portion of the first embodiment, and FIGS. It is a flowchart figure explaining the principal part of the control procedure by the same Example 1, respectively.

  The composite cooling device 1 is a cooling device that can perform vacuum cooling and cold air cooling, can selectively execute various cooling patterns, and has an object temperature to be cooled (hereinafter referred to as a product temperature) in a chilled region. It has the characteristic that the to-be-cooled object 3 can be cooled in a short time so that it may become low temperature.

  The composite cooling device 1 includes a cooling chamber 2, a vacuum cooling means 4 for cooling the object to be cooled 3 in the cooling chamber 2, a cold air cooling means 5 for cooling the object 3 to be cooled, and the vacuum cooling. A controller 6 as a control means for controlling the means 4 and the cold air cooling means 5 is provided as a main part.

  The controller 6 is provided with a timer 7 by software. The controller 6 is configured to control the vacuum cooling means 4, the cold air cooling means 5, and the like based on a cooling program composed of first to fifth programs stored in advance.

  The first to fifth programs are the properties of the object to be cooled 3 (whether the food is suitable for vacuum cooling), the product temperature at the beginning of cooling (hereinafter referred to as initial product temperature), and the product to be reached (cooled). It is selected according to the temperature (hereinafter referred to as the set cooling temperature). That is, the property condition of the object to be cooled 3 that the object to be cooled 3 is a food suitable for vacuum cooling, and the initial product that the initial product temperature is equal to or higher than the first temperature set value (for example, 70 ° C.). The program can be selected according to the temperature condition and the cooling temperature condition that the set cooling temperature is equal to or higher than the second temperature set value (for example, 10 ° C.) or lower. The set cooling temperature can be referred to as a target cooling temperature or an ultimate cooling temperature.

  Next, each component of the composite cooling device 1 will be described. The cooling chamber 2 forms a sealed space in which the object to be cooled 3 is accommodated, and includes an opening for taking in and out the object to be cooled 3 and a door for opening and closing the object (both not shown). The cooling chamber 2 is divided into an upper first region 81 and a lower second region 82 by a partition wall 8. In the first area 81, the object to be cooled 3 is accommodated, and in the second area 82, the cooling heat exchanger 9 constituting a part of the cold air cooling means 5 is arranged. The to-be-cooled object 3 is the foodstuff accommodated in the container.

  The cooling heat exchanger 9 is a well-known evaporator that performs a cooling action by evaporating the liquefied refrigerant supplied from a condensing unit 11 having a condenser (not shown) that liquefies the refrigerant of the refrigerator 10. Has been.

  The refrigerator 10 includes defrosting means for defrosting the cooling heat exchanger 9. This defrosting means has a well-known configuration called hot gas defrost for defrosting by flowing hot gas from the condensing unit 11 to the cooling heat exchanger 9 by reversing the flow of the refrigerant.

The partition wall 8 is configured to be detachable with respect to the cooling chamber 2. When the door is opened and the partition wall 8 is removed, the cooling heat exchanger 9 takes in and out the object to be cooled in the cooling chamber 2. It is comprised so that it may expose from the opening for use. In order to clean the cooling heat exchanger 9, the partition wall 8 is removed and exposed so that a cleaning machine (not shown) provided with the cooling heat exchanger 9 in the composite cooling device 1 is used. Can be used to wash.

  The cold air cooling means 5 cools the object 3 to be cooled with cold air. The cold air cooling means 5 includes a cooling heat exchanger 9 for cooling the air in the cooling chamber 2, and a fan 13 as an air circulation means driven by a motor 12 disposed outside the cooling chamber 2. including.

  A first opening (or gap) 141 and a second opening (or gap) 142 are provided between the constituent wall of the cooling chamber 2 and the partition wall 8, and an air circulation path (in the cooling chamber 2 ( In this case, the cooling air cooling function is achieved. In the first embodiment, the partition wall 8 constitutes the circulation path constituting member with the constituent wall of the cooling chamber 2. A shielding member (not shown) is provided between the fan 13 and the partition wall 8 and the constituent walls of the cooling chamber 2 so that the air emitted from the fan 13 does not return through a short path. A shielding member (not shown) is also provided between the cooling heat exchanger 9 and the partition walls 8 and the constituent walls of the cooling chamber 2.

  The vacuum cooling means 4 has a first vacuum cooling means 41 having a first vacuum cooling characteristic in which the vacuum cooling speed in the previous period is fast (fast) and the vacuum cooling speed slows in the latter period, and the vacuum cooling speed in the previous period is fast, And a second vacuum cooling means 42 having a second vacuum cooling characteristic in which the vacuum cooling rate is slowed down.

  Specifically, the first vacuum cooling means 41 and the second vacuum cooling means 42 are configured as follows. That is, the first vacuum cooling means 41 includes a decompression line 15 connected to the cooling chamber 2, a water-sealed vacuum pump 16 as decompression means provided in the middle of the decompression line 15, the cooling chamber 2 and An opening / closing valve 17 is provided between the vacuum pumps 16 and keeps the cooling chamber 2 hermetically closed when closed.

  The decompression line 15 is connected to the central portion of the bottom wall of the cooling chamber 2 as shown in FIG. Since the bottom wall is inclined downward from the peripheral end portion toward the center portion, the decompression line 15 is connected to the lowest portion of the bottom wall. With this configuration, drain can be quickly discharged in the drain discharge operation described later.

  The first vacuum cooling means 41 is configured to perform the first vacuum cooling step by operating (operating) the vacuum pump 16 with the on-off valve 17 open. The on-off valve 17 is a valve that only opens and closes, but can be a valve whose opening degree can be adjusted. The decompression line 15 may be provided with a check valve (not shown) for preventing the flow in the direction of the cooling chamber 2 as necessary. The first vacuum cooling characteristic of the first vacuum cooling means 41 having such a configuration is such that the vacuum cooling rate in the previous period is fast and the vacuum cooling rate is slowed in the latter period.

  The second vacuum cooling means 42 has a function of condensing steam from the object 3 to be cooled by the cooling heat exchanger 9 with the inside of the cooling chamber 2 sealed under a low pressure. It is configured to perform the process. The elements constituting the second vacuum cooling means 42 are the cooling chamber 2, the cooling heat exchanger 9, the on-off valve 17, and the first vacuum cooling means 41. Closing the inside of the cooling chamber 2 under a low pressure is realized by closing the on-off valve 17 after the first vacuum cooling step. As with the first vacuum cooling characteristic, the second vacuum cooling characteristic of the second vacuum cooling means 42 having such a configuration is such that the vacuum cooling rate in the first half is fast and the vacuum cooling rate is slowed in the second half.

  Then, the cold air cooling characteristic of the cold air cooling means 5 will be described. The characteristic of the temperature range above the first temperature set value (first cold air cooling characteristic) is the object to be cooled in the temperature range above the first temperature set value. Since the natural evaporation from 3 is dominant, the characteristic of the temperature range (second cold air cooling characteristic) that is faster than the vacuum cooling rate and lower than the second temperature set value is the same as that of the first vacuum cooling means 41 and The second vacuum cooling means 42 is slower than the previous vacuum cooling rate and faster than the later slowed vacuum cooling rate.

  In the first embodiment, even when the initial product temperature is low, in order to enable the operation of the second vacuum cooling process, the air exclusion process is executed in the middle or later stage of the first vacuum cooling process. ing. More specifically, before the internal pressure of the cooling chamber 2 reaches a pressure (limit pressure) corresponding to the depressurization capacity limit of the vacuum pump 16, the hot water of 40 ° C. that is equal to or higher than the temperature corresponding to the limit pressure is cooled. It is configured to inject into the chamber 2. The injected hot water starts to evaporate from the time when the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is reduced to a temperature equal to or lower than the saturated steam pressure of the hot water, and the generated steam can discharge the air in the cooling chamber 2 to the outside. it can.

  The timing of the hot water injection in the air exclusion process is the time when the elapsed time from the start of the first vacuum cooling process is measured by the timer 7 and the measured value becomes a set value (injection timing). The required amount of hot water injection is obtained in advance as a value corresponding to the volume of the cooling chamber 2 by experiments. The warm water injection timing can be set when the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is lowered to a set value.

  A hot water supply means 18 as a means for injecting hot water into the cooling chamber 2 includes a first water supply line 19 for supplying hot water into the cooling chamber 2, a hot water supply source (a hot water heater or a hot water generator) 20, The first water supply valve 21 for controlling the hot water supply is provided.

  The cooling chamber 2 is provided with a return pressure means 22 for returning the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 from negative pressure to atmospheric pressure after the vacuum cooling step. The return pressure means 22 includes a return pressure line 23 connected to the cooling chamber 2, and a return pressure valve 24 and a sterilization filter 25 provided in the middle of the return pressure line 23. The return pressure valve 24 is a valve whose opening degree can be adjusted in order to adjust the return pressure speed, but can be a valve only for opening and closing. Further, the return pressure line 23 can be provided with a check valve (not shown) that prevents the outward flow from the inside of the cooling chamber 2.

