Refrigeration device

Abstract

To provide a refrigeration device that brings a cooled object into contact with a cooling liquid to freeze the cooled object, enables effective stirring of the cooling liquid to improve a freezing speed of the cooled object and a freezing treatment amount, and can achieve downsizing of the device.SOLUTION: A refrigeration device 1 comprises: a cooling tank 3 in which a cooling liquid L is stored; a storage unit 6 in which a cooled object is stored; and a vertical drive mechanism 7 that drives the storage unit 6 vertically. A lower part of the storage unit 6 includes a stirring unit 23 including a plurality of opening / closing flaps 32. When the storage unit 6 is lowered, the opening / closing flaps 32 are brought into a closed state by water pressure from the lower side, and cooling water L below the opening / closing flaps 32 is pushed down toward a bottom surface part 3A of the cooling tank 3. Thus, flow of the cooling water L moving upward inside the cooling tank 3 from the bottom surface part 3A side and flowing into an opening part 25 on the upper side of the storage unit 6 is generated, so that the cooling liquid L is effectively stirred.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 8

Description

[Technical field]

[0001] The present invention relates to an improvement in a liquid freezing type freezing device for quickly freezing objects to be cooled, such as food. [Background technology]

[0002] Known types of refrigeration devices for rapidly freezing food or other objects to be cooled include air-cooled devices (air freezing devices) that blow cold air into a cooling chamber in which the object is placed to cool it, and liquid freezing devices that immerse the object in a low-temperature liquid to cool it. Of these, air-cooled devices have traditionally been used primarily, but in recent years, liquid freezing devices that can perform high-quality freezing more quickly have also been attracting attention. For example, Patent Document 1 proposes an invention in which the cooling efficiency of a liquid freezing device is improved by moving the object up and down in the cooling liquid. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Patent No. 6668563 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] In a liquid freezing type refrigeration system (freezer), the agitation of the cooling liquid is important to promote the heat exchange between the heat exchanger (e.g., cooling pipe) and the cooling liquid (brine liquid) and between the cooling liquid and the object to be cooled. For this reason, conventional refrigeration systems are equipped with an agitator, and the cooling liquid is agitated using the agitator.

[0005] 10 is a schematic diagram showing an outline of the stirring of cooling liquid in a conventional refrigeration device. As shown in the figure, a refrigeration device 100 includes a cooling tank 101 in which cooling liquid (brine liquid) L is stored, a coil-shaped cooling pipe 102 that is a heat exchanger disposed in the cooling tank 101, a storage shelf 103 that stores objects to be cooled, and an agitator 104. The storage shelf 103 has a structure that allows cooling water to flow therein, and can be moved up and down by a drive mechanism (not shown).

[0006] Agitator 104 includes a rotating shaft 104A and an agitating blade 104B fixed to rotating shaft 104A, and creates a flow of cooling liquid by means of agitating blade 104B rotating together with rotating shaft 104, and is disposed on the side of cooling pipe 102. When agitator 104 operates, a flow of cooling liquid is created toward cooling pipe 102 and shelf 103 for storing cooled objects, as shown by the arrows in the figure, by agitating blade 104B rotating together with rotating shaft 104, so that the cooling liquid is agitated.

[0007] However, the agitation of the cooling liquid using such a conventional agitator had the following problems. First, since the agitator 104 agitates the liquid at a predetermined location using the agitating blades 104B, it is not possible to perform uniform agitation throughout the cooling tank 3, and the flow rate of the cooling liquid varies widely, resulting in high heat exchange efficiency. This slows down the freezing rate of the object to be cooled (e.g., food to be frozen), and also reduces the freezing throughput (kg / h).

[0008] In addition, in order to sufficiently increase the flow rate of the cooling liquid, a large, high-power agitator must be used, but this requires a large space to place the agitator in the cooling tank, which increases the size of the cooling tank, which in turn increases the amount of cooling liquid required and the size of the refrigeration device.

[0009] The present invention has been made in response to these problems, and aims to provide a refrigeration device that freezes objects to be cooled by contacting them with a cooling liquid, which can effectively agitate the cooling liquid, improve the freezing speed and freezing throughput of the objects to be cooled, and enable the device to be made more compact. [Means for solving the problem]

[0010] The present invention is a refrigeration device that freezes an object to be cooled by bringing it into contact with a cooling liquid, and is characterized in that it comprises a cooling tank in which the cooling liquid is stored, a storage section that is placed in the cooling tank and is capable of storing the object to be cooled and through which the cooling liquid can flow, a drive means that is capable of driving the storage section up and down, and an opening and closing member that is provided at the bottom of the storage section and closes when the storage section is lowered to prohibit the flow of cooling liquid, but opens when the storage section is raised to allow the flow of cooling liquid.

