Tea leaf fermentation ventilation and humidification device

Abstract

The application discloses a tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device, which comprises an air injection head, a gas mixing box, a steam generator, an air blower, a pipeline assembly and a central controller. The pipeline assembly is provided with a water inlet pipe, an oxygen inlet pipe and an air outlet pipe, which are respectively provided with valves and flow meters. The steam generator and the air blower can send water vapor and air into the gas mixing box through the water inlet pipe and the oxygen inlet pipe for mixing. The steam and / or air can flow from the gas mixing box to the air injection head through the air outlet pipe and be sprayed out. The central controller is electrically connected with the steam generator, the air blower, the valves and the flow meters, so that the uniformity and accuracy of oxygen supply and water vapor supply in the tea fermentation tank can be ensured, and the tea fermentation effect is improved.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of tea making equipment, in particular to the technical field of tea fermentation tanks. BACKGROUND

[0002] Fermentation is a tea making step that changes the composition of tea leaves through enzymatic oxidation or microbial action to regulate its flavor, color, shelf life and functional ingredients; according to the degree of fermentation, tea can be divided into non-fermented tea (i.e. green tea, such as Longjing, Biluochun and Mao Feng, etc.), slightly fermented tea (i.e. yellow tea, such as Junshan Yinzhen and Huoshan Huangdan, etc.), lightly fermented tea (i.e. white tea, such as Baihao Yinzhen and Shoumei, etc.), partially fermented tea (i.e. oolong tea, such as Tieguanyin, Dahongpao and Fenghuang Dancong, etc.), fully fermented tea (i.e. black tea, such as Zhengshan Xiaozhong and Qimen Black Tea, etc.) and post-fermented tea (i.e. dark tea, such as Pu'er ripe tea and Anhua dark tea, etc.).

[0003] A tea fermentation tank is a closed or semi-closed equipment designed based on the principles of microbial fermentation and enzymatic reaction, which usually includes a tank body, a temperature control system, a ventilation and humidification system, a stirring and turning system, and a monitoring and control system; among them, the ventilation and humidification system is used to control the oxygen concentration and humidity in the tank, which is an important component to ensure the smooth progress of fermentation.

[0004] At present, the ventilation and humidification system usually uses separate air injection heads and water sprinkling heads arranged in the tank to send air and water into the tank respectively, such as the ventilation device of a Pu'er tea solid fermentation tank with patent number CN110447731B and the fermentation device of a Liupao tea with publication number CN106172951A; however, this traditional design has multiple technical bottlenecks; first, since the air injection heads are usually arranged at the bottom of the tank while the water sprinkling heads are arranged at the top of the tank, the tank is prone to have the problem of local high oxygen concentration in the lower layer of tea and local high humidity in the upper layer of tea, which further leads to different fermentation degrees of tea in different layers; second, the separate arrangement of air injection heads and water sprinkling heads occupies a lot of space, affecting the arrangement of the stirring and turning system and bringing resistance to the tea turning work; third, if the humidity needs to be controlled within a certain precise range, the traditional water sprinkling method is prone to have humidity overshoot or lag due to the large water particle diameter and unstable evaporation rate. SUMMARY

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to solve the problems in the prior art and propose a tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device that can ensure the uniformity and accuracy of oxygen supply and water vapor supply in the tea fermentation tank, thereby improving the fermentation effect of tea.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the present application provides a tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device, which comprises a jet head, a mixed gas tank, a steam generator, an air blower, a pipeline assembly and a central controller, the pipeline assembly is provided with a water inlet pipe, an oxygen inlet pipe and an air outlet pipe, each of which is provided with a valve and a flow meter, the steam generator and the air blower can send water vapor and air into the mixed gas tank through the water inlet pipe and the oxygen inlet pipe, respectively, the steam and / or air can flow from the mixed gas tank to the jet head through the air outlet pipe and be sprayed out, and the central controller is electrically connected with the steam generator, the air blower, the valve and the flow meter, respectively.

[0007] Preferably, the jet head comprises a base pipe, a horizontal pipe and vertical pipes, the base pipe is arranged at the middle of one side of the horizontal pipe and connected with the air outlet pipe, and a plurality of vertical pipes are arranged on the other side of the horizontal pipe in sequence along the length direction, and each of the vertical pipes is provided with a plurality of air outlet holes.

