Liquid freezing device

Abstract

To place a lid body on the upper side of an opening of a freezing tank in a horizontal direction accurately in a liquid freezing device which closes the opening on an upper surface of the freezing tank with the lid body which is moved up or down by a lifting mechanism.SOLUTION: A liquid freezing device 10 includes: a freezing tank 20 having an opening 20a on an upper surface; a lid body 23 which closes the opening 20a on the upper surface of the freezing tank 20 in an openable and closable manner; and a lifting mechanism 40 which moves up or down the lid body 23. The lifting mechanism 40 includes: a shaft 46 extending in a vertical direction at one side of the freezing tank 20; a slider 47 supported movably in a vertical direction by the shaft 46; and an arm 49 which extends from the slider 47 to an area above the freezing tank 20 and to which the lid body 23 is fixed. The opening 20a of the freezing tank 20 is opened or closed by the lid body 23 which is moved up or down by moving the slider 47 vertically. The arm 49 is supported so as to be rotatable around a horizontal axis relative to the slider 47.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 11

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a liquid freezing device that freezes food ingredients, cooked food, and other frozen objects using cooled antifreeze liquid, and relates to a liquid freezing device that has a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers a lid that opens and closes an opening on the top surface of a freezing tank. [Background technology]

[0002] Patent Document 1 discloses a food freezing device that freezes food ingredients, food preparations, and other frozen items using cooled antifreeze liquid. This food freezing device includes a freezing tank with an opening on its top surface for storing antifreeze liquid, a lid that can be freely opened and closed to cover the opening on the top surface of the freezing tank, a freezing device that cools the antifreeze liquid in the freezing tank, and a stirring means for stirring the antifreeze liquid in the freezing tank. In this food freezing device, the antifreeze liquid in the freezing tank is cooled by a refrigerant that circulates through refrigerant pipes that make up the freezing device, and when a basket containing food ingredients, food preparations, and other frozen items is placed into the freezing tank through the opening on the top surface and immersed in the antifreeze liquid, the frozen items placed in the basket exchange heat with the antifreeze liquid and are frozen. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0003] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 8-298973 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0004] When freezing food materials, food products, and other frozen items in the food freezing device (liquid freezing device) used in Patent Document 1, the food materials, food products, and other frozen items are stored in a basket (storage basket), and the basket containing the frozen items is immersed in antifreeze in a freezing tank (freezing tank). In this type of food freezing device, the freezing tank is enlarged, making it possible to store a large amount of frozen items in the large basket. When a large amount of frozen items is placed in a large basket, it becomes heavy and difficult to immerse the basket containing the frozen items in the freezing tank or to lift the basket containing the frozen items from the freezing tank. For this reason, the basket is attached to the underside of a lid provided at the opening on the top surface of the freezing tank, and the lid can be raised and lowered together with the basket, making it easier to immerse the basket containing a large amount of frozen items in the freezing tank or to lift the basket containing a large amount of frozen items from the freezing tank. However, when the lid is raised and lowered up and down by the lifting mechanism, it is difficult to place the lid on the opening in the top surface of the freezing tank with good horizontal height accuracy, and if the lid cannot be placed on the opening in the top surface of the freezing tank with good horizontal height accuracy, the temperature of the antifreeze in the freezing tank may rise, or the antifreeze may volatilize and leak from between the opening in the freezing tank and the lid.The present invention, in a liquid freezing device that closes the opening in the top surface of the freezing tank with a lid that is raised and lowered up and down by a lifting mechanism, is designed to place the lid above the opening in the top surface of the freezing tank with good horizontal height accuracy, so as to accurately close the opening in the freezing tank. [Means for solving the problem]

[0005] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a liquid freezing device comprising: a freezing tank having an opening on its top surface and freezing an object to be frozen using antifreeze liquid stored inside; a lid that can be opened and closed to freely close the opening on the top surface of the freezing tank; and a lifting mechanism that raises and lowers the lid up and down, wherein the lifting mechanism comprises a shaft extending in the vertical direction on one side of the freezing tank, a slider supported on the shaft so as to be able to move up and down, and an arm that extends from the slider above the freezing tank and to which the lid is fixed, and by moving the slider up and down, the lid is raised and lowered above the freezing tank to open and close the opening of the freezing tank, and wherein the arm is supported so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis relative to the slider.