[0011] The opening / closing member may include an opening / closing flap that can be opened and closed by rotating about a rotation axis that extends substantially horizontally.

[0012] It is preferable that the opening and closing member includes a plurality of opening and closing flaps, which are arranged in parallel so as to partially overlap each other in a closed state.

[0013] It is desirable that the cooling tank has a bottom portion and side portions, and that the storage portion has a wall portion closing the side portion of the storage portion and an opening portion provided on the upper side of the wall portion through which the cooling liquid can flow, and that as the storage portion moves up and down, the cooling liquid pushed out toward the bottom portion by the opening / closing member which is in a closed state when the storage portion is lowered rises from the bottom portion along the side portion, flows into the storage portion through the opening portion, and generates a flow of cooling liquid that flows out from inside the storage portion after passing through the opening / closing member which is in an open state when the storage portion is raised.

[0014] It is preferable that a heat exchanger for cooling is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the storage section. Effect of the Invention

[0015] According to the present invention, in a liquid freezing type refrigeration device (for example, refrigeration device 1), a drive mechanism (for example, vertical drive mechanism 7) for driving a storage section (for example, storage unit 6) up and down and an opening / closing member (for example, stirring unit 23) arranged at the bottom of the storage section are provided, so that when the storage section is lowered, the cooling liquid is pushed downward by the opening / closing member in the closed state, and the pushed-out cooling liquid hits the bottom surface of the cooling tank (for example, cooling tank 3) and generates an upward flow. Therefore, the cooling liquid in the cooling tank (for example, cooling tank 3) is effectively and uniformly stirred, so that the unevenness of the flow rate of the cooling liquid in the cooling tank can be reduced, and the heat exchange efficiency between the cooling liquid and the object to be cooled can be improved. Therefore, the freezing speed and the freezing processing amount of the object to be cooled in the refrigeration device are improved. In addition, since the only component for stirring is the opening / closing member arranged at the bottom of the storage section, a space for arranging an agitator is not required, and the volume of the cooling tank can be reduced. Therefore, the amount of cooling liquid required can be reduced, and the size of the refrigeration device can be reduced.

[0016] If the opening / closing member is provided with an opening / closing flap (e.g., opening / closing flap 32) that rotates around a rotation axis (e.g., rotation axis 33) extending in a substantially horizontal direction, the opening / closing flap can be rotated toward the closed state (closed position) by the water pressure of the cooling liquid acting from below the opening / closing member when the storage section is lowered, and the opening / closing flap can be rotated toward the closed state (closed position) by the water pressure of the cooling liquid acting from above the opening / closing member when the storage section is raised. Therefore, the opening / closing flap can perform an appropriate opening and closing operation using only the power for driving the storage section without requiring any other power, and can effectively stir the cooling liquid.

[0017] If multiple opening and closing flaps are arranged in parallel so that they partially overlap each other when closed, no gaps will be created between adjacent opening and closing flaps in the closed state (closed position), which appropriately prohibits the flow of coolant and appropriately prevents the opening and closing flaps from rotating excessively beyond the closed position due to water pressure from below.

[0018] By providing the cooling tank with a bottom portion (e.g., bottom portion 3A) and a side portion (e.g., side portion 3C) and the storage portion with a wall portion (e.g., wall portion 22C, side wall portion 24) and an opening portion (e.g., opening portion 25), and by generating a flow of cooling liquid pushed out by the opening / closing member in the closed state, which flows up from the bottom portion of the cooling tank along the side portion, flows into the opening portion of the storage portion, and passes through the opening / closing member in the open state and flows out, extremely effective stirring can be performed throughout the entire cooling tank.