  The first vacuum cooling means 41, in addition to the exhaust function for discharging the gas in the cooling chamber 2, condensate water (drain) generated in the cooling heat exchanger 9 during the cold air cooling process. It is configured to have a drain discharge function for discharging to the outside. That is, the on-off valve 17 is opened during the cold air cooling step, and the operation of operating the vacuum pump 16 is performed intermittently.

  The controller 6 is configured to control the operation of the first vacuum cooling means 41, the second vacuum cooling means 42, the hot water supply means 18 and the cold air cooling means 5 according to the cooling program stored in advance. ing.

  In order to control the cooling program and the like, a product temperature sensor 26 for detecting the product temperature of the object 3 to be cooled, an indoor pressure sensor 27 for detecting the pressure (temperature) in the cooling chamber 2, and the refrigerant of the refrigerator 10 A refrigerant pressure sensor 28 and a refrigerant temperature sensor 29 are provided for detecting the pressure and temperature of the circuit, respectively. These sensors are connected to the controller 6 to control the condensing unit 11, the motor 12, the vacuum pump 16, the on-off valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, the return pressure valve 24, and the like.

The cooling program includes a first cooling pattern for sequentially performing a first cold air cooling process by the cold air cooling means 5, a vacuum cooling process by the vacuum cooling means 41 and 42, and a second cold air cooling process by the cold air cooling means 5. A program for executing a second cooling pattern for performing the second cold air cooling process after performing the vacuum cooling process (second program), and performing only the cold air cooling process by the cold air cooling means 5 A program for executing a third cooling pattern (third program), a program for executing a fourth cooling pattern for performing only the vacuum cooling step (fourth program), a first cooling air cooling step, and a vacuum cooling step for sequentially performing the first cooling air cooling step A program (fifth program) for executing the five cooling patterns is included.

  As described above, the first to fifth programs are configured so that they can be selected according to the property condition of the object 3 to be cooled, the initial product temperature condition, and the cooling temperature condition.

  That is, the initial product temperature is the first temperature under the condition that the object to be cooled 3 is a food suitable for vacuum cooling, that is, a food that contains water and can be evaporated, and it is desired to cool to a chilled region in a short time. When the temperature is equal to or higher than the set value, the first program is selected and executed. When the initial product temperature is lower than the first temperature set value, the second program is selected and executed. When the initial product temperature is equal to or higher than the first temperature set value under the condition that the object to be cooled 3 is a food suitable for vacuum cooling and it is desired to cool in a short time to a temperature range higher than the chilled range. The fifth program is selected and executed. If the initial product temperature is lower than the first temperature set value, the fourth program is selected and executed. Further, if the object to be cooled 3 is a food material that is not suitable for vacuum cooling or a food material in which the contained water cannot evaporate, the third program is selected and executed.

  Next, switching timing from the first cold air cooling step to the first vacuum cooling step in the first program and the second program (hereinafter referred to as first vacuum switching timing), from the first vacuum cooling step to the above Switching timing to the second vacuum cooling process (hereinafter referred to as second vacuum switching timing) and switching timing from the second vacuum cooling process to the second cold air cooling process (hereinafter referred to as cold air switching timing) will be described. .

  That is, the first vacuum switching timing is set when the detection value of the product temperature sensor 26 as the detecting means becomes the first switching set value.

  In addition, the second vacuum switching timing and the cold air switching timing are obtained in advance by experiments based on the first vacuum cooling characteristics and the second vacuum cooling characteristics, respectively. The second vacuum cooling switching timing is an elapsed time (cooling time) from the start of the first vacuum process until the vacuum cooling rate in the latter stage of the first vacuum cooling process reaches the vicinity of the cold air cooling rate of the second cold air cooling process. Is obtained as the second switching set value, and the measured value by the timer 7 serving as the detecting means becomes the second switching set value. The cold air switching timing is the elapsed time (cooling time) from the start of the second vacuum cooling process until the latter vacuum cooling rate of the second vacuum cooling process reaches the vicinity of the cold air cooling speed of the second cold air cooling process. Is obtained as the third switching set value, and the measured value by the timer 7 becomes the third switching set value.

The second switching set value and the third switching set value reach the pressure in the cooling chamber 2, the temperature in the cooling chamber 2, and the vicinity regardless of the cooling time (measurement time by the timer 7). The temperature can be determined by any one of the temperatures of the object to be cooled 3 or the amount of change in the pressure in the cooling chamber 2, the temperature in the cooling chamber 2, or the temperature of the object to be cooled 3. Then, when the indoor pressure sensor 25 detects the indoor pressure or the indoor temperature, or the product temperature sensor 7 detects the product temperature, when the detected value becomes the second switching set value, Switching from the vacuum cooling process to the second vacuum cooling process can be configured to switch from the second vacuum cooling process to the second cold air cooling process when the detected value reaches the third switching set value. . When the first to third switching setting values are set according to the product temperature, the first switching setting value, the second switching setting value, and the third switching setting value are set to the first temperature setting value and the second switching value, respectively. The temperature set value can be the third set temperature. The first switching set value can also be set by time other than the product temperature, room pressure, room temperature, or the like.

  By the way, in the first embodiment, the fan 13 is arranged in the second region 82 so as to face the cooling heat exchanger 9 and is driven by the motor 12 arranged outside the cooling chamber 2. is doing. For this reason, in the part which connects the said fan 13 and the said motor 12, and penetrates the said cooling chamber 2 wall, the said motor 12 is made with respect to the space in the said cooling chamber 2 so that a vacuum leak may not arise at the time of a vacuum cooling process. Sealing means 50 for hermetically blocking is provided.

  The sealing means 50 will be described with reference to FIG. The fan 13 is connected to the motor 12 by a rotating shaft 52 that penetrates the chamber wall 51 of the cooling chamber 2. The rotating shaft 52 is detachably connected to the motor shaft 53 of the motor 12 and the fan 13 by a shaft coupling 54 and a fan boss 55, respectively. The shaft coupling 54 is configured to be detachable by a screw (reference numeral omitted). The fan boss 55 is provided integrally with the fan 13.

  The seal means 50 positions the first bearing 56 and the second bearing 57 that support the rotating shaft 52 at both left and right ends thereof, the first bearing 56 and the second bearing 57, and the shaft coupling 54. It is mainly composed of a fixed cylinder 58 that accommodates and fixes the motor 12 and a seal member 59 that seals the end of the fixed cylinder 58 on the cooling chamber 2 side in a liquid-tight and air-tight manner.

  The first bearing 56 and the second bearing 57 are positioned and fixed in a first through hole 60 formed in the fixed cylinder 58. The first bearing 56 and the second bearing 57 function to smooth the rotational motion of the rotary shaft 52, maintain the rotational accuracy, and simultaneously support the load in the gravity direction.

  The fixed cylinder 58 passes through a second through hole 61 formed in the chamber wall 51 and is fixed. The fixing cylinder 58 is fixed to the chamber wall 51 and fixed to the motor 12 using a first flange 62 and a second flange 63 provided integrally with the fixing cylinder 58, respectively. The inner diameter of the second through-hole 61 is formed slightly larger than the outer diameter of the fixed cylinder 58 to facilitate the insertion of the fixed cylinder 58.

  That is, the first flange 62 is joined to a third flange 64 formed on the chamber wall 51 via an annular flange packing 70 and fixed by bolts and nuts (not shown), respectively. The cylinder 58 is detachably fixed to the chamber wall 51. The liquid-tight and air-tight seal between the fixed cylinder 58 and the second through hole 61 is realized by the first flange 62, the flange packing 70, and the third flange 64, and the first flange 62, the flange packing 70 and the third flange 64 constitute the sealing means 50.

  Further, the second flange 63 is joined to a fourth flange 65 formed as a part of the case of the motor 12 and fixed by bolts and nuts (not shown), respectively, so that the fixed cylinder 58 is Removably fixed to the chamber wall 51. The fixed cylinder 58 is formed of SUS, but is not limited thereto.

  The seal member 59 is a member for sealing (sealing) a gap formed between the rotary shaft 52 and the first through hole 60 of the fixed cylinder 58 in a liquid-tight and air-tight manner. The seal member 59 includes a sealing plate 66, a first annular packing 67, a second annular packing 68, and a pressing plate 69.

  The sealing plate 66 has a third through hole 71 through which the rotating shaft 52 passes, and the fixed cylinder 58 is sealed so as to seal an end of the first through hole 60 facing the cooling chamber 2. It is attached to a recess 72 formed at the end of the.

