Freeze-drying device for food

Abstract

A freeze-drying device for food, comprising: a freeze-drying cabinet, which is an openable and closable cabinet and has a vertical partition inside, thereby dividing it into a receiving chamber and a dehumidifying chamber, wherein the freeze-drying cabinet is further equipped with an openable and closable door panel corresponding to the receiving chamber;a food storage cabinet that is placed in the receiving chamber of the freeze-drying cabinet and connected to the vertical partition, wherein several food shelves are arranged offset and spaced apart in the food storage cabinet to form a meandering flow channel in the food storage cabinet in the form of a meandering path from top to bottom, wherein a transverse air inlet and a transverse air outlet are provided at the upper and lower points of the food storage cabinet and the vertical partition corresponding to the meandering flow channel; a refrigeration and air conditioning system arranged above the freeze-drying cabinet and continuously connected to the dehumidification room to supply cold, dry air to the dehumidification room;and an air distribution device comprising a fan assembly arranged above the dehumidification chamber and corresponding to the air inlet, and a horizontal partition spaced below the fan assembly and provided with several holes, wherein a drainage section is further arranged at the bottom of the dehumidification chamber; wherein the fan assembly introduces cold, dry air through the air inlet into the meandering flow channel to carry out a freeze-drying process on the food, while the moist air discharged through the air outlet can be condensed by the cold, dry air directed downwards by the fan assembly through the holes in the horizontal partitions to achieve a freeze-drying cycle.

Description

Field of the InventionThe present invention relates to a food drying apparatus, and more particularly to a food freeze drying apparatus having an innovative structure.Prior ArtAs a rule, the freshness and nutrients of foods are lost over time. How to extend the shelf life of foods while maintaining their nutrients, colors and quality completely is a technical issue that has long been studied and discussed.At present, there are many methods for preserving foods such as hot air drying and vacuum drying. However, these methods have some disadvantages in practical application. For example, thermal drying uses warm air to blow out the food to remove moisture from the food and thus achieve the function and purpose of drying. However, when food is blown with hot air, the internal structure of the food may be easily damaged, which greatly deteriorates the original quality and freshness of the food. Moreover, in vacuum drying, foods are placed in a closed space and preserved by vacuuming. However, chemical additives such as preservatives or drying agents must frequently still be used, which can have a negative effect on the foods or the human body. It is therefore necessary to achieve further apertures in this region.Object of the InventionIt is the main object of the present invention to provide a freeze drying apparatus for food. The technical problem to be solved is to address and solve the problems existing in the conventional art.The technical features of the present invention that can solve the problem will be described below. The freeze drying apparatus for food comprises: a freeze drying cabinet which is an openable and closable cabinet and has a vertical partition wall inside and is thereby divided into a storage space and a dehumidifying space, wherein corresponding to the storage space, the freeze drying cabinet is further provided with an openable and closable door plate; a food cabinet set in the receiving space of the freeze drying cabinet and abutting against the vertical partition wall, wherein a plurality of food shelf boards are offset in the food cabinet and spaced apart from each other to form a meandering flow channel in the food cabinet in the form of a meandering path from top to bottom, wherein a transverse air inlet and a transverse air outlet are provided at the top and bottom of the food cabinet and the vertical partition wall corresponding to the meandering flow channel, respectively; a refrigeration and air conditioner disposed above the freeze drying cabinet and continuously connected to the dehumidifying space to guide cold dry air into the dehumidifying space; and an air guide device comprising a fan assembly disposed above the dehumidifying space and corresponding to the air inlet, and a horizontal partition wall disposed spaced below the fan assembly and provided with a plurality of holes, wherein a dewatering portion is further disposed at the bottom of the dehumidifying space.As compared with the conventional technique, with the innovative and unique design of the present invention, the fan assembly can introduce cold dry air into the meandering flow channel via the air inlet to perform a freeze drying process on the food, while the wet air discharged via the air outlet can be condensed by the cold dry air sent downward from the fan assembly through the holes of the horizontal partition walls to achieve a freeze drying cycle. In this way, the industrial applicability of preventing bacterial growth, maintaining quality and freshness as well as colors and taste of foods, and prolonging the shelf life of foods can be achieved.Brief Description of the DrawingsFIG. 1 is a sectional view of a preferred embodiment of the present invention; FIG. 2 is a schematic view according to the present invention, in which the freeze drying process is cyclically performed; FIG. 3 is an illustration of an embodiment in accordance with the present invention in which a plurality of spaced through holes pass through a respective food shelf; Fig. 4 shows an illustration of the embodiment according to the present invention, in which a germicidal lamp is arranged at the top of the food cabinet.DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE EMBODIMENTReference is made to Figs. 1, 2, 3 and 4 which show a preferred embodiment of the freeze drying apparatus for food according to the present invention. The following description only explains exemplary embodiments of the invention and is not intended to limit the claims. The freeze drying apparatus for food A comprises:a freeze drying cabinet 10 which is an openable and closable cabinet and has a vertical partition 11 inside and is thereby divided into a receiving space 12 and a dehumidifying space 13, and an openable and closable door plate 14 is further provided corresponding to the receiving space 12 of the freeze drying cabinet 10;a food cabinet 20 which is set in the receiving space 12 of the freeze drying cabinet 10 and comes to rest against the vertical partition wall 11, wherein a plurality of food shelf boards 21 are offset in the food cabinet 20 and arranged at a distance from one another in order to form a meandering flow channel 22 in the form of a meandering path from top to bottom in the food cabinet 20, wherein a transversely running air inlet 23 and a transversely running air outlet 24 are each provided at the upper point and lower point of the food cabinet 20 and the vertical partition wall 11 corresponding to the meandering flow channel 22. The user can put food (as shown by reference numeral 01 in FIG. 2 ) on the food shelf 21, open the freeze drying cabinet 10 through the openable and closable door panel 14, and set the food cabinet 20 in the accommodating space 12 with the food cabinet abutting against the vertical partition 11. Here, the food may be Gelée Royale, Bienenköniginnenlarvenpulver maritime powder, maritime powder, mussel protein peptide or related products which are in liquid, powdery or solid form, but the present invention is not limited thereto.a refrigeration and air conditioner 30 disposed above the freeze drying cabinet 10 and continuously connected to the dehumidifying space 13 for supplying cold dry air into the dehumidifying space 13. Here, the refrigeration and air conditioner 30 may be a component such as a condenser, a radiator, or a compressor. Since it is a conventional structure, it will not be explained here further;an air guide device 40 comprising a fan assembly 41 disposed above the dehumidifying space 13 and corresponding to the air inlet 23, and a horizontal partition 42 disposed below the fan assembly 41 and provided with a plurality of holes 43, wherein a dewatering portion 131 is further disposed at the bottom of the dehumidifying space 13.Reference is made to FIG. 4. A germicidal lamp 25 is arranged at the top of the food cabinet 20 to achieve an enhanced sterilizing effect on the food. As the germicidal lamp 25, a UV irradiation lamp may be used.According to the above structural composition, the use and operation of the present invention will be explained below. As shown in FIG. 2, the fan assembly 41 may introduce cold dry air into the meandering flow channel 22 via the air inlet 23 to perform a freeze drying process on the food (by discharging moisture from the food), wherein the moist air that has absorbed moisture gradually flows downward and is discharged via the air outlet 24. At this time, the wet air may be condensed by the cold dry air sent downward from the fan assembly 41 through the holes 43 of the horizontal partition walls 42, and then the resultant water may drop downward and collect and be discharged via the dewatering portion 131 to achieve a freeze drying cycle. As shown in FIG. 3, a plurality of spaced-apart through holes 211 pass through a respective food shelf located in the food cabinet 20 so that a portion of the dry low temperature air may flow directly downward from the through holes 211 to increase cycle efficiency and effect. In this way, the foods are continuously blown with dry air of low temperature to prevent the foods from being damaged and bacteria from propagating, and thus maintain freshness as well as maintain better colors and taste of the foods as compared with conventional techniques.A freeze drying apparatus for food, comprising: a freeze drying cabinet having a vertical partition wall inside and thereby divided into a storage space and a dehumidifying space, wherein a dewatering portion is further disposed at the bottom of the dehumidifying space; a food cabinet set in the storage space of the freeze drying cabinet and abutting against the vertical partition wall, wherein a plurality of food shelf boards are disposed in the food cabinet in an offset manner and spaced apart from each other to form a meandering flow channel in the food cabinet in the form of a meandering path from top to bottom, wherein a transverse air inlet and a transverse air outlet are respectively provided at the upper location and the lower location of the food cabinet and the vertical partition wall corresponding to the meandering flow channel; a refrigeration and air conditioning system that is disposed above the freeze drying cabinet and is continuously connected to the dehumidifying space; and an air guide device that includes a fan assembly disposed above the dehumidifying space and corresponding to the air inlet, and a horizontal partition disposed at a distance below the fan assembly and provided with a plurality of holes. In this way, a freeze drying cycle for food can be performed to achieve the industrial applicability of preventing bacterial growth, maintaining quality and freshness of food, and extending shelf life of food.