[0019] By providing a heat exchanger (e.g., cooling pipe 4) arranged to surround the periphery of the storage section, the cooling liquid pushed out by the opening and closing member can be made to flow around the heat exchanger, thereby improving the heat exchange efficiency between the cooling liquid and the heat exchanger. [Brief description of the drawings]

[0020] [Figure 1] 1 is a front view showing a refrigeration device according to an embodiment of the present invention. [Diagram 2] FIG. 2 is a front view of the refrigeration device, showing the storage unit immersed in the cooling liquid. [Diagram 3] FIG. [Figure 4] FIG. [Diagram 5] FIG. [Figure 6] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the stirring unit with the opening / closing flap in the closed position. [Figure 7] FIG. 11 is a cross-sectional view showing the stirring unit with the opening / closing flap in the open position. [Figure 8] 11 is a schematic diagram for explaining the agitation of the cooling liquid in the present invention, showing the flow of the cooling liquid when the storage unit is lowered. FIG. [Figure 9] FIG. 13 is a schematic diagram for explaining the agitation of the cooling liquid, showing the flow of the cooling liquid when the storage unit is raised. [Figure 10]FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram for explaining agitation of a coolant in the prior art. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

[0021] Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings. 1 and 2 show a refrigeration device 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. As shown in the figures, the refrigeration device 1 includes a base 2 which is a base for supporting various components of the refrigeration device 1, a cooling tank 3 provided in the base 2, a cooling pipe 4 arranged in the cooling tank 3, a refrigerant supply unit 5 which supplies a refrigerant (primary refrigerant) to the cooling pipe 4, a storage unit 6 capable of storing objects to be cooled, a vertical drive mechanism 7 which drives the storage unit 6 vertically, a lifting mechanism 8 which drives the vertical drive mechanism 7 vertically, and a control device (control panel) 9 which controls the operation of each part of the refrigeration device 1.

[0022] 1 shows a state in which the storage unit 6 is waiting above the cooling tank 3, and Fig. 2 shows a state in which the storage unit 6 has been lowered into the cooling tank 3 and is immersed in the cooling liquid L. In Figs. 1 and 2, only the portion of the base 2 that corresponds to the cooling tank 3 is shown in partial cross section.

[0023] The cooling tank 3 is a tank for cooling objects to be cooled (objects to be frozen) such as food, and has a bottom portion 3A and four side portions 3B (four flat side surfaces on the front, back, left and right in this embodiment). The approximately rectangular parallelepiped space surrounded by the bottom portion 3A and the side portions 3B serves as a storage portion 3C in which the cooling liquid L is stored.

[0024] Meanwhile, the upper part of the cooling tank 3 is an opening 3D for carrying in and out the storage unit 6. As shown in Fig. 2, when the storage unit 6 is carried into the cooling tank 6, the opening 3D is closed by the lid 11 which descends together with the storage unit 6. This keeps the inside of the storage section 3C of the cooling tank 3 cold.

[0025] In this embodiment, the cooling liquid (brine liquid) is an alcohol aqueous solution (e.g., an ethanol aqueous solution) at a low temperature (e.g., about -35°C), with the mixture ratio of water and alcohol appropriately adjusted. Note that the cooling liquid in the present invention is not limited to an alcohol aqueous solution as long as it is a liquid that does not freeze at the temperature required to cool the object to be cooled.

[0026] The cooling pipe 4 is a heat exchanger for cooling the cooling liquid L in the cooling tank 3, and is composed of a pipe through which a refrigerant flows. In this embodiment, the cooling pipe 4 is composed of a pipe arranged in a coil shape (cylindrical shape as a whole), and the storage unit 6 is arranged in the space in the center of the coil shape. The cooling pipe 4 is arranged approximately in the center of the cooling tank 3.

[0027] In addition, in Figures 1 and 2, the cooling pipe 4 is illustrated in a simplified schematic form, and the pipes forming a coil shape are shown densely overlapping each other, but in reality, a gap may be provided between the upper and lower pipes through which the cooling liquid L can flow.

[0028] The refrigerant supply unit 5 includes, as components for introducing the refrigerant into the cooling pipe 4, refrigerant pipes (a refrigerant gas pipe 5A and a refrigerant liquid pipe 5B) and various valves (such as solenoid valves not shown).

[0029] The storage unit 6 is a storage shelf in which objects to be cooled are stored, and includes a frame 21 constituting an outer frame, a plurality of loading trays 22 arranged within the frame 21, and a stirring unit 23 arranged at the lower end of the frame 21. The storage unit 6 is arranged approximately in the center of the cooling tank 3 so that it is spaced approximately equidistantly from the four side surfaces 3B of the cooling tank 3. A more detailed configuration of the storage unit 6 will be described later with reference to FIG. 3.