  The first annular packing 67 is attached to the constituent surface of the third through hole 71 so as to seal between the third through hole 71 of the sealing plate 66 and the rotary shaft 52. The first annular packing 67 is a rotary seal that seals the rotary shaft 52 rotatably. The second annular packing 68 is attached to the outer peripheral surface of the sealing plate 66 so as to seal between the outer peripheral surface of the sealing plate 66 and the recess 72. The second annular packing 68 is composed of an O-ring made of silicon rubber.

  The pressing plate 69 is detachably fixed to the end surface of the fixed cylinder 58 facing the cooling chamber 2 by a screw 73 so that the sealing plate 66 is pressed and fixed to the concave portion 72.

  The fixed cylinder 58 is formed with an operation hole 74 for allowing the shaft coupling 54 and the rotary shaft 52 to be connected or disconnected from the outside of the fixed cylinder 58.

  Further, referring to FIG. 1, a place where the refrigerant pipes 39, 39 connecting the cooling heat exchanger 9 and the condensing unit 11 penetrate the chamber wall 51 of the cooling chamber 3 is formed in a seal packing 75. Liquid-tight and air-tight. The seal packing 75 can be a compression fitting.

  The operation of the first embodiment will be described below with reference to FIGS.

<Preparation stage>
The user opens the door, accommodates the object to be cooled 3 in the cooling chamber 2, and closes the door to make it sealed. In this state, the on-off valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, and the return pressure valve 24 are all closed, and the motor 12, the vacuum pump 16, and the condensing unit 11 are all in an operating (operation) stopped state. It is. The steam generation source 20 can be in an operating state in advance.

<Cooling program selection>
In this state, the user selects the first to fifth programs after starting operation with an operation switch (not shown). This selection can be performed according to the initial product temperature, the set cooling temperature, and the type of the object to be cooled 3.

  With this selection, referring to FIG. 3, when the first program to the fifth program are selected in the processing step S1 (hereinafter, the processing step SN is simply referred to as SN), the processing proceeds to S2 to S6, respectively. Then, the first program to the fifth program are executed. Hereinafter, the operation of each operation program will be described.

<First program: cold air cooling → vacuum cooling → cold air cooling switching>
The first program is suitable for cooling foodstuffs having an initial product temperature of about 70 ° C. or higher and a set cooling temperature of 10 ° C. or lower, and the object to be cooled 3 contains moisture, and the moisture can evaporate. Now, the initial product temperature is 90 ° C. and the set cooling temperature is 3 ° C.

(First cold air cooling process)
When this first program is selected, the processing procedure of FIG. 4 is executed. In the first cold air cooling step S21, the on-off valve 17, the first water supply valve 21 and the return pressure valve 24 are closed, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped, and the condensing unit 11 and the fan 13 are operated. Thus, in the cooling chamber 2, the fan 13 → the cooling heat exchanger 9 → the second opening 142 → the object to be cooled 3 → the first opening 141 → the cold air circulation as indicated by the one-dot broken line arrow of the fan 13. A flow is formed. Due to this circulating flow, the air in the cooling chamber 2 is cooled by the cooling heat exchanger 9 and the temperature is lowered, thereby cooling the object 3 to be cooled. By such cold air cooling, the product is cooled until the product temperature reaches about 70 ° C. When the product temperature sensor 26 detects that the product temperature has decreased to 70 ° C., the first cold air cooling step S21 is terminated.

  In the first cold air cooling step S21, the external pressure is supplied to the cooling chamber 2 by opening the return pressure means 22 and the on-off valve 17 and operating the vacuum pump 16 without operating the condensing unit 11. By being discharged through the decompression line 15 while being introduced, the object to be cooled 3 can be cooled by outside air (outside air introduction cooling). In this case, the operation of the fan 13 can be performed as necessary.

(First vacuum cooling process)
When the first cold air cooling step S21 is completed, the process proceeds to S22, and the first vacuum cooling step is performed. This first vacuum cooling step S22 is performed as follows. The on-off valve 17 is opened, the first water supply valve 21 is closed, the return pressure valve 24 is closed, and the vacuum pump 16 is operated. Then, the gas in the cooling chamber 2 is discharged to the outside through the decompression line 15. The pressure in the cooling chamber 2 decreases along with the first vacuum cooling characteristic, and the temperature of the object to be cooled 3 decreases from 70 ° C. due to evaporation of the vapor from the object to be cooled 3 according to this pressure decrease. go. This product temperature decrease rate is rapid in the initial stage, and becomes slower in the later stage as the temperature decreases.

  In this first vacuum cooling step, when the measured value of the timer 7 reaches the injection timing, the controller 6 opens the first water supply valve 21 for a predetermined time, and then enters the cooling chamber 2 from the hot water supply source 20. A predetermined amount of hot water is supplied to When the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is reduced to a temperature equal to or lower than the saturated steam pressure of the hot water, the supplied hot water starts to evaporate. The air in the cooling chamber 2 together with the steam thus generated is discharged to the outside through the decompression line 15. Thus, air in the cooling chamber 2 is removed.

  When the time measured by the timer 7 reaches the second switching set value, the process proceeds to the second vacuum cooling step of S23. The vacuum cooling rate at the time of this transition is lower than the cooling rate due to the cold air cooling characteristics of the cold air cooling means 5. The product temperature at the time of this transition is about 20 ° C.

(Second vacuum cooling process)
In the second vacuum cooling step S23, the on-off valve 17, the first water supply valve 21 and the return pressure valve 24 are closed, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped, and the condensing unit 11 is operated. By the operation of the condensing unit 11, the temperature in the cooling heat exchanger 9 is set to about −10 ° C. Since the temperature reduction of the cooling heat exchanger 9 by the condensing unit 11 requires a predetermined time from the start, the condensing unit 11 may be started a predetermined time before the first switching set value. desirable.

In this second vacuum cooling step S23, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is sealed at a low pressure, and the steam in the cooling chamber 2 moves to the cooling heat exchanger 9, where it condenses, The pressure in the chamber 2 maintains a low pressure state. As a result, steam is continuously generated from the object 3 to be cooled, and the product temperature decreases. This product temperature decrease is made in accordance with the second vacuum cooling characteristic, and is rapidly performed in the initial stage, and the rate of decrease is slowed down in the later stage as the temperature decreases. When the time measured by the timer 7 reaches the third switching set value, the process proceeds to the pressure recovery step of S24. The vacuum cooling rate at the time of the transition is lower than the cooling rate due to the second cold air cooling characteristic of the cold air cooling means 5. Moreover, the product temperature at the time of this transition is about 10 ° C.

  In the second vacuum cooling step S23, when the cooling heat exchanger 9 is frosted, the controller 6 performs a defrosting operation. The frost formation is performed by detecting the pressure or temperature on the low pressure side of the refrigerator 10 by the refrigerant pressure sensor 28 or the refrigerant temperature sensor 29, and when the detected value becomes a set value that can be determined as frost formation, The defrosting is performed by supplying the heat exchanger 9 for cooling. By this defrosting operation, the condensation action of the cooling heat exchanger 9 can be maintained satisfactorily, and the cooling by the second vacuum cooling step can be effectively performed without being affected by frost formation.

(Return pressure process)
The return pressure step S24 is performed by opening the return pressure valve 24. As a result, outside air is introduced into the cooling chamber 2 through the return pressure line 23, and the inside of the cooling chamber 2 returns to atmospheric pressure. The return pressure process is detected by the indoor pressure sensor 27. When the atmospheric pressure is detected, the return pressure process is terminated and the process proceeds to the second cold air cooling process of S25. In the first embodiment, the operation of the condensing unit 11 is continued and the operation of the fan 13 is stopped during the decompression process. However, if necessary, the operation of the condensing unit 11 can be stopped and the fan 13 can be operated.

(Second cold air cooling process)
In the second cold air cooling step S25, as in the first cold air cooling step S21, the on-off valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, and the return pressure valve 24 are closed, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped, The condensing unit 11 and the fan 13 are operated. Accordingly, in the cooling chamber 2, the fan 13 → the cooling heat exchanger 9 → the second opening 142 → the object to be cooled 3 → the first opening 141 → the cool air as indicated by the one-dot broken line arrow of the fan 13. A circulating flow is formed. Due to this circulation flow, the air in the cooling chamber 2 is cooled by the cooling heat exchanger 9 and the temperature is lowered, and the object to be cooled 3 is cooled by convection heat transfer. By such cold air cooling, the product is cooled until the product temperature becomes about 3 ° C. When the product temperature sensor 26 detects that the product temperature has decreased to 3 ° C., the second cold air cooling step S25 is terminated.