[0006] In the liquid freezing device configured as described above, the arm is supported on the slider so that it can rotate about a horizontal axis. This allows the lid body attached to the arm to rotate about a horizontal axis above the opening of the freezing tank, eliminating any misalignment in horizontal height with respect to the opening of the freezing tank, allowing the lid body to be placed accurately, and enabling the lid body to close the opening of the freezing tank accurately.

[0007] In the liquid freezing device configured as described above, a storage basket capable of storing the object to be frozen is attached to the underside of the lid, and the lifting mechanism preferably includes a guide mechanism that tilts the storage basket so that the side opposite to the one side of the freezing chamber is at the top by rotating the side of the lid opposite to the one side of the freezing chamber upward while raising the lid when the storage basket is at a position above the antifreeze liquid level in the freezing chamber. The storage basket is tilted together with the lid by the guide mechanism so that the side opposite to the one side of the freezing chamber is at the top when the storage basket is at a position above the antifreeze liquid level in the freezing chamber, allowing the antifreeze adhering to the storage basket to be efficiently drained.

[0008] In the liquid freezing device configured as described above, it is preferable to provide an obstacle sensor around the opening of the freezing tank to detect obstacles, and to control the lifting mechanism so that the lid is not raised or lowered when the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle. By providing an obstacle sensor around the opening of the freezing tank to detect obstacles, and controlling the lifting mechanism so that the lid is not raised or lowered when the obstacle sensor detects an obstacle, it is possible to prevent the frozen material that protrudes from the storage basket from becoming caught between the opening of the freezing tank and the storage basket when the lid is raised or lowered together with the storage basket.

[0009] In the liquid freezing device configured as described above, it is preferable that the lifting mechanism be controlled to allow the lid to be raised and lowered even when the obstacle sensor detects the lid and storage basket as obstacles during their raising and lowering process. If the obstacle sensor detects the tilting storage basket as an obstacle when the lid blocks the opening of the freezing chamber or when the guide mechanism tilts the storage basket, the lifting mechanism may be unable to raise and lower the lid and storage basket. Therefore, since the lifting mechanism controls the lid to be raised and lowered even when the obstacle sensor detects the lid or storage basket as an obstacle when the lid blocks the opening of the freezing chamber or when the guide mechanism tilts the storage basket, the lifting mechanism can raise and lower the lid and storage basket regardless of the obstacle sensor's detection of the lid or storage basket as an obstacle.

[0010] In a liquid freezing device configured as described above, it is preferable to provide an inclined portion at the opening of the freezing tank that slopes diagonally upward from the upper part of the side of the freezing tank. If the storage basket is tilted by the guide mechanism when the lid is raised by the lifting mechanism, antifreeze dripping from the storage basket will tend to fall near the inner periphery of the freezing tank, but the inclined portion makes it easier for antifreeze that falls from the storage basket near the inner periphery of the freezing tank to return to the freezing tank, making it less likely for antifreeze to remain near the inner periphery of the freezing tank. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0011] [Figure 1] FIG. 1 is a front view of a liquid freezing device of the present invention. [Figure 2] 2 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the front part of FIG. 1 taken along the left-right direction. [Figure 3] 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA in FIG. 1. [Figure 4] FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a liquid freezing device, focusing on a freezing device. [Figure 5] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lifting mechanism as seen from diagonally front right. [Figure 6] FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the lifting mechanism as seen from diagonally front left. [Figure 7] 4 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the lifting mechanism taken along the front-rear direction at the center in the left-right direction. FIG. [Figure 8] FIG. 10 is an enlarged partial longitudinal cross-sectional view of the left slider and arm. [Figure 9] 1A is a left side view of the left slider and arm, and FIG. 1B is a left side view of the arm when the front part is rotated upward. [Figure 10] 4 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the lid body and the storage basket are raised by the guide mechanism to a position where they start to tilt. [Figure 11] 4 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the cover and the storage basket are raised to the most inclined position (first raised position) by the guide mechanism. [Figure 12] 4 is a cross-sectional view corresponding to FIG. 3 when the lid body and the storage basket are raised by the guide mechanism to a non-inclined position (second raised position). FIG. [Figure 13] FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device. BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION

[0012] An embodiment of the liquid freezing device of the present invention will be described below with reference to the accompanying drawings. The liquid freezing device 10 of the present invention is also called a liquid freezer, and uses an antifreeze containing ethanol (57 wt%) to rapidly freeze food ingredients, food products, and other frozen objects. The food ingredients, food products, and other frozen objects are typically sealed in packaging bags using a vacuum packaging machine or the like, and are frozen in the liquid freezing device 10 before being stored frozen in a freezer. The liquid freezing device 10 of the present invention uses a large freezing chamber 20, and a storage basket 25 for storing the frozen objects is attached to the underside of a lid 23 that freely closes an opening 20a on the top of the freezing chamber 20, and the lid 23 and storage basket 25 can be raised and lowered by an elevating mechanism 40.

[0013] 1 and 2, liquid freezing apparatus 10 comprises a freezing tank 20 at the top of housing 11 and a machine room 12 at the bottom. As shown in Fig. 2, a support plate 13 that supports an agitation motor 36 of an agitation device 35, which will be described later, is installed on the left side of freezing tank 20, and an opening 20a is formed on the top surface of freezing tank 20 except for the left side, through which a storage basket 25 containing the material to be frozen is immersed. As shown in Figs. 1 and 2, a casing 14 that rises upward is installed on the top surface of the left side of freezing tank 20, and various devices are housed within casing 14, including agitation motor 36 of agitation device 35 that agitates the antifreeze in freezing tank 20.

[0014] As shown in FIG. 2, the freezing tank 20 has a generally rectangular parallelepiped shape and stores antifreeze liquid for freezing objects to be frozen. The freezing tank 20 is partitioned by a partition plate 21 located on the left side of the center in the left-right direction to allow liquid to pass through. The left side of the freezing tank 20, separated by the partition plate 21, is divided into a cooling area 20b for cooling the antifreeze liquid, and an immersion area 20c for immersing the objects to be frozen. A temperature sensor 22 is provided on the partition plate 21 and detects the temperature of the antifreeze liquid in the freezing tank 20. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, an inclined portion 20d is formed at the top of each side of the freezing tank 20, sloping obliquely upward and outward. The inclined portion 20d facilitates the return of antifreeze dropping from the top of the freezing tank 20 back into the freezing tank 20. In this embodiment, the inclined portion 20d is inclined at an angle of 45°, but it is preferable that the inclined portion 20d be inclined at an angle of 15° to 60°. In addition, the upper end of the inclined portion 20d of the freezing tank 20 is formed with a flat portion 20e that extends outward in the horizontal direction.

[0015] As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3 , a lid 23 is provided at an opening 20a on the top surface of the freezing tank 20 except for the left side, and the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20 is closed by the lid 23 in an openable and closable manner. The lid 23 is supported so as to be able to move up and down by an elevating mechanism 40, which will be described later. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3 , a gasket 24 is provided at the peripheral edge of the underside of the lid 23, and the gasket 24 is pressed against and abuts against a flat portion 20e on the periphery of the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20. When the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20 is covered by the lid 23, the gasket 24 tightly contacts the flat portion 20e on the periphery of the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20, airtightly sealing the gap between the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20 and the lid 23. A storage basket 25 is attached to the underside of the lid 23, and the storage basket 25 can move up and down together with the lid 23, which moves up and down. The storage basket 25 has a substantially rectangular parallelepiped shape, and an opening 25a is formed in the front portion of the storage basket 25 for allowing the frozen items and the wire shelf 26 to enter and exit.