[0030] The vertical drive mechanism 7 includes a housing 12, a drive means (e.g., an electromagnetic motor, not shown) arranged inside the housing 12, and a support arm 13 linked to the drive means. The support arm 13 supports a frame 21 of the storage unit 6 from above. This causes the support arm 13 to move up and down (expand and contract) when driven by the drive means, thereby moving the storage unit 6 up and down. The stroke and speed of the vertical movement of the storage unit 6 are appropriately controlled by a control device 9.

[0031] In addition, Figure 1 shows a state in which the support arm 13 does not extend from the housing 12 and the storage unit 6 is on the upper side of the vertical movement, and Figure 2 shows a state in which the support arm 13 extends downward from the housing 12 and the storage unit 6 is on the lower side of the vertical movement.

[0032] In this way, the storage unit 6 is driven to move up and down in the cooling tank 3 (cooling liquid L) by the vertical drive mechanism 7, and during the freezing process of the object to be cooled, the object to be cooled is repeatedly moved up and down at a stroke and speed appropriately controlled by the control device 9. Therefore, the object to be cooled held in the storage unit 6 is not simply immersed in the cooling liquid, but is moved up and down in the cooling liquid, which increases the fluidity of the cooling liquid around the object to be cooled, thereby accelerating the cooling speed of the object to be cooled.

[0033] The lifting mechanism 8 includes a vertically long housing 14 attached to the base 2, a lifting drive mechanism (for example, a power cylinder, not shown) provided in the housing 14, and a support arm 15 linked to the lifting drive mechanism. The support arm 15 is connected to the housing 12 of the vertical drive mechanism 7, and supports the housing 12 from the side.

[0034] With this configuration, when the vertical drive mechanism 7 is raised or lowered by the drive of the lift drive mechanism, the storage unit 6 supported by the vertical drive mechanism 7 also rises or lowers. This allows the storage unit 6 to move from the upper standby position shown in Fig. 1 to the cooling position in the cooling tank 3 shown in Fig. 2.

[0035] In addition, the lid 11 of the cooling tank 3 is integrally attached to the underside of the support arm 15 (or the housing 12 of the up-down drive mechanism 7), and when the storage unit 6 moves into the cooling tank 3, the lid 11 also descends to close the opening 3D of the cooling tank 3.

[0036] 3 shows the storage unit 6 in detail. As shown in the figure, the storage unit 6 includes a frame 21, a plurality of loading trays 22 arranged in the frame 21, and a stirring unit 23 attached to the lower part of the frame 21 and arranged below the loading trays 22. In this embodiment, the plurality of loading trays 22 have the same shape.

[0037] The frame 21 is configured by combining a plurality of rod-shaped frame members 21A. The frame members 21A form a framework having a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and a plurality of loading trays 22 are housed in this framework in a vertically stacked state.

[0038] A plate-shaped side wall 24 is provided on a side of the frame 21. A support structure (e.g., a rail, not shown) that supports each of the multiple loading trays 22 movably in the front-rear direction is provided on the inward surface (the surface on the side of the loading tray 2) of the side wall 24. This support structure allows each loading tray 22 to be pulled out forward like a drawer at a predetermined position within the frame 21, so that an object to be cooled can be placed on the loading tray 22.

[0039] As also shown in Figure 4, the loading tray 22 has a substantially rectangular bottom portion 22A, side portions 22B on both the left and right sides of the bottom portion 22A, and wall portions 22C provided at the front and rear of the bottom portion 22A, and the bottom portion 22A serves as the loading portion on which the object to be cooled is placed.

[0040] The bottom surface portion 22A and the side portions 22B are members (e.g., wire mesh) formed from elongated rod-like members arranged in a mesh pattern, and the cooling liquid can flow through the mesh. This allows the cooling liquid to flow freely in the vertical direction inside the storage unit 6, which is formed by stacking multiple loading trays 22 vertically.

[0041] Meanwhile, the front and rear walls 22C of the loading tray 22 serve as walls that block the front and rear of the loading tray 22 and restrict the inflow of the cooling liquid. Small openings are formed at predetermined positions of the walls 22C, and these openings serve as gripping parts 22D for pulling out the loading tray 22.