  In the second cold air cooling step S25, condensed water (drain) is generated from the surfaces of the object to be cooled 3 and the cooling heat exchanger 9, and is stored in the bottom of the cooling chamber 2. This drain is discharged as follows. The on-off valve 17 is opened and the vacuum pump 16 is operated. Then, the drain is discharged out of the cooling chamber 2 through the decompression line 15. When the drain is discharged, the drain pressure can be discharged smoothly by opening the return pressure valve 24. The drain generated in the first cold air cooling step S21 is also discharged out of the cooling chamber 2 in the same manner. In the first embodiment, the drain discharge operation is intermittently executed by the controller 6. However, the drain discharge operation can be performed by detecting the storage of drain.

(End of cooling operation)
When the second cold air cooling step S25 is completed, the user can operate the operation switch to stop the cooling operation and take out the object 3 to be cooled in the cooling chamber 2. Of course, the second cold air cooling step can be continued for refrigeration of the object 3 after the second cold air cooling step.

As described above, in the first program, the object 3 to be cooled is removed by the first cold air cooling step S21. When the product temperature is about 70 ° C. or higher, the temperature of the object to be cooled 3 is high, and natural evaporation from the object to be cooled 3 is dominant, so that the vacuum cooling by operating the vacuum cooling means 4 is effectively performed. I will not. In this first program, rough heat removal is performed not by vacuum cooling but by cold air cooling, so that the object to be cooled 3 can be effectively cooled and the total cooling time can be shortened.

<Second program: Switching from vacuum cooling to cold air cooling>
The second program has an initial product temperature of about 70 ° C. or less, a set cooling temperature of about 10 ° C. or less, and the object to be cooled 3 contains moisture, and is suitable for cooling foods that can evaporate the moisture. . Now, the initial product temperature is 65 ° C. and the set cooling temperature is 3 ° C.

  When this second program is selected, the processing procedure shown in FIG. 5 is executed. That is, the first vacuum cooling step S31, the second vacuum cooling step S32, the return pressure step S33, and the cold air cooling step S34 are sequentially executed.

  The second program is different from the first program in that the first cold air cooling step S21 in FIG. 4 is deleted.

  The first vacuum cooling step S31, the second vacuum cooling step S32, the return pressure step S33, and the cold air cooling step S35 of FIG. 5 are respectively the first vacuum cooling step S22, the second vacuum cooling step S23, and the return pressure step 24 of FIG. , Corresponding to the second cold air cooling step S25, the description thereof is omitted. In addition, the switching timing from the first vacuum cooling step to the second vacuum cooling step, the switching timing from the second vacuum cooling step to the cold air cooling step (including the return pressure step), and the first vacuum cooling step The timing of starting the air removal process is the same as the second vacuum switching timing, the cold air switching timing, and the timing of starting the air exclusion process in the first vacuum cooling process of the first program, respectively, so that the description thereof is omitted.

<Third program: Cool air cooling>
The third program is suitable for cooling foodstuffs that do not contain moisture, or foodstuffs that are packaged so that the moisture cannot evaporate even if they contain moisture.

  When this third program is selected, the cold air cooling step S4 of FIG. 3 is executed. In this cold air cooling step S4, as in the first cold air cooling step S21 of the first program (FIG. 4), the on-off valve 17, the first water supply valve 21, and the return pressure valve 24 are closed, and the vacuum pump 16 And the condensing unit 11 and the fan 13 are operated. In other words, a cold air circulation flow as indicated by the dashed line in FIG. 1 is formed, and the object to be cooled 3 is cooled by this cold air circulation flow. The cold air cooling step S4 ends when the value detected by the product temperature sensor 26 reaches the set cooling temperature.

<Fourth program: Vacuum cooling>
The fourth program is suitable for cooling an ingredient having an initial product temperature of about 70 ° C. or lower, the set cooling temperature of about 10 ° C. or higher, the object to be cooled 3 containing moisture, and the moisture can be evaporated. Yes. Now, the initial product temperature is 65 ° C., and the set cooling temperature is 15 ° C.

  When this fourth program is selected, as shown in FIG. 6, the first vacuum cooling step S51 → second vacuum cooling step S52 → return pressure step S53 is sequentially executed.

  The fourth program is different from the first program in that the first cold air cooling step S21 and the second cold air cooling step S25 in FIG. 4 are deleted, and the end of the second vacuum cooling step 52 is 15 ° C. It is a point that has become the timing.

In the following description, the first vacuum cooling step S51, the second vacuum cooling step S52, and the return pressure step S53 in FIG. 6 are respectively the first vacuum cooling step S22, the second vacuum cooling step S23, and the return pressure step in FIG. The description thereof is omitted. The second vacuum switching timing from the first vacuum cooling step S51 to the second vacuum cooling step S52 and the timing of starting the air exclusion step in the first vacuum cooling step are the second vacuum of the first program, respectively. Since it is the same as the switching timing and the start timing of the air exclusion process in the first vacuum cooling process S51, the description thereof is omitted. In the following, the parts of the fourth program that differ from the first program will be mainly described.

  In FIG. 6, the first vacuum cooling step S51 and the second vacuum cooling step S52 are performed in the same manner as the first program of FIG. In the second vacuum cooling step S52, when the value detected by the product temperature sensor 26 reaches 15 ° C., the second vacuum cooling step S52 is terminated, and the return pressure step S53 is executed as in the first program. The cooling operation is finished.

<Fifth program: Cool air cooling → Vacuum cooling>
The fifth program is suitable for cooling foodstuffs having an initial product temperature of about 70 ° C. or higher and a set cooling temperature of 10 ° C. or higher, and the object to be cooled 3 contains moisture, and the moisture can evaporate. Now, the initial product temperature is 90 ° C. and the set cooling temperature is 15 ° C.

  When this fifth program is selected, the processing procedure shown in FIG. 7 is executed. That is, the cold air cooling step S61 → the first vacuum cooling step S62 → the second vacuum cooling step S63 → the return pressure step S64 is sequentially executed.

  The fifth program is different from the first program in FIG. 4 in that the second cold air cooling step S25 in FIG. 4 is deleted.

  In the following description, the cold air cooling step S61, the first vacuum cooling step S62, the second vacuum cooling step S63, and the return pressure step S64 in FIG. 7 are respectively the first cold air cooling step S21 and the first vacuum cooling step in FIG. Since this corresponds to S22, the second vacuum cooling step S23, and the return pressure step S24, the description thereof is omitted. Further, the switching timing from the cold air cooling step S61 to the first vacuum cooling step S62, the switching timing from the first vacuum cooling step S62 to the second vacuum cooling step S63, and the air removal in the first vacuum cooling step S62. Since the process start timing is the same as that of the first program of FIG. 4, the description thereof is omitted.

  According to the first embodiment configured as described above, the following operational effects are obtained. The vacuum cooling process is performed in two stages: a first vacuum cooling process using an external cold trap by the first vacuum cooling means 41 and a second vacuum cooling process using an internal cold trap by the second vacuum cooling means. Therefore, the pressure reducing means of the vacuum cooling means 4 can be simplified. In addition, the energy required for the operation of the vacuum cooling means can be reduced compared to the one that starts vacuum cooling with an excessive cooling capacity from the beginning of vacuum cooling, and the quality of the object to be cooled becomes a problem due to rapid cooling. Then, deterioration of quality can be suppressed.

  Moreover, since the air exclusion process is performed during the first vacuum cooling process, it is possible to efficiently condense the vapor on the surface of the cooling heat exchanger 9 in the second vacuum cooling process.

  Further, since the cooling heat exchanger 9 for cooling the cold air is also used as a cold trap for condensing the vapor of the second vacuum cooling means 42, the equipment of the vacuum cooling means can be simplified and the initial of the combined cooling device can be obtained. Cost can be reduced.

Furthermore, when it is desired to cool the foodstuff 3 suitable for vacuum cooling to the chilled region in a short time, the first program and the second program are selected and executed according to the initial product temperature. Thus, the object to be cooled 3 can be cooled in a short time. In addition, when the object to be cooled 3 is a food suitable for vacuum cooling and it is desired to cool in a short time to a temperature range higher than the chilled range, the fourth program and the fifth program according to the initial product temperature By selecting and executing this, the object to be cooled 3 can be similarly cooled in a short time. Furthermore, when the object to be cooled 3 is not suitable for vacuum cooling and the state in which the contained moisture cannot evaporate, the third program can be selected and executed to cool in a short time. As described above, by selecting the first to fifth programs, it is possible to realize cooling according to the property, initial product temperature, and set cooling temperature of the object 3 to be cooled. Cooling can be realized with high quality in a short time.

  Next, a composite cooling device 1 according to Embodiment 2 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. The second embodiment is the same as the first embodiment in that the vacuum cooling means 4 includes the first vacuum cooling means 41 and the second vacuum cooling means 42. The part will be mainly described.