[0008] Preferably, the side of the horizontal pipe away from the base pipe is provided with a screw pipe corresponding to each of the vertical pipes, and each of the vertical pipes is threadedly connected with the corresponding screw pipe.

[0009] Preferably, the mixed gas tank comprises a tank body and partitions, the tank body is divided into a plurality of mixing chambers by a plurality of partitions arranged in the tank cavity, the water inlet pipe and the oxygen inlet pipe are connected with the mixing chamber at the front end, and the air outlet pipe is connected with the mixing chamber at the rear end, each of the partitions is provided with a through hole allowing the adjacent two mixing chambers to be connected, and the through holes on the adjacent two partitions are not arranged in opposition.

[0010] Preferably, each of the partitions is further provided with a wing plate arranged close to the through hole and capable of being elastically shaken under the action of airflow.

[0011] Preferably, each of the wing plates is composed of a spring plate and a protective sleeve covering the spring plate, one end of each of the wing plates is adhered to the corresponding partition, and the other end of each of the wing plates is bent away from the corresponding partition.

[0012] Preferably, the tank body is further provided with a cushion block for each of the partitions, and each pair of the partitions and the cushion block are threadedly connected by a fastener.

[0013] Preferably, the steam generator comprises a shell, a heating mechanism, a heat preservation layer, a temperature monitoring probe and a liquid level monitoring probe, the heating mechanism and the heat preservation layer are arranged in the shell wall of the shell, respectively, the temperature monitoring probe and the liquid level monitoring probe are installed in the shell cavity of the shell, respectively, and the water inlet pipe is connected with the shell cavity.

[0014] Preferably, the shell is further provided with a water replenishment joint and a drainage joint for connecting the shell cavity with the outside.

[0015] As preferred, a humidity monitor is arranged on the air outlet pipe between the air mixing box and the valve, the pipeline assembly further comprises an air exhaust pipe, one end of the air exhaust pipe is connected to the atmosphere and the other end is connected to the air outlet pipe between the humidity monitor and the valve, a valve is arranged on the air exhaust pipe, and the central controller is electrically connected with the humidity monitor.

[0016] Advantages of the present application:

[0017] 1) The present application can effectively solve the problem of uneven tea fermentation by pre-mixing water vapor and air in the air mixing box, and then uniformly spraying the air with specified humidity through the air injection head, so that the oxygen content and humidity at different heights in the tank can be kept as same as possible, and the humidity overshoot or lag caused by the traditional water spraying method can be avoided.

[0018] 2) The present application can make the humidity control more accurate and stable by arranging a humidity monitor on the air outlet pipe, and additionally arranging an air exhaust pipe connected to the air outlet pipe behind the humidity monitor, so that the humidity of the mixed gas can be calculated by the flow meter, and then the humidity can be rechecked by the humidity monitor, and in the case of substandard humidity, the mixed gas is discharged through the air exhaust pipe instead of flowing into the tea fermentation tank, so that the humidity control is more accurate and stable.

[0019] 3) The present application can effectively reduce the number of equipment components and the occupied space in the tank (optimize the equipment space layout) by integrating the ventilation function and the humidification function in one (i.e. the air injection head), which provides more sufficient space for the arrangement of the stirring and tumbling system, so that the tea tumbling work can be more smoothly implemented.

[0020] 4) The present application can make the mixing of water vapor and air more uniform (which is beneficial to the fermentation of tea) by separating the box cavity into several mixing chambers by using several partitions in the box, arranging the through holes between the adjacent partitions not directly, and additionally arranging the flaps at each through hole, so that the water vapor and air are actively mixed when passing through the staggered through holes, and the flaps are elastically shaken by the airflow to further assist the mixing of water vapor and air.

[0021] 5) In the present application, the horizontal pipe of the air jet head is connected with each standpipe through a screw pipe, and the box is detachably suspended in the box cavity through the pad and the fastener, so that the user can individually replace the specified standpipe and the partition plate according to the needs; in addition, the shell of the steam generator is also provided with a water replenishing joint and a drainage joint for facilitating water replenishment and waste water cleaning; these designs make the maintenance and component replacement of the equipment more convenient and fast, and reduce the maintenance cost and difficulty of the equipment.