Claims

A freeze drying apparatus for food, comprising: a freeze drying cabinet which is an openable and closable cabinet and has a vertical partition wall inside and is thereby divided into a storage space and a dehumidifying space, wherein a door plate is further provided to be openable and closable in correspondence with the storage space of the freeze drying cabinet; a food cabinet which is set in the storage space of the freeze drying cabinet and abuts against the vertical partition wall, wherein a plurality of food shelf boards are arranged in the food cabinet in an offset manner and spaced apart from each other to form a meandering flow channel in the food cabinet in the form of a meandering path from top to bottom, wherein a transverse air inlet and a transverse air outlet are respectively provided at the upper location and lower location of the food cabinet and the vertical partition wall corresponding to the meandering flow channel; a refrigeration and air conditioner disposed above the freeze drying cabinet and continuously connected to the dehumidifying space to supply cold dry air into the dehumidifying space; and an air guide device comprising a fan assembly disposed above the dehumidifying space and corresponding to the air inlet and a horizontal partition wall disposed spaced below the fan assembly and provided with a plurality of holes, wherein a dewatering portion is further disposed at the bottom of the dehumidifying space; wherein the fan assembly supplies cold dry air into the meandering flow channel via the air inlet to perform a freeze drying process on the food, while the wet air discharged via the air outlet can be condensed by the cold dry air supplied downward from the fan assembly through the holes of the horizontal partitions to achieve a freeze drying cycle.The food freeze drying apparatus of claim 1, wherein a germicidal lamp is disposed at the top of the food cabinet.The food freeze drying apparatus of claim 1 or 2, wherein a plurality of spaced through holes pass through a respective food shelf located in the food cabinet.

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