  The second embodiment is different from the first embodiment in the configuration of the first vacuum cooling means 41. In the first embodiment, the pressure reducing means of the first vacuum cooling means 41 is the pressure reducing line 15, the on-off valve 17, and the vacuum pump 16. In this second embodiment, in addition to these components, The heat exchanger 31 for condensation is provided on the upstream side of the vacuum pump 16. The on-off valve 17 is provided between the condensation heat exchanger 31 and the cooling chamber 2. A second water supply line 32 is connected to the heat exchanger 41 for condensation. The water supply to the condensation heat exchanger 31 is controlled by opening and closing the second water supply valve 33 provided in the second water supply line 32, and the operation of the heat exchanger 31 for condensation is controlled. The second water supply valve 33 is controlled by the controller 6.

  The first vacuum cooling means 41 of the second embodiment opens the on-off valve 17 and operates the condensation heat exchanger 31 and the vacuum pump 16 to execute the first vacuum cooling step. The first vacuum cooling characteristic of the first vacuum cooling step is the same as that of the first vacuum cooling of the first embodiment, but the vacuum cooling capacity is the first vacuum cooling means by the cooling action of the condensation heat exchanger 31. In addition, the cooling chamber 2 can be efficiently excluded from the air.

  As described above, in the second embodiment, the configuration different from the first embodiment has been described. Also in the second embodiment, the first to fifth programs are executed in the same manner, so that the description thereof is omitted.

  Next, a composite cooling device 1 according to Embodiment 3 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In this third embodiment, the basic configuration is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment (FIG. 1), but the configuration of the circulation path component is different and the hot water supply means 18 Instead, it differs in that a steam supply means 76 is provided. The configuration of the cooling program is basically the same as that of the first embodiment, but the configuration of the vacuum cooling process is different. Hereinafter, different points will be mainly described.

  First, the configuration of the circulation path component will be described. As a part of the circulation path constituting member, a cylindrical fan guide 30, a first shielding member 31 that shields between the fan guide 30 and the partition wall 8 and the bottom wall of the cooling chamber 2, the cooling A second shielding member 32 that shields between the heat exchanger 9 and the partition wall 8 and the cooling chamber 2 wall, and a perforated plate for supplying the cold air to the object 3 to be cooled substantially evenly. A first air guide 33 and a second air guide 34 are provided.

  The first air blowing guide 33 has a function of returning the cold air after cooling the article 3 to be cooled almost uniformly to the first opening 141 of the partition wall 8, and the second air blowing guide 34 is formed on the partition wall 8. It is configured to perform a function of guiding and supplying the cold air from the second opening 142 almost uniformly toward the object to be cooled 3. The air blowing guides 33 and 34 are detachably connected separately from the partition wall 8. The fan guide 30, the first shielding member 31, and the second shielding member 32 have a function of preventing a short path of cold air, and these are also detachable.

  The configuration of the steam supply means 76 will be described. Referring to FIG. 9, the steam supply means 76 is connected to the cooling chamber 2 so as to supply steam and hot water into the cooling chamber 2. This steam supply means 76 is constituted by a hot water tank 77. Water is supplied to this hot water tank 77 through a third water supply valve 78, warmed to a predetermined temperature by a heater 79, and stored as hot water. In the third embodiment, the hot water tank 77 is connected to the lower part of the cooling chamber 2 via a steam supply line 80, and a steam supply valve 83 is provided in the middle thereof. The steam supply valve 83 opens and closes the steam supply line 80. In the third embodiment, the steam supply valve 83 includes a motor valve.

  By opening the steam supply valve 83 in a reduced pressure state in the cooling chamber 2, the steam in the hot water tank 77 is naturally supplied into the cooling chamber 2 with hot water due to the differential pressure. Concentration of water can be prevented by supplying warm water into the cooling chamber 2 as well. By preventing this concentration, blow (discharge) of concentrated water can be eliminated or the number of times can be reduced. The hot water supplied into the cooling chamber 2 is further evaporated under reduced pressure to fill the cooling chamber 2 with steam. On the other hand, excess warm water and steam condensate are immediately discharged to the outside by the first vacuum cooling means 41. The steam supply valve 83 is controlled to open when the predetermined injection timing is reached by the timer, and to close when the time measured by the timer 7 becomes a set value and the temperature in the hot water tank 77 becomes equal to or less than the set value. By the way, by supplying steam and hot water into the cooling chamber 2, the cooling heat exchanger 9 described later can be defrosted.

  Next, the vacuum cooling process will be described. In the third embodiment, the fan 13 is driven during the second vacuum cooling step, and the fan 13 is driven at the initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step. The initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step means a period until the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 becomes equal to or lower than a set pressure. In this third embodiment, a sensor for detecting the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 (not shown) ) To control the period. The other configuration of the third embodiment is the same as that of the first embodiment, and a description thereof will be omitted.

  The operation of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. Here, only the vacuum cooling process of the first program will be described, but the cooling processes of the other programs are performed in the same manner. Further, in the following description, the description of the first cold air cooling step S21, the second cold air cooling step S24, and the return pressure step S25, which are operations common to the first embodiment, is omitted or simplified.

(First cold air cooling process)
The first cold air cooling step is performed in the same manner as in the first embodiment, and when the measured value by the timer 7 becomes the first switching set value in S72, the process proceeds to the first vacuum cooling step.

(First vacuum cooling process)
The first vacuum cooling step S72 is basically performed in the same manner as the first vacuum cooling step (S22 in FIG. 4) of the first embodiment, but the controller 6 drives the fan 13 by S73. It is different in point. That is, the fan 13 is driven following the first cold air cooling step S21. By driving the fan 13, the gas remains at the initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step, so that the object 3 to be cooled can be subjected to rough heat removal. The rotation speed of the fan 13 in the initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step S72 is the same as that in the first cold air cooling step, but may be different. This rough heat removal ends when the detected pressure of the indoor pressure sensor 27 becomes the set pressure (for example, about 250 hPa) in S74, and YES is determined, and the process proceeds to S75. In S75, the controller 6 stops driving the fan 13 and continues the first vacuum cooling process in which the fan 13 does not rotate.

(Air exclusion process)
In the latter half of the first vacuum cooling step S72, an air removal step S76 is performed. That is, while the first vacuum cooling means 41 is in operation, the second steam supply valve 90 is temporarily opened to supply steam into the cooling chamber 2 with hot water. Thereby, the air in the cooling chamber 2 can be more reliably removed by filling the cooling chamber 2 with the steam and entraining the steam. At this time, since the vacuum pump 16 is operated, excess hot water is immediately discharged from the cooling chamber 2. When the time measured by the timer 7 reaches the second switching set value, YES is determined in S77, and the process proceeds to the second vacuum cooling step S23.

(Second vacuum cooling process)
In the second vacuum cooling step S23, as in the first embodiment, the on-off valve 17, the first water supply valve 21 and the return pressure valve 24 are closed to stop the vacuum pump 16, and the condensing unit. 11 is activated. By the operation of the condensing unit 11, the temperature in the cooling heat exchanger 9 is set to about −10 ° C.

  At the same time, the fan 13 is driven in S78. The second vacuum cooling step by driving the fan 13 is performed as follows. That is, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is sealed at a low pressure, and the steam in the cooling chamber 2 moves to the cooling heat exchanger 9 where it is condensed. During the movement of the steam, if the remaining air is taken by the steam and adheres to the surface of the heat exchanger 9, heat transfer is hindered, but the attached air is blown away by driving the fan 13. Thereby, the heat transfer failure is prevented or improved, and the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is maintained at a low pressure. As a result, steam is continuously generated from the object 3 to be cooled, and the product temperature decreases.

  When the time measured by the timer 7 reaches the third switching set value, the process proceeds to the second cold air cooling step of S24. Since the process after the 2nd cold wind cooling process in this Example 3 is the same as that of the said Example 1, the description is abbreviate | omitted.

  Here, a modification of the third embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. In this modified example, the concentration of water in the hot water tank 77 can be reduced also in the third embodiment described above, but the hot water tank 77 is performed after the air exclusion step for the purpose of ensuring prevention of concentration. It is configured to overflow from the hot water tank 77 when supplying water.

Referring to FIG. 11, the basic configuration is the same as that of the third embodiment except that a water level detection electrode 84 for detecting the water level in the hot water tank 77 is provided at the upper end of the hot water tank 77. In addition, an overflow line 85 is connected to the upper end of the hot water tank 77, and a drain valve 86 is provided on the overflow line 85. The water level detection electrode 84 has a function of keeping the inside of the hot water tank 77 at a set water level and a function of controlling an overflow amount before the air exclusion process. In this modification, the configuration of the first vacuum cooling means 41 is the same as that of the first embodiment shown in FIG.

The connection position of the overflow line 85 to the hot water tank 77 is set slightly higher than the lower end of the water level detection electrode 84, but can be the same height. The water level detection electrode 84 and the drain valve 86 are connected to the controller 6 and control the third water valve 78 and the drain valve 86 of the third water line 87 according to the water control program shown in FIG.