[0022] The features and advantages of the present application will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments combined with the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] Figure 1 is the front view of the tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device of the present application;

[0024] Figure 2 is the front view of the air jet head of the tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device of the present application;

[0025] Figure 3 is the front view of the air mixing box of the tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device of the present application when the front plate is removed;

[0026] Figure 4 is the sectional view of the air mixing box of the tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device of the present application when the box body and the pad are removed;

[0027] Figure 5 is the sectional view of the air mixing box of the tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device of the present application when the box body and the pad are removed;

[0028] Figure 6 is the front view of the steam generator of the tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device of the present application;

[0029] Figure 7 is the sectional view of the steam generator of the tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device of the present application.

[0030] In the figure: 1-air jet head, 11-base pipe, 12-horizontal pipe, 121-screw pipe, 13-standpipe, 2-air mixing box, 21-box body, 22-partition plate, 221-through hole, 23-fin, 231-spring piece, 232-protection sleeve, 24-pad, 3-steam generator, 31-shell, 311-water replenishing joint, 312-drainage joint, 32-heating mechanism, 33-heat preservation layer, 34-temperature monitoring probe, 35-liquid level monitoring probe, 4-induced draft fan, 5-valve, 6-flow meter, 7-humidity monitor, 8-pipeline assembly, 81-water inlet pipe, 82-oxygen inlet pipe, 83-gas outlet pipe, 84-exhaust pipe. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0031] Reference Figures 1 to 6The present invention relates to a tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device, comprising a jet nozzle 1, a mixing chamber 2, a steam generator 3, an induced draft fan 4, a pipeline assembly 8, and a central controller. The pipeline assembly 8 has a water inlet pipe 81, an oxygen inlet pipe 82, and an air outlet pipe 83, which are respectively arranged with valves 5 and flow meters 6. The steam generator 3 and the induced draft fan 4 can send water vapor and air into the mixing chamber 2 for mixing through the water inlet pipe 81 and the oxygen inlet pipe 82, respectively. The steam and / or air can flow from the mixing chamber 2 to the jet nozzle 1 and be ejected through the air outlet pipe 83. The central controller is electrically connected to the steam generator 3, the induced draft fan 4, the valves 5, and the flow meters 6.

[0032] The jet head 1 includes a base pipe 11, a horizontal pipe 12, and a vertical pipe 13. The base pipe 11 is located in the middle of one side of the horizontal pipe 12 and is connected to the air outlet pipe 83. Several vertical pipes 13 are arranged sequentially along the length of the other side of the horizontal pipe 12, and several air outlets are evenly distributed on each vertical pipe 13. During operation, the jet head 1 is usually built into the bottom of the tea fermentation tank, while each vertical pipe 13 is placed vertically inside the tank (the specific length can be adjusted as needed). For the jet head 1, the gas can first enter the horizontal pipe 12 along the base pipe 11 and be distributed horizontally, and then be ejected from the air outlets at different heights through each vertical pipe 13, so that the oxygen content at different heights inside the tank is kept as consistent as possible.

[0033] The horizontal tube 12 is provided with a threaded tube 121 on the side facing away from the base tube 11, which corresponds to each of the vertical tubes 13. Each vertical tube 13 is threadedly connected to the corresponding threaded tube 121. With this design, the user can replace the specified vertical tube 13 individually as needed.

[0034] The mixing chamber 2 includes a chamber body 21 and partitions 22. The chamber body 21 is divided into several mixing chambers by several partitions 22 built into the chamber. The water inlet pipe 81 and the oxygen inlet pipe 82 are connected to the mixing chamber at the first end, and the air outlet pipe 83 is connected to the mixing chamber at the last end. Each partition 22 is provided with a through hole 221 that allows two adjacent mixing chambers to communicate. The through holes 221 on two adjacent partitions 22 are not directly opposite each other.

[0035] Each of the partition plates 22 is also provided with a wing 23 located near the through hole 221 and capable of elastically vibrating under the action of airflow.