[0042] With this configuration, the four sides (front, back, left and right) of the storage unit 6 are almost completely sealed off by the front and back walls 22A, 22B and the left and right side walls 24, so that almost no cooling liquid flows in from the sides of the storage unit 6.

[0043] Meanwhile, the upper part of the storage unit 6 is an open section 25 that allows the flow of the cooling liquid at all times. That is, only the frame 21 and the topmost storage unit 6 exist above the storage units 6, and the cooling liquid can freely flow from the top of the storage unit 6 to the inside through the mesh of the bottom surface section 23A and the side surface section 23B of this topmost storage unit 6.

[0044] 5, the stirring unit 23 includes an outer frame 31 and a plurality of opening and closing flaps 32 arranged inside the outer frame 31. In this embodiment, the plurality of opening and closing flaps 32 have the same shape.

[0045] The outer frame 31 is composed of front and rear (top and bottom in FIG. 5) frame parts 31A and 31B and left and right frame parts 31C and 31D. These frame parts 31A to 31D form a substantially rectangular frame having substantially the same dimensions as the loading tray 6, and multiple opening and closing flaps 32 are arranged in parallel throughout the space within this frame.

[0046] The opening / closing flap 32 is a member having a long and narrow plate shape (wing shape). The long sides of the opening / closing flap 32 extending in the longitudinal direction (left and right direction in FIG. 5) are a base end 32A and a tip end 32B, respectively. The base end 32A and the tip end 32B have approximately the same dimensions as the inner parts of the frame parts 31A and 31B of the outer frame 31, and are disposed facing the frame parts 31A and 32A of the outer frame 31, respectively. On the other hand, the side parts 32C and 32D, which are the short sides on both longitudinal sides of the opening / closing flap 32, are disposed adjacent to the frame parts 31C and 32D of the outer frame 31, respectively.

[0047] The opening / closing flap 32 is supported rotatably around a rotation shaft 33 relative to the outer frame 31. To explain in detail, the opening / closing flap 32 is provided with the rotation shaft 33 extending in the longitudinal direction at a predetermined position near the base end 32A of the opening / closing flap 32. The rotation shaft 33 extends from side portions 32D, 33D on both sides of the opening / closing flap 32, and is journaled on frame portions 31C, 32D of the outer frame 31.

[0048] With this configuration, the opening / closing flap 32 can be selectively positioned at a closed position (see FIG. 6) in which it is positioned substantially horizontally, and at an open position (see FIG. 7) in which it is rotated downward. When the opening / closing flap 32 is in the closed position (closed state), the entire inside of the outer frame 31 is covered by the opening / closing flap 32, so that the flow of the cooling liquid beyond the agitation unit 23 is prohibited. On the other hand, when the opening / closing flap 32 is in the open position (open state), the tip portion 32B of the opening / closing flap 32 is positioned downward, so that a gap (flow path) is formed between adjacent opening / closing flaps 32, and the flow of the cooling liquid beyond the agitation unit 23 is permitted.

[0049] The base end 32A and the tip end 32B of adjacent opening / closing flaps 32 overlap each other slightly so that the tip end 32B is below the base end 32A when the opening / closing flaps 32 are in the closed position. As a result, when the opening / closing flaps 32 are in the closed position, no gap is generated between adjacent opening / closing flaps 32, so that the flow of cooling liquid is appropriately prohibited. In addition, while the opening / closing flaps 32 can be rotated toward the open position, excessive rotation beyond the closed position is appropriately prevented by the overlapping of the tip end 32B and the base end 32A.

[0050] 6 and 7 show in detail the opening and closing operation of the opening and closing flap 32 in the agitation unit 23. The opening and closing flap 32 rotates between a closed position shown in Fig. 6 and an open position shown in Fig. 7 in accordance with the up and down movement of the storage unit 6 to open and close.

[0051] More specifically, when the storage unit 6 is lowered in the cooling tank 3, as shown in Fig. 6, an upward water pressure from below, as indicated by arrow 35, acts on the agitation unit 23 (opening / closing flap 32) disposed at the bottom of the storage unit 6. This causes the opening / closing flap 32 of the agitation unit 23 to be pushed upward and reach the closed position (substantially horizontal rotation position) as shown in Fig. 6. When the storage unit 5 is further lowered with the opening / closing flap 32 in the closed position, the cooling liquid below the agitation unit 23 is pushed downward by the opening / closing flap 32 in the closed position.