[0016] As shown in Fig. 2, an evaporator pipe 34 constituting the refrigeration device 30 is spirally wound and disposed in the cooling region 20b of the freezing tank 20, and the antifreeze liquid in the freezing tank 20 is cooled by the refrigerant passing through the evaporator pipe 34. As shown in Fig. 4, the refrigeration device 30, excluding the evaporator pipe 34, is disposed in the machine room 12, and includes a compressor 31 that compresses the refrigerant, a condenser 32 that cools and liquefies the refrigerant pressure-fed from the compressor 31, an expansion valve 33 that expands the liquefied refrigerant liquefied by the condenser 32 to produce low-pressure liquefied refrigerant, and an evaporator pipe 34 that vaporizes the liquefied refrigerant expanded by the expansion valve 33 to cool the antifreeze liquid in the freezing tank 20. The refrigeration device 30 configures a refrigeration circuit in which the refrigerant circulates by connecting the compressor 31, the condenser 32, the expansion valve 33, and the evaporator pipe 34 in a ring shape via refrigerant pipes. When the refrigerant in the refrigeration device 30 is circulated, the refrigerant pumped from the compressor 31 is cooled in the condenser 32 to become a liquefied refrigerant, and the liquefied refrigerant becomes a low-pressure liquefied refrigerant in the expansion valve 33. The low-pressure liquefied refrigerant cools the antifreeze in the freezing tank 20 by the heat of vaporization when it evaporates in the evaporator pipe 34.

[0017] As shown in Figure 2, an agitator 35 is provided on the left side of freezing tank 20, and the antifreeze solution in freezing tank 20 is agitated by agitator 35 to maintain a uniform temperature. Agitator 35 includes an agitator motor 36 above support plate 13, a rotating shaft 37 that hangs down from agitator motor 36 to the inside of a spirally wound evaporation tube 34 in cooling zone 20b of freezing tank 20, and an agitator blade 38 attached to the tip of rotating shaft 37. When agitator motor 36 is operated to rotate agitator blade 38 inside the spiral evaporation tube 34 in cooling zone 20b of freezing tank 20, the antifreeze solution in freezing tank 20 circulates between cooling zone 20b and immersion zone 20c, maintaining a uniform temperature.

[0018] 3 and 5 to 7, a lifting mechanism 40 for raising and lowering the lid 23 is provided on the rear (one side) of the freezing chamber 20. The lifting mechanism 40 includes left and right side frames 41 erected on both the left and right sides of the rear of the freezing chamber 20, a base frame 42 installed in the vertical middle between the left and right side frames 41, a top frame 43 installed on the upper parts of the left and right side frames 41, a bottom frame 44 installed on the lower parts of the left and right side frames 41, and a center frame 45 fixed to the base frame 42 and the top frame 43 in the middle between the left and right side frames 41.

[0019] 5 and 6, shafts 46 extending in the vertical direction are provided on the left and right sides between the base frame 42 and the top frame 43, and sliders 47 using linear bearings are supported on the shafts 46 so as to be movable up and down. The left and right sliders 47 provided on the left and right shafts 46 are connected by a connecting frame 48, and the left and right sliders 47 are moved up and down simultaneously by the connecting frame 48. An arm 49 for attaching the lid 23 is supported on the front of the slider 47 so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis in the left-right direction (about the horizontal axis), and the arm 49 extends forward above the freezing chamber 20.

[0020] 8 and 9, a boss 47a for attaching an arm 49 is provided at the front of the slider 47 so as to protrude forward, and attachment portions 49a formed at the base end (rear end) of the arm 49 are attached to the boss 47a so as to sandwich the arm 49 from both the left and right sides. A support pin 50 for supporting the arm 49 is inserted into the upper part of the boss 47a of the slider 47, and the arm 49 is supported so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis in the left-right direction (about the horizontal axis) with the support pin 50 as a fulcrum. A restricting pin 51 for restricting the rotation range of the arm 49 is provided at the lower part of the boss 47a of the slider 47, and a restricting hole 49b for restricting the rotation range of the arm 49 is formed in the attachment portion 49a of the arm 49 at a position opposite to the position where the restricting pin 51 is provided. The restriction hole 49b is a substantially arc-shaped elongated hole extending in the front-rear direction, and the arm 49 is rotatable about a horizontal axis in the left-right direction (about the horizontal axis) within the range in which the restriction pin 51 moves in the longitudinal direction of the restriction hole 49b.