[0036] Each of the wings 23 is composed of a spring sheet 231 and a protective sleeve 232 covering the spring sheet 231, one end of each of the wings 23 is adhered to the corresponding baffle 22, and the other end is bent away from the corresponding baffle 22; the spring sheet 231 can be an elastic metal sheet, and the protective sleeve 232 can be a rubber sleeve or a silica gel sleeve; the adhesive surface of the protective sleeve 232 can be additionally provided with a grid pattern to store more glue and improve the adhesion stability between the baffle 22 and the protective sleeve 232.

[0037] The box body 21 is further provided with a cushion block 24 on which each of the baffle blocks 22 is arranged, and each pair of the baffle blocks 22 and the cushion block 24 are threadedly connected by fasteners; before and after use, one of the baffle blocks can be removed from the box body 21 to expose the box cavity, so that the designated baffle 22 and wing 23 can be disassembled and replaced.

[0038] The steam generator 3 comprises a shell 31, a heating mechanism 32, a heat preservation layer 33, a temperature monitoring probe 34 and a liquid level monitoring probe 35, the heating mechanism 32 and the heat preservation layer 33 are respectively arranged in the shell wall of the shell 31, the temperature monitoring probe 34 and the liquid level monitoring probe 35 are respectively arranged in the shell cavity of the shell 31, and the water inlet pipe 81 is connected with the shell cavity; the heating mechanism 32 can be a heating resistance wire wrapped around the periphery of the shell cavity, and the temperature monitoring probe 34 can be arranged at the bottom of the shell 31.

[0039] The shell 31 further comprises a water replenishing joint 311 and a water draining joint 312 which are connected with the shell cavity and the outside; when the liquid level monitoring probe 35 detects that the water storage amount in the shell cavity is insufficient (i.e., the liquid surface is lower than the preset value), the shell cavity can be replenished with water through the water replenishing joint 311 in a manual or automatic manner; the water replenishing joint 311 can be connected with a tap water network through a hose provided with an electromagnetic valve, so that when the electromagnetic valve is opened, water is automatically replenished from the tap water network into the shell cavity through the hose and the water replenishing joint 311; in addition, the shell cavity can be drained through the water draining joint 312, so that the shell cavity can be cleaned when the shell covers at the top and bottom of the shell 31 are opened.

[0040] The humidity monitor 7 is arranged between the gas mixing box 2 and the valve 5 on the gas outlet pipe 83, the pipeline assembly 8 further comprises an exhaust pipe 84, one end of the exhaust pipe 84 is connected with the atmosphere, the other end is connected with the gas outlet pipe 83 and located between the humidity monitor 7 and the valve 5, the valve 5 is also arranged on the exhaust pipe 84, and the central controller is electrically connected with the humidity monitor 7.

[0041] The working process of the application is as follows:

[0042] First, the valve 5 above the water inlet pipe 81, the oxygen inlet pipe 82 and the exhaust pipe 84 is opened, while the valve 5 above the gas outlet pipe 83 is closed, the steam generator 3 continuously sends the generated water vapor into the gas mixing box 2 along the water inlet pipe 81, and the air blower 4 continuously draws air from the outside into the gas mixing box 2 through the oxygen inlet pipe 82; the mixed gas of water vapor and oxygen after mixing in the gas mixing box 2 will flow from the gas outlet pipe 83 to the exhaust pipe 84, and in the process, the humidity of the mixed gas is monitored by the humidity monitor 7; when the humidity of the mixed gas meets the requirement, the valve 5 above the gas outlet pipe 83 and the exhaust pipe 84 is switched (i.e. the valve 5 above the exhaust pipe 84 is closed, while the valve 5 above the gas outlet pipe 83 is opened), so that the mixed gas directly flows into the air jet head 1 along the gas outlet pipe 83 and is sprayed out; in addition, the valve 5 above the water inlet pipe 81 or the oxygen inlet pipe 82 can also be closed, so that the air jet head 1 sprays air or water vapor alone to the tea fermentation tank according to the requirement.

[0043] Among them, the steam generator 3 heats the water in the shell cavity through the heating mechanism 32 and makes the water vapor upwardly discharged, while the temperature monitoring probe 34 and the liquid level monitoring probe 35 respectively monitor the liquid temperature and the liquid level in the shell cavity in real time.