[0052] On the other hand, when the storage unit 6 rises in the cooling tank 3, downward water pressure as indicated by arrow 36 acts on the agitation unit 23 (opening / closing flap 32) from above (inside the storage unit 6), as shown in FIG. 7. This causes the opening / closing flap 32 of the agitation unit 23 to be pushed downward, and reach the open position (rotation position in which the tip 32B is disposed on the lower side) as shown in FIG. 7. As a result, the cooling liquid can flow unrestricted through the flow path 34 generated between the opening / closing flaps 32. The opening / closing flap 32 rotates toward the open position by its own weight, and returns to the open position by its own weight when water pressure is not acting on it.

[0053] Next, the agitation of the cooling liquid by the refrigeration device 1 of this embodiment will be described in detail with reference to Figures 8 and 9. Figure 8 shows the flow of the cooling liquid when the storage unit 6 descends, and Figure 9 shows the flow of the cooling liquid when the storage unit 6 ascends.

[0054] 8, when the storage unit 6 is lowered, the opening and closing flap 32 of the agitation unit 23 is closed by water pressure from below. Therefore, the cooling liquid below the storage unit 6 is pushed downward (i.e., toward the bottom surface 3A of the cooling tank 3) by the opening and closing flap 32 in the closed state.

[0055] The flow of the pushed-out cooling water hits the bottom surface 3A of the cooling tank 3 and changes direction upward. This generates a flow of cooling liquid that rises upward from the bottom surface 3A of the cooling tank 3 along the four side walls 3B as shown by arrow 41A in Fig. 8. This flow flows around the cooling pipes 4 arranged so as to surround the storage unit 6, reaches the upper side of the cooling tank 3, flows toward the storage unit 6 as shown by arrow 41B, and flows into the inside of the storage unit 6 from the opening 25 of the storage unit 6 as shown by arrow 41C.

[0056] As mentioned above, the four sides (front, back, left and right) of the storage unit 6 are blocked by the front and back walls 22A, 22B and the side walls 24 on both sides, so the coolant does not flow into the interior of the storage unit 6 from the sides of the storage unit 6, but instead flows into the interior of the storage unit 6 from the open portion 25 at the top of the storage unit 6.

[0057] 9, when the movement of the storage unit 6 switches to rising, water pressure is applied to the agitation unit 23 from above (inside the storage unit 6), and the opening and closing flaps 32 are in the open position. Since the opening and closing flaps 32 in the open position do not affect the flow of the cooling liquid, the cooling liquid flows downward through the inside of the storage unit 6 (the multiple loading trays 22) as shown by arrow 41D in FIG. 9 (in reality, the storage unit 6 moves upward relative to the cooling liquid), and then flows out (downward) to the outside of the storage unit 6 through the flow path 34 between the adjacent opening and closing flaps 32 as shown by arrow 41E in FIG. 9.

[0058] In this way, according to the refrigeration device 1, as the storage unit 6 repeatedly moves up and down, the opening and closing flaps 32 open and close, and the cooling liquid pushed out to the bottom portion 3A of the cooling tank 3 by the closed opening and closing flaps 32 rises up along the four side portions 3B, passes around the cooling pipes 4 which act as a heat exchanger, and flows into the interior of the storage unit 6 from the open portion 25 at the top of the storage unit 6, and passes through the flow path 34 formed by the open opening and closing flaps 32, generating a flow (reflux) of cooling liquid flowing out from below the storage unit 6.

[0059] The cooling liquid pushed out by the agitation unit 23 toward the bottom surface 3A of the cooling tank 3 is pushed evenly in all four directions of the cooling tank 3. In addition, since the cooling liquid flows evenly into the open portion 25 of the storage unit 6 from all four directions, an almost uniform flow occurs inside the storage unit 6 throughout the entire area.

[0060] Therefore, the cooling liquid in the cooling tank 3 is effectively stirred throughout the entire cooling tank 3 (storage section 3C), and uniform stirring can be achieved throughout the cooling tank 3. This improves unevenness in the flow rate of the cooling liquid in the freezing tank 3, thereby appropriately increasing the flow rate of the cooling liquid around the object to be cooled, and improving the efficiency of heat exchange between the cooling liquid and the object to be cooled.