[0021] As shown in FIG. 9(a), when no external force is applied to lift the front portion of the arm 49 upward, the front side of the arm 49, opposite the rear side supported by the support pin 50, tends to move downward due to its own weight. However, when the control pin 51 abuts against the front end of the control hole 49b, the front portion of the arm 49 does not rotate downward but extends forward in a substantially horizontal direction. As shown in FIG. 9(b), when an external force is applied to lift the front portion of the arm 49 upward, the front portion of the arm 49 rotates upward within a range in which the control pin 51 abutting against the front end of the control hole 49b can move rearward. As shown in FIG. 8, an angle adjustment plate 52 is provided below the boss portion 47a of the front portion of the slider 47 and the mounting portion 49a of the arm 49. The thickness of the angle adjustment plate 52 adjusts the front side of the arm 49 to be 0.3° higher (the front side of the cover 23 is 4 mm higher than the rear side). The horizontal angle of the arm 49 can be adjusted by changing the thickness of the angle adjustment plate 52.

[0022] As shown in FIGS. 5 to 7 , the lifting mechanism 40 includes a drive mechanism 55 that moves the left and right sliders 47 up and down, and the drive mechanism 55 moves the left and right sliders 47 up and down via the connecting frame 48 using a ball screw mechanism. The drive mechanism 55 includes a screw shaft 56 rotatably supported on the base frame 42 and the top frame 43 behind the center frame 45, a ball screw nut (nut) 57 threadedly engaged with the screw shaft 56 so as to be movable up and down, and a gear motor 58 that is provided on the upper side of the top frame 43 and rotates the screw shaft 56. When the gear motor 58 is driven in a forward direction, the screw shaft 56 rotates forward (forward rotation), and the connecting frame 48 and the left and right sliders 47 move upward together with the ball screw nut 57. On the other hand, when the gear motor 58 is driven in a reverse direction, the screw shaft 56 rotates reversely (reverse rotation), and the connecting frame 48 and the left and right sliders 47 move downward together with the ball screw nut 57.

[0023] The lifting mechanism 40 includes a guide mechanism 60 that tilts the storage basket 25 so that the front of the storage basket 25 faces upward by rotating the front of the lid 23 upward when the storage basket 25, which is attached to the underside of the lid 23, is raised above the antifreeze level in the freezing chamber 20. The antifreeze level in the freezing chamber 20 is indicated by a dashed line in FIGS. 3, 9, 12, and 13. As shown in FIGS. 3, 5, 6, and 9, the guide mechanism 60 includes a guide plate 61 attached to the inside of the side frame 41 and a roller 62 rotatably attached to the mounting portion 49a of the arm 49. The front end of the guide plate 61 forms a guide surface 61a that guides the roller 62, and the guide surface 61a is positioned adjacent to the arm 49 when the arm 49 rises together with the slider 47. The guide surface 61a is a generally pentagonal plate with a vertical center portion protruding forward. The lower half of the guide surface 61a becomes a first inclined guide surface 61b that is inclined so as to protrude forward when moving upward, and the upper half of the guide surface 61a becomes a second inclined guide surface 61c that is inclined so as to recede backward when moving upward.

[0024] As shown in Fig. 3, when opening 20a of freezing chamber 20 is closed with lid 23, lid 23 is supported approximately horizontally by arm 49. When slider 47 is raised by drive mechanism 55, and roller 62 of mounting portion 49a of arm 49 rises along first inclined guide surface 61b of the guide plate as shown in Fig. 10, the front portion of arm 49 rotates diagonally upward and forward. The front portions of lid 23 and storage basket 25 provided below arm 49 rotate diagonally upward and forward, and lid 23 and storage basket 25 are tilted so that their front portions face diagonally upward and forward. 11, when roller 62 of mounting portion 49a of arm 49 rises to the top of first inclined guide surface 61b of the guide plate, lid body 23 and storage basket 25 are inclined so that their front portions face most diagonally upward toward the front, and the front surfaces of lid body 23 and storage basket 25 are inclined 7° above the horizontal. Because storage basket 25 is inclined by guide mechanism 60 so that its front surface, where opening 25a is formed, faces diagonally upward toward the front, frozen items placed in storage basket 25 and wire shelf 26 will not fall through opening 25a.