  Since the operation of this modification is the same as that of the third embodiment, the water supply control mainly related to the air removal process of FIG. 12 will be described below. Referring to FIG. 12, in S41, it is determined whether or not the supply of steam and hot water for removing air has ended and the steam supply valve 83 is closed. If YES is determined here, the third water supply valve 78 and the drain valve 86 that have been closed are opened, and water supply into the hot water tank 77 having a lowered water level is started. In S43, it is determined whether or not the water level detection electrode 84 has reached the set water level (the water level has risen to the lower end).

  If YES is determined, in S44, it is determined whether or not a set time (for example, 30 seconds) has elapsed since reaching the set water level. During this set time, cold water is supplied from the third water supply line 87 into the hot water tank 77. This cold water pushes up the hot water by a temperature difference while partially mixing with the concentrated hot water in the hot water tank 77, and overflows the hot water from the overflow line 85. In this way, the concentrated hot water is discharged from the hot water tank 77 and thinned, so that concentration is reliably reduced. The set time is preferably set to a time that allows the hot water in the hot water tank 77 to be replaced.

  When the set time has elapsed, YES is determined in S44, and the third water supply valve 78 and the drain valve 86 are closed in S45. In this state, energization of the heater 79 is started.

  According to this modification, the concentration of the hot water tank 77 can be reduced. The concentrated water can also be drained by the following method. A blow line (not shown) provided with a blow valve is connected to the bottom of the hot water tank 77, an atmosphere release valve (not shown) is provided in the hot water tank 77, and the steam supply valve 83 is closed, The concentrated water is blown by opening the blow valve and the air release valve. Compared with this method, this modification can simplify the configuration.

  Next, a composite cooling device 1 according to Embodiment 4 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. In the fourth embodiment, regarding the hardware configuration, the basic configuration is the same as the configuration of the modified example of the third embodiment (FIG. 11). The program configuration of the composite cooling apparatus 1 is basically the same as that of the third embodiment, but differs in the following points. A defrosting program for performing a defrosting process different from the air removal process is included, and the defrosting (defrosting) of the cooling heat exchanger 9 is performed using the air removal steaming means 76 during the defrosting process. And a sterilization program for performing a sterilization process different from the air exclusion process, and sterilizing the cooling chamber 2 by using the air supply steam supply means 76 during the sterilization process. It is the point which constitutes. The defrost program and the sterilization program are started when an operator operates a defrost switch and a sterilization switch (both not shown) while the cooling operation is not being performed. Hereinafter, different points will be mainly described.

  The operation of the fourth embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 13 and 14, respectively, on a defrosting program and a sterilization program different from those of the third embodiment.

(Defrost program)
The defrosting of the cooling heat exchanger 9 is performed according to the processing procedure of FIG. When the door of the cooling chamber 2 is closed and the defrosting switch is operated, the return pressure valve 22 is closed in S81, the open / close valve 17 is opened and the vacuum pump 16 is driven in S82, and the process proceeds to S83. Then, the heater 88 is controlled (heater control).

  In this heater control, the water level detection electrode of the hot water tank 77 controls the opening and closing of the third water supply valve 78 to maintain the hot water tank 77 at a predetermined water level, and the predetermined water level is confirmed for a predetermined time. Energizing the heater 79, and heater energization control for stopping energization of the heater 79 when a temperature sensor (not shown) reaches a set value for the temperature of the hot water in the hot water tank 77.

Next, in S84, it is determined whether or not the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 has reached the defrosting start pressure (for example, about 120 hPa). If YES is determined, the heater control is stopped in S85. . The stop of the heater control is to prevent the hot water from overflowing from the hot water tank 77 or the low water level in the hot water tank 77 with the water level control.

  Next, in S86, the steam supply valve 83 is opened, and defrosting of the cooling heat exchanger 9 is started. This defrosting is performed by maintaining the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 at a predetermined pressure and filling the temperature in the cooling chamber 2 with saturated steam of about 50 ° C.

  In S87, it is determined whether the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is equal to or higher than the pressure obtained by adding the set value a to the defrosting start pressure. If NO is determined in S87, the steam supply valve 83 is kept open. If YES is determined, the process proceeds to S88 and the steam supply valve 83 is closed. By opening and closing the steam supply valve 83, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is maintained at a set pressure.

  In this pressure maintaining operation, when the total open time of the steam supply valve 83 reaches the first set value in S89, YES is determined, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped in S90, and the steam supply is performed in S91. When the total opening time of the valve 83 reaches the second set value (> first set value), the process proceeds to S92 and ends by closing the steam supply valve 83. That is, defrosting is completed. In S92, the values of the first set value and the second set value are returned to zero. If NO is determined in S91, the steam supply valve 83 is opened and closed while the vacuum pump 16 is stopped, and defrosting is continued. In step S90, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped because the vacuum pump 16 needs to be driven at first in order to eliminate air, but the vacuum pump 16 need not be driven in defrosting after the air is excluded. Because. In S93, the heater control is started to prepare for the air exclusion process and the sterilization process.

(Sterilization program)
The sterilization process including the sterilization of the cooling heat exchanger 9 is performed according to the processing procedure of FIG. When the door of the cooling chamber 2 is closed and the sterilization switch is operated, the return pressure valve 22 is closed in S101, and the open / close valve 17 is opened in S102 to drive the vacuum pump 16.

  And it transfers to S103 and the pump down of the said refrigerator 10 is performed. This pump down is an operation of collecting the refrigerant in the cooling heat exchanger 9 to the condensing unit 11 side, and supplies the liquid refrigerant from the condensing unit 11 to the cooling heat exchanger 9. The operation is performed by closing a liquid electromagnetic valve (not shown) provided in the pipe and driving a compressor (not shown). This pump-down is completed by detecting the timer or the low-pressure side pressure. In this pump down, when a large amount of liquid refrigerant remains in the cooling heat exchanger 9 and is heated by steam for sterilization, the high-temperature refrigerant returns when the compressor is restarted, and the compressor This is to prevent damage.

Next, in S104, it is determined whether or not the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 has reached a sterilization start pressure (for example, about 470 hPa). If YES is determined, in S105, S85 in the defrosting step is determined. Similarly, the heater control is stopped.

  Next, in S106, the steam supply valve 90 is opened, and after the initial steaming time has elapsed in S107, when the air exhaust is almost completed, the vacuum pump 16 is stopped and the open / close valve 17 is closed in S108. In step S109, the heater control is started. In S110, it is determined whether or not a set time has elapsed since the vacuum pump 16 is stopped. If YES is determined, the process proceeds to S111 to stop energization of the heater 79 and the steam supply valve 83. To close the sterilization operation.

  Between S106 and S111, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 is filled with saturated steam at about 80 ° C., so that the cooling heat exchanger 9 and the cooling chamber 2 are sterilized.

  Next, a fifth embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 15 is an explanatory view of a longitudinal section in the cooling device of the fifth embodiment, and FIG. 11 is an exploded perspective view of the fifth embodiment. The fifth embodiment differs greatly from the third embodiment of FIG. 1 in that the first air guide 37 and the second air guide 38 of the third embodiment are formed in a duct shape, and the hotel pan 104 is supported. The top plate 109 that forms a circulation path for cold air is provided. Further, FIG. 1 shows a schematic configuration, but FIGS. 10 and 11 only show a more specific configuration, and the basic configuration and functions such as the door opening / closing control are the same. . Hereinafter, Example 5 will be described.

  The cooling chamber 2 includes a cooling chamber body 89 provided with a door 90 that can be opened and closed. The cooling chamber body 89 is provided with a partition wall 8 at the center in the vertical direction, and the internal space is partitioned vertically. The partition wall 8 is made of a thin stainless steel plate, is detachably attached to the cooling chamber body 89 and is held horizontally. As a result, a first region 81 is formed above the partition wall 8 and a second region 82 is formed below the partition wall 8 in the cooling chamber body 89.

  The first region 81 of the cooling chamber main body 89 opens to the front, and the substantially rectangular opening 91 can be opened and closed by the door 90. The periphery of the opening 91 is a door contact surface 92 to the door 90 when the door 90 is closed. A main body packing 93 is provided on the door contact surface 92 so as to surround the opening 91. By closing the door 90 via the main body packing 93, the opening 91 of the cooling chamber main body 89 can be closed in an airtight state.