[0061] In addition, since the cooling pipe 4 (heat exchanger) is disposed so as to surround the periphery of the storage unit 6, the flow of the cooling liquid pushed out by the stirring unit 23 flows evenly around the periphery of the cooling pipe 4 throughout the entire coil shape of the cooling pipe 4. Therefore, the cooling liquid can be effectively cooled by the cooling pipe 4, and the heat exchange efficiency between the cooling liquid and the heat exchanger is improved.

[0062] In this way, according to the cooling device 1 of this embodiment, the cooling liquid in the freezing tank 3 can be effectively and uniformly stirred, and the flow rate of the cooling liquid can be increased to improve the heat exchange efficiency between the cooling liquid and the object to be cooled and between the cooling liquid and the heat exchanger, thereby improving the freezing speed and freezing throughput of the object to be cooled.

[0063] Furthermore, as a configuration for stirring the cooling liquid in the cooling tank 3, it is only necessary to provide the stirring unit 23, which does not require a large installation space, at the bottom of the storage unit 6. Therefore, since there is no need to install an agitator, the volume of the freezing tank 3 can be reduced, so the amount of cooling liquid required can be reduced and the entire refrigeration device 1 can be made smaller. Furthermore, since the only configuration required for stirring is the stirring unit 23, which has a simple configuration, costs can be significantly reduced compared to when an agitator is provided.

[0064] Although the embodiment of the present invention has been described above, the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment, and appropriate modifications are possible within the scope of the claims. For example, in the above embodiment, the storage unit 6 only moves up and down, but the present invention is not limited to this form. The storage unit 6 may move in a combination of up and down movement, left and right movement, and rotational movement.

[0065] In the above embodiment, the storage unit 6 is in the form of a storage shelf equipped with a plurality of loading trays 22, but the present invention is not limited to this form. The storage unit may take any form as long as it can store objects to be cooled therein and allow the cooling liquid to flow therethrough. [Industrial Applicability]

[0066] The present invention can be used to quickly freeze objects to be cooled, such as food. [Explanation of symbols]

[0067] 1 Refrigeration equipment 2 base 3 Freezer 3A Bottom of freezer 3B Side of freezer 3C Reservoir 4 Cooling pipe (heat exchanger) 5. Coolant supply section 6 Storage Units 7. Up-down drive mechanism 8 Lifting mechanism 9 Control device 11 Lid 12. Housing of vertical drive mechanism 13 Support arm for vertical drive mechanism 14 Lift mechanism housing 15 Support arm of lifting mechanism 21 Storage unit frame 22 Loading tray 22A Bottom of the loading tray 22B Side of loading tray 22C Wall of the loading tray 23 Mixing unit 24 Side wall of storage unit 25 Open area 31 Outer frame of mixing unit 32 Opening and closing flap 33 Rotating shaft

Claims

1. In a refrigeration device that freezes an object to be cooled by bringing it into contact with a cooling liquid, A cooling tank in which a cooling liquid is stored; a storage section disposed in the cooling tank, capable of storing the object to be cooled and allowing a cooling liquid to flow vertically therethrough; A driving means capable of driving the storage section up and down; an opening / closing member that is provided at the bottom of the storage section and that is in a closed state when the storage section is lowered to prohibit the flow of cooling liquid, and that is in an open state when the storage section is raised to allow the flow of cooling liquid; A refrigeration device comprising:

2. 2. The refrigeration apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the opening and closing member includes an opening and closing flap that can be opened and closed by rotating about a rotation axis that extends substantially horizontally.

3. The opening and closing member includes a plurality of opening and closing flaps, The refrigeration apparatus according to claim 2 , wherein the plurality of opening / closing flaps are arranged in parallel so as to partially overlap one another when in a closed state.

4. The cooling tank has a bottom portion and a side portion, the storage section includes a wall section that closes a side section of the storage section, and an opening section that is provided on an upper side of the wall section and through which a cooling liquid can flow, 2. The refrigeration apparatus of claim 1, wherein the vertical movement of the storage section causes the cooling liquid pushed toward the bottom section by the opening / closing member, which is in a closed state when the storage section is lowered, to rise from the bottom section along the side section, flow into the storage section through the open section, and generate a flow of cooling liquid that passes through the opening / closing member, which is in an open state when the storage section is raised, and flows out from inside the storage section.

5. The refrigeration apparatus according to claim 1 , further comprising a heat exchanger disposed so as to surround the periphery of the storage section.

Images