[0025] When the slider 47 is further raised by the drive mechanism 55, the roller 62 on the mounting portion 49a of the arm 49 rises along the second inclined guide surface 61c of the guide plate, and the roller 62 on the mounting portion 49a of the arm 49 rises above the second inclined guide surface 61c of the guide plate, the front portion of the arm 49, which is inclined diagonally upward on the front side, rotates downward and returns to a substantially horizontal position, as shown in Figure 12. Together with the arm 49, the lid 23 and the storage basket 25, whose front portions are inclined diagonally upward on the front side, also rotate downward and return to a substantially horizontal position.

[0026] 5 and 6, lifting mechanism 40 includes lifting position detection mechanism 70 that detects the lifting positions of lid 23 and storage basket 25. Lifting position detection mechanism 70 can detect a lowered position in which lid 23 covers the upper side of opening 20a of freezing chamber 20, a first raised position in which storage basket 25 is positioned above the antifreeze liquid level in freezing chamber 20 and is fully tilted by guide mechanism 60, and a second raised position in which storage basket 25 is further raised from the first raised position and is made substantially horizontal by guide mechanism 60. The lifting position detection mechanism 70 includes a first position sensor 71 at the bottom of the center frame 45 for detecting the lowered position, a second position sensor 72 at the top of the center frame 45 for detecting the first raised position, a third position center 73 at the top of the center frame 45 above the second position sensor 72, a first detectable member 74 at the center in the left-right direction of the connecting frame 48 for detection by the first and second position sensors 71, 72, and a second detectable member 75 at the right side of the connecting frame 48 for detection by the third position sensor 73.

[0027] The first to third position sensors 71 to 73 are implemented as limit switches, and the first and second detectable members 74, 75 are implemented as dogs. When the lid 23 is in a lowered position that blocks the upper side of the opening 20a of the freezing chamber 20, the first detectable member 74 is detected by the first position sensor 71. When the lid 23 and the storage basket 25 are raised by raising the connecting frame 48 and the slider 47, the lid 23 and the storage basket 25 are positioned above the antifreeze liquid level in the freezing chamber 20, and the storage basket 25 is in a first raised position where the guide mechanism 60 tilts the storage basket 25 to its maximum, the first detectable member 74 is detected by the second position sensor 72. When the lid 23 and the storage basket 25 are further raised by raising the connecting frame 48 and the slider 47, the lid 23 and the storage basket 25 are in a second raised position where the guide mechanism 60 positions the storage basket 25 approximately horizontally, the second detectable member 75 is detected by the third position sensor 73.

[0028] 2, the lifting mechanism 40 is equipped with an obstacle sensor 80 that detects obstacles, such as objects to be frozen, in front (around the periphery) of the opening 20a of the freezing chamber 20. The obstacle sensor 80 is intended to prevent objects to be frozen from becoming pinched between the storage basket 25 and the opening 20a of the freezing chamber 20 when the lid 23 and the storage basket 25 are raised or lowered by the lifting mechanism 40. The obstacle sensor 80 is equipped with a light-emitter 80a provided on the right side in front of the opening 20a of the freezing chamber 20 and a light-receiver 80b provided on the left side in front of the opening 20a, and can detect whether an obstacle is present in front of the opening 20a of the freezing chamber 20 based on whether light emitted from the light-emitter 80a is received by the light-receiver 80b.

[0029] As shown in Fig. 3, when lid 23 is in a lowered position blocking the upper side of opening 20a of freezing chamber 20, obstacle sensor 80 will erroneously detect lid 23 as an obstacle. Similarly, as shown in Fig. 10, when guide mechanism 60 tilts storage basket 25, obstacle sensor 80 will erroneously detect tilted storage basket 25 as an obstacle. To prevent obstacle sensor 80 from erroneously detecting lid 23 or storage basket 25 as an obstacle when lifting mechanism 40 raises or lowers lid 23 and storage basket 25, lifting mechanism 40 is equipped with fourth and fifth position sensors 81 and 82 for detecting the positions at which obstacle sensor 80 primarily detects lid 23 in the lowered position as an obstacle and the positions at which obstacle sensor 80 detects tilted storage basket 25 as an obstacle.