  The partition wall 8 having a substantially rectangular plate shape has a dimension in the front-rear direction corresponding to an inner dimension in the front-rear direction of the cooling chamber body 89, and a dimension in the left-right direction is smaller than the inner dimension in the left-right direction of the cooling chamber body 89. Such a partition wall 8 is provided in the central part in the vertical direction and in the central part in the horizontal direction of the cooling chamber main body 89. As a result, in a state where the partition wall 8 is installed in the cooling chamber body 89, the first opening 141 and the second opening 142 having a substantially rectangular shape elongated in the front-rear direction are formed on the left and right sides of the partition wall 8, respectively. The first region 81 and the second region 82 communicate with each other through the first opening 141 and the second opening 142.

  The first opening 141 and the second opening 142 are respectively provided with a first air guide 37 and a second air guide 38 formed in a duct shape. Each of the air blowing guides 37 and 38 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape elongated in the front-rear direction, and is formed to open downward. Each of the air blowing guides 37 and 38 is preferably formed with a small heat capacity, and is formed of, for example, a thin stainless plate having a thickness of about 1 to 2 mm. A mounting piece 94 is formed at the lower end of each of the air blowing guides 37 and 38 so as to extend outward in the left-right direction. The mounting piece 94 is placed on the holding portion 95 of the cooling chamber main body 89, and the air blowing guides 37 and 38 are detachably installed in the cooling chamber main body 89. The blower guides 37 and 38 have lower end portions corresponding to the sizes of the left and right first openings 141 and second openings 142, respectively.

  In this way, the air blowing guides 37 and 38 are provided at the left and right ends in the first region 81, respectively. At this time, the air guides 37 and 38 are installed with a gap between the left and right wall surfaces of the cooling chamber main body 89. That is, the left side surface 96 of the first air blowing guide 37 is spaced apart from the left wall surface of the cooling chamber main body 89, and the right side surface 97 of the second air blowing guide 38 is aligned with the right wall surface of the cooling chamber main body 89. Spaced apart. Further, the air blowing guides 37 and 38 are spaced apart from the wall of the cooling chamber 2 at the front and rear and the upper part.

  The left and right air blowing guides 37 and 38 may have the same height, but in the fifth embodiment, the first air blowing guide 37 is formed lower than the second air blowing guide 38. A number of communication holes 100, 100,... Are formed in the first air blowing guide 37 only on the right side surface 98 and the upper surface 99. On the other hand, the second air blowing guide 38 is formed with a large number of communication holes 100, 100,. Specifically, the right side surface 98 and the upper surface 99 of the first air blowing guide 37 and the left side surface 101 of the second air blowing guide 38 are formed in a punching metal shape.

  In the fifth embodiment, the inside of the first air guide 37 is hollow, but appropriate vanes 102, 102,... Are provided inside the second air guide 38. This vane 102 is a blade | wing which adjusts the flow direction of cold wind at the time of cold wind cooling. The configuration, attachment position, and number of attachments of the vane 102 are appropriately set according to the arrangement of the objects to be cooled accommodated between the left and right air blowing guides 37 and 38. In the fifth embodiment, five hotel pans 104, 104,... Are arranged between the left and right air blowing guides 37, 38 using the shelf frame 103, so that cold air is applied to the upper surface of each hotel pan 104. Four vanes 102 each having a substantially arc-shaped portion are provided so as to be blown up and down. Thereby, the cold air supplied from the lower opening of the second air blowing guide 38 is directed by each vane 102 and discharged from the communication hole 100 of the left side surface 101.

  However, the shape of each vane 102 can be changed as appropriate, and may be formed in a simple rectangular plate shape or a substantially semi-cylindrical shape, for example. The vanes 102 are preferably provided so that their angles can be adjusted. At that time, the position may be adjustable for each vane 102 or the position may be adjusted by interlocking a plurality of vanes 102. Furthermore, in the fifth embodiment, the vane 102 is provided only on the second air blowing guide 38 on the cold air blowing side. However, the vane 102 may also be provided on the first air blowing guide 37 according to circumstances. Further, the vane 102 may be provided exposed on the side surface of the air guide 38 in addition to being housed in the air guide 38.

  In the cooling chamber 2, the hotel pans 104 containing the objects to be cooled are disposed between the left and right air guides 37 and 38. In the fifth embodiment, a shelf frame 103 is placed on the upper surface of the partition wall 8 and the hotel pans 104 are put in and out of the shelf frame 103. The shelf frame 103 of the fourth embodiment is made of stainless steel, and is configured by assembling a frame material into a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape. That is, the shelf frame 103 is configured by combining bars and the like, and has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape that is open front and rear, left and right, and up and down. A plurality of substantially L-shaped members 105, 105,... Are provided on the left and right side surfaces, respectively, extending in the front-rear direction. In the illustrated example, five substantially L-shaped members 105 are provided on the left and right, respectively, at positions corresponding to the left and right at equal intervals. Each L-shaped member 105 is provided with a vertical piece 106 fixed to the left and right vertical members of the shelf frame 103, and a horizontal piece 107 arranged at the upper end of the vertical piece 106 so as to extend inward in the left-right direction.

As is well known, the hotel pan 104 is a substantially rectangular stainless steel container that is open only upward, and a flange 108 is formed at the upper end along the outer periphery. Accordingly, in the hotel pan 104, the two flanges 108 facing each other are placed on the horizontal pieces 107, 107 of the left and right substantially L-shaped members 105, 105 and held horizontally on the shelf frame 103. In the fifth embodiment, a total of ten hotel pans 104 can be accommodated in the shelf frame 103, two at the front and rear and five at the top and bottom. The hotel pan 104 can be taken in and out of the shelf frame 103 from the front of the shelf frame 103.

  A top plate 109 is provided on the shelf frame 103. The top plate 109 of the fifth embodiment is preferably formed with a small heat capacity like the air blowing guides 37 and 38, and is formed of, for example, a thin stainless steel plate having a thickness of about 1 to 2 mm. The top plate 109 is detachably mounted on the frame members 110 and 110 extending in the front-rear direction at the left and right upper end portions of the shelf frame 103 so as to incline downward as going to the left side. The top plate 109 is formed with bent upwardly extending portions 111 and 111 at both front and rear sides so that the condensed water falls only from the left side. The top plate 109 is sized to cover the upper part of the shelf frame 103, and is arranged so that the right end thereof covers the upper part of the second air blowing guide 38, and the left end reaches the first air blowing guide 37. Arranged to finish without reaching.

  The cooling chamber 2 includes an indoor pressure sensor 27 that measures the pressure in the cooling chamber 2, an indoor temperature sensor 112 that measures the temperature in the cooling chamber 2, and a door sensor (not shown) that detects the opening of the door 90. And are provided.

  The operation of the fifth embodiment will be briefly described. The air from the fan 13 is cooled by the cooling heat exchanger 9 and then supplied from the first opening 142 into the first region 81 via the second air blowing guide 38. The air is returned to the second region 82 through the air blowing guide 37. In this manner, a cold air circulation flow can be formed in the cooling chamber 2. At this time, since the first shielding member 31 and the cooling heat exchanger 9 are provided at positions that respectively cover the entire longitudinal section of the second region 82, a short path of the circulation flow is prevented, and the fan 13 is prevented. In addition, only the wind through the cooling heat exchanger 9 can be supplied to the first region 81.

  The cooling device according to the fifth embodiment removes the shelf frame 103 and the top plate 109 as well as the left and right air blowing guides 37 and 38 from the opening 91 of the cooling chamber main body 89 with the door 90 open, The wall 8 can be removed. Thereby, the inside of the cooling chamber 2 can be easily cleaned, and the parts 8, 37, 38, 103, 109 removed from the cooling chamber 2 can be easily cleaned. Even if the cleaning liquid remains in the cooling heat exchanger 9 after cleaning, the cooling heat exchanger 9 is installed in the lower part of the cooling chamber 2, so that mixing into the object to be cooled is prevented. The

  Next, a composite cooling device 1 according to Embodiment 6 of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 17 is a schematic configuration diagram of the sixth embodiment, and FIG. 18 is a diagram illustrating a control procedure of the first vacuum cooling process of the sixth embodiment.

  In the sixth embodiment, the basic configuration is the same as the configuration of the first embodiment (FIG. 1), but the first decompression means 41 is not introduced into the cooling chamber 2 without introducing air into the cooling chamber 2. The configuration is different in that a decompression capability adjusting means 113 for adjusting the decompression capability is provided. The soft configuration is the same as the configuration of the third embodiment, but in the first vacuum cooling step, the first cooling that does not change the decompression capacity and the second cooling that sequentially performs rapid cooling and slow cooling. It differs in that it is configured to be selectable. Since other configurations are the same as those in the first and third embodiments, the description thereof is omitted.

  First, differences in hardware configuration will be described with reference to FIG. The pressure reducing capacity adjusting means 113 includes an air supply line 114 branched from the pressure reducing line 15 on the upstream side of the vacuum pump 16, and an adjusting valve 115 provided in the middle of the air supply line 114 and having an adjustable opening. It consists of and. The regulating valve 115 is connected to the controller 6 and controlled by the controller 6.

