Apparatus for blast freezing palletized product

Abstract

Apparatus for blast freezing palletized products is disclosed in which tall racks have openings on at least one side that connect to a plenum chamber, against which stacked pallets can be placed one above another as well as beside one another adjacent the plenum openings, but with the rack providing only one pallet depth to optimize circulation of regular warehouse freezing air through the pallets at a rapid rate for rapid blast freezing.

As another example, there are vertically adjustable panels in a tall rack to accommodate different height palletized products stacked one above another, in a way that allows for sealing between the plenum chamber and the palletized products on one side of the palletized product without either substantial blockage of air flow through the side of the palletized product and without allowing a substantial gap between the palletized product and the plenum that would allow a substantial bypass of flow through the palletized product. In particular, as to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, there is disclosed the fixing of the position of adjustable panels through the use of pins that could be inserted into any one of a series of vertically arranged holes to achieve any one of multiple discrete heights that are securely positioned, yet readily adjustable. The vertical adjustability of a member that has a rigid component that may or may not also contain a cushioned or flexible seal allows for much more durability, versatility and suitability for accommodating palletized products of various heights.

Description

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION[0001]This application claims the benefit of U.S. Provisional Applications No. 61 / 241,065 filed on Sep. 10, 2009 and U.S. Provisional Application No. 61 / 295,322 filed on Jan. 15, 2010 which are hereby incorporated by reference.TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION[0002]Embodiments of the present invention generally relate to a blast freezing of various products (e.g., fruits, vegetables, meat, seafood, baked goods, etc.). Embodiments of the present invention specifically relate to an energy efficient use of freezing air in the process of blast freezing various palletized products.BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION[0003]Blast freezing is a known process for quickly exposing food products to air chilled to very low temperatures (e.g., −40° F. / −40° C.) for a period of time sufficient to completely freeze the food products. FIG. 1 illustrates an example of a palletized product 20 suitable for blast freezing. Palletized product 20 includes a pallet 21 supporting...

AI Technical Summary

Benefits of technology

[0011]As another example, there are vertically adjustable panels in a rack to accommodate different height palletized products stacked one above another, in a way that allows for sealing between the plenum and the palletized products. In particular, as to a particularly preferred embodiment of the invention, the prior art did not provide for the fixing of the position of adjustable panels through the use of pins that could be inserted into any one of a series of vertically arranged holes to achieve any one of multiple discrete heights that are securely positioned, yet readily adjustable. The vertical adjustability of a member that has a rigid component that may or may not also contain a cushioned or flexible seal allows for much more durability, versatility and suitability for accommodating palletized products of various heights.

Problems solved by technology

Additionally, the flow rate through the series of five (5) consecutive pallets tends to have quite a bit of drag.

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