[0030] As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 , the fourth position sensor 81 is attached to the lower part of the center frame 45 and is used to detect the lowered position where the lid 23 covers the upper side of the opening 20a of the freezing chamber 20, as well as positions nearby this position. As shown in FIG. 6 , the fourth position sensor 81 is a photosensor that detects that the lid 23 is in the lowered position or a position nearby this position when the light emitted from the light-emitting element is blocked by a light-blocking member 83 attached to the connecting frame 48 and the light-receiving element prevents the light. The fifth position sensor 82 is attached to the upper part of the center frame 45 and is used to detect positions within a certain range after the lid 23 and the storage basket 25 start to rotate, as when the front lower part of the tilted storage basket 25 is detected by the obstacle sensor 80. The fifth position sensor 82 also uses a photosensor that detects that the storage basket 25 is in a certain range after the rotation starts when the light emitted from the light-emitting element is blocked by a light-blocking member (not shown) attached to the connecting frame 48 and the light-receiving element prevents the light.

[0031] 13, liquid freezing apparatus 10 is equipped with a control device 90, which is connected to temperature sensor 22, refrigeration device 30, stirring motor 36, gear motor 58, first to third position sensors 71 to 73, obstacle sensor 80, fourth and fifth position sensors 81, 82, and an operation panel unit 91 provided on the front surface of casing 14. Control device 90 has a microcomputer (not shown), which is equipped with a CPU, nonvolatile memory (nonvolatile storage unit) such as RAM, ROM, EEPROM, and a timer (all not shown), which are connected via a bus.

[0032] The ROM stores a program for a freezing operation mode in which the antifreeze in freezing tank 20 is cooled to a freezing temperature suitable for freezing the object to be frozen, a cold storage operation mode in which the antifreeze in freezing tank 20 is cooled to a cold storage temperature suitable for storage, and a maintenance operation mode program in which the antifreeze in freezing tank 20 is raised to a discharge temperature suitable for discharge, and each mode program can be executed by operating the operation unit provided on operation panel unit 91. Note that by operating the operation unit provided on operation panel unit 91, a timer may be used to control the freezing operation mode and the cold storage operation mode to be switched and executed at set times.

[0033] When freezing an object to be frozen using this liquid freezing device 10, the operation panel 91 is operated to cause the control device 90 to execute the freezing operation mode. When the freezing operation mode is executed, the antifreeze liquid in the freezing tank 20 is cooled as it flows downward inside the spirally wound evaporation tube 34 in the cooling region 20b due to a liquid flow generated by the rotation of the stirring blades 38 of the stirring device 35. The antifreeze liquid flowing downward inside the evaporation tube 34 passes under the partition plate 21 and is sent to the immersion region 20c. The antifreeze liquid sent from the cooling region 20b to the immersion region 20c returns to the cooling region 20b through the opening formed in the partition plate 21, and the antifreeze liquid returned to the cooling region 20b flows from the upper side of the spirally wound evaporation tube 34 into the interior thereof and is cooled as it flows inside the evaporation tube 34.

[0034] 11, when the object to be frozen is to be immersed in freezing tank 20, operation panel 91 is operated to place the object in storage basket 25 which has been raised to the first raised position by lifting mechanism 40, and operation panel 91 is then operated to drive gear motor 58 of drive mechanism 55 in reverse, causing lid 23 and storage basket 25 to descend from the top of freezing tank 20. When first position sensor 71 detects first detectable member 74 and determines that lid 23 is in the lowered position, gear motor 58 of drive mechanism 55 stops. Arm 49 to which lid 23 is attached is supported by angle adjustment plate 52 so that its front side is approximately 4 mm higher than slider 47, and packing 24 on the underside of lid 23 lands from the rear side on flat portion 20e of opening 20a of freezing tank 20, and packing 24 on the underside of lid 23 abuts against flat portion 20e of opening 20a of freezing tank 20 from the rear side to the front side, so that the inside of freezing tank 20 is