  Next, differences in the software configuration will be described. In the first vacuum cooling step of performing rough heat removal of the first program, the second program, the fourth program, and the fifth program, the first cooling without changing the decompression capacity (speed) and the decompression capacity are increased. The second cooling in which the rapid cooling that is performed in this manner and the slow cooling that is performed by lowering the pressure reduction capability are selectable. Then, after starting the first vacuum cooling step by the operation of the first vacuum cooling means 41 for the rapid cooling, the saturation temperature corresponding to the pressure detected by the indoor pressure sensor 27 is equal to the temperature detected by the product temperature sensor 26. This is the point until the difference reaches a set value (for example, 50 hPa). The control procedure by the controller 6 is shown in FIG. The rapid cooling is performed for shortening the cooling time, and the slow cooling is performed for preventing bumping of the article 3 to be cooled.

  In the sixth embodiment, the rapid cooling and the slow cooling are performed by adjusting the opening degree of the regulating valve 115. That is, the adjustment valve 115 is fully closed during rapid cooling, and the adjustment valve 115 is set to a predetermined opening degree during slow cooling.

  The operation of the sixth embodiment having the above configuration will be described. In the following description, only the first vacuum cooling step S23 of the first program will be described, and the description of the second program, the fourth program, and the fifth program will be omitted because they are the same. Now, it is assumed that the initial product temperature T0 is equal to or higher than the saturated steam temperature corresponding to atmospheric pressure.

  First, the first cold air cooling step S21 of FIG. 4 is performed, and the product temperature is lowered by the cold air cooling. During this time, the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 is maintained at atmospheric pressure. When the first cold air cooling step S21 is completed, the first vacuum cooling step S23 of FIG. 4 is performed. In the first vacuum cooling step S23, as shown in FIG. 18, first, the rapid cooling in S81 is performed. This rapid cooling is performed by opening the on-off valve 17, closing the return pressure valve 24, the first water supply valve 21, and the adjusting valve 115, and driving the vacuum pump 16. During this rapid cooling, the pressure in the cooling chamber 2 drops rapidly and the fan 13 is driven, so that the product temperature also drops due to forced convection heat transfer.

  When the saturated steam temperature corresponding to the pressure detected by the indoor pressure sensor 27 reaches a value T1 higher than the temperature detected by the product temperature sensor 26, YES is determined in S82 and the process proceeds to slow cooling in S83. To do. Hereinafter, the steps after the first vacuum cooling step S23 are the same as those in the first embodiment, and the description thereof will be omitted.

  According to the sixth embodiment, rapid cooling is performed until the internal pressure of the cooling chamber 2 is substantially equal to the product temperature, so that the product temperature is lower than that in which rapid cooling is performed to the set temperature and then slow cooling is performed. The period during which no heat is generated (caused by a drop in product temperature due to rough heat removal) can be almost eliminated, and the cooling time by vacuum cooling can be shortened. Further, since the cooling is performed by the adjusting valve 115, air is not supplied into the cooling chamber 2, and the second vacuum process can be performed without any trouble.

  Here, a modification of the sixth embodiment will be described with reference to FIG. In this modification, the pressure reducing capacity adjusting means 113 of the sixth embodiment is replaced with the on-off valve 17 of the first embodiment, and an adjustment valve 115 whose opening degree can be adjusted. In addition to the function of the on-off valve 117, the regulating valve 115 is controlled by the controller 7 so as to be fully opened during rapid cooling and to a predetermined opening degree during slow cooling, thereby adjusting the decompression capacity. Since the operation of this modification is the same as that of the sixth embodiment, description thereof is omitted. According to this modified example, compared with the sixth embodiment, the air supply line 114 and the regulating valve 115 are not required separately from the on-off valve 17, so that the configuration can be simplified.

  The present invention is not limited to the first to sixth embodiments. For example, the first to fourth embodiments are combined cooling devices, but can be a cooling device that performs only vacuum cooling. The arrangement of the components in the cooling chamber 2 can be variously changed.

It is explanatory drawing explaining schematic structure of Example 1 of this invention. It is explanatory drawing of the principal part expanded cross section of the Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the cooling program of the Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the other cooling program of the Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the other cooling program of the Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the other cooling program of the Example 1. FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the other cooling program of the Example 1. FIG. It is a figure explaining schematic structure of Example 2 of this invention. It is a figure explaining schematic structure of Example 3 of this invention. It is a flowchart figure explaining the principal part of the cooling program of the Example 3. It is a figure explaining schematic structure of the modification of the Example 3. FIG. It is a flowchart figure explaining the principal part of the water supply control program of the modification. It is a flowchart figure explaining the defrost process of Example 4 of this invention. It is a flowchart figure explaining the sterilization process of the Example 4. FIG. It is explanatory drawing of the partial cross section explaining schematic structure of Example 5 of this invention. It is a perspective view explaining schematic structure of Example 5 of this invention. It is a figure explaining schematic structure of Example 6 of this invention. It is a flowchart figure explaining the principal part of the cooling program of Example 6 of this invention. It is a figure explaining schematic structure of the modification of Example 6 of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Compound cooling device 2 Cooling chamber 3 Cooled object 4 Vacuum cooling means 5 Cold air cooling means 6 Controller 8 Partition wall 12 Motor 13 Fan 18 Hot water supply means 41 First vacuum cooling means 42 Second vacuum cooling means 50 Confidential seal means 76 Steaming means 77 Hot water tank 83 Steaming valve 114 Depressurization capacity adjusting means 141, 142 Opening

Claims (13)

A cooling chamber for housing the object to be cooled, a heat exchanger for cooling provided in the cooling chamber, a vacuum cooling means for cooling the object to be cooled by depressurizing the cooling chamber, and an operation of the vacuum cooling means. A cooling device comprising control means for controlling,
The vacuum cooling means has a configuration in which a pressure reducing means is provided in a pressure reducing line connected to the cooling chamber, and an open / close valve is provided between the cooling chamber and the pressure reducing means,
The control means opens the open / close valve and depressurizes the cooling chamber by operating the pressure reducing means, and closes the open / close valve to stop the pressure reducing means and stops the cooling heat. A cooling apparatus characterized by sequentially performing a second vacuum cooling step of operating the exchanger.   The cooling device according to claim 1, further comprising cold air cooling means for cooling the object to be cooled by air in the cooling chamber cooled by the cooling heat exchanger.   An air circulation means for the cold air cooling means to circulate the air in the cooling chamber, and a circulation path that constitutes a circulation path so that the object to be cooled and the heat exchanger for cooling are positioned in the circulation flow by the air circulation means A partition wall that vertically divides the cooling chamber into a first region and a second region, and communicates the first region and the second region by a communication opening. The cooling device according to claim 2, wherein the object to be cooled and the heat exchanger for cooling are arranged in the first region and the second region, respectively. A fan disposed in the cooling chamber and circulating the cold air;
A motor disposed outside the cooling chamber and driving the fan;
The cooling apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising an airtight sealing unit that hermetically blocks the motor from the cooling chamber space.   3. The cooling device according to claim 2, wherein drain stored in the cooling chamber is discharged by operating the pressure reducer when the cold air cooling means is operated.   The control means performs an air removal step of removing air in the cooling chamber by supplying steam and / or hot water into the cooling chamber and filling the cooling chamber with steam before the second vacuum cooling step. The cooling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the cooling device is characterized. A hot water tank connected to the cooling chamber via a steam supply valve;
The cooling device according to claim 6, wherein the control means opens the steam supply valve before the second vacuum cooling step and performs an air exclusion step of supplying hot water together with steam into the cooling chamber.   The cooling device according to claim 7, wherein the control means supplies water so as to overflow from the hot water tank when supplying water to the hot water tank performed after the air exclusion step. A supply means for supplying steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber during the air exclusion step;
The cooling device according to claim 6, wherein the cooling heat exchanger is defrosted with steam and / or hot water from the supply means in a defrosting step separate from the air removal step. A supply means for supplying steam and / or hot water to the cooling chamber during the air exclusion step;
The cooling device according to claim 6, wherein the cooling chamber is sterilized with steam and / or hot water from the supply means in a sterilization step separate from the air exclusion step. A fan for blowing air to the cooling heat exchanger;
The cooling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fan is driven during the second vacuum cooling step. A pressure reducing capacity adjusting means for adjusting the pressure reducing capacity without supplying air into the cooling chamber;
3. The control device according to claim 1, wherein the control unit adjusts the cooling rate by adjusting the pressure reduction capability by the pressure reduction capability adjustment unit in the first vacuum cooling step by the operation of the vacuum cooling unit. The cooling device as described. A fan for blowing air to the cooling heat exchanger;
The cooling device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the fan is driven in the initial stage of the first vacuum cooling step.

Images