[0044] Taking the case that the gas mixing box 2 is vertically arranged and the mixed chambers are arranged from top to bottom, the steam generator 3 and the air blower 4 can respectively send air and water vapor into the first layer of mixed chambers, and the air and water vapor will gradually mix in the process of passing through each layer of mixed chambers one by one along the staggered distribution through holes 221; in addition, the gas will also push the corresponding flaps 23 to elastically vibrate during flowing through each through hole 221, so as to accelerate the mixing.

[0045] The above embodiments are illustrative of the present application, but not limiting of the present application, any simple transformation of the present application also belongs to the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device, characterized in that: The device comprises a jet head (1), a mixing box (2), a steam generator (3), an air blower (4), a pipeline assembly (8) and a central controller, the pipeline assembly (8) has a water inlet pipe (81), an oxygen inlet pipe (82) and an air outlet pipe (83) with valves (5) and flow meters (6) arranged respectively, the steam generator (3) and the air blower (4) can send water vapor and air into the mixing box (2) through the water inlet pipe (81) and the oxygen inlet pipe (82) respectively, the steam and / or air can flow from the mixing box (2) to the jet head (1) through the air outlet pipe (83) and be sprayed out, and the central controller is electrically connected with the steam generator (3), the air blower (4), the valves (5) and the flow meters (6) respectively. The mixing box (2) comprises a box body (21) and partitions (22), the box cavity is divided into several mixing chambers by the partitions (22) built in the box cavity, the water inlet pipe (81) and the oxygen inlet pipe (82) are connected with the mixing chamber at the first end, the air outlet pipe (83) is connected with the mixing chamber at the last end, each partition (22) is provided with a through hole (221) allowing the adjacent two mixing chambers to be connected, and the through holes (221) on the adjacent two partitions (22) are not arranged opposite to each other. Each partition (22) is further provided with a wing (23) arranged close to the through hole (221) and capable of being elastically shaken under the action of airflow. Each wing (23) is composed of a spring (231) and a protective sleeve (232) covering the spring (231), one end of each wing (23) is pasted to the corresponding partition (22), and the other end is bent away from the corresponding partition (22).

2. The tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The jet head (1) comprises a base pipe (11), a cross pipe (12) and vertical pipes (13), the base pipe (11) is arranged at the middle of one side of the cross pipe (12) and connected with the air outlet pipe (83), several vertical pipes (13) are arranged on the other side of the cross pipe (12) along the length direction, and each vertical pipe (13) is uniformly provided with several air outlets.

3. The tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device according to claim 2, characterized in that: The side of the cross pipe (12) away from the base pipe (11) is provided with a screw pipe (121) corresponding to each vertical pipe (13), and each vertical pipe (13) is threadedly connected with the corresponding screw pipe (121).

4. The tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The box body (21) is further provided with a cushion block (24) on which each partition (22) is arranged, and each pair of partitions (22) and cushion blocks (24) are threadedly connected by fasteners.

5. The tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The steam generator (3) comprises a shell (31), a heating mechanism (32), a heat preservation layer (33), a temperature monitoring probe (34) and a liquid level monitoring probe (35), the heating mechanism (32) and the heat preservation layer (33) are built in the shell wall of the shell (31) respectively, the temperature monitoring probe (34) and the liquid level monitoring probe (35) are installed in the shell cavity of the shell (31) respectively, and the water inlet pipe (81) is connected with the shell cavity.

6. The tea fermentation ventilation and humidification device according to claim 5, characterized in that: The shell (31) also has a water replenishing joint (311) and a water draining joint (312) which communicate the outside with the shell cavity.

7. The tea fermentation aeration and humidifying device according to any one of claims 1 to 6, wherein: A humidity monitor (7) is arranged between the gas mixing box (2) and the valve (5) above the air outlet pipe (83), the pipeline assembly (8) also comprises an air exhaust pipe (84), one end of which is connected to the atmosphere and the other end is connected to the air outlet pipe (83) and located between the humidity monitor (7) and the valve (5), a valve (5) is also arranged above the air exhaust pipe (84), and the central controller is electrically connected with the humidity monitor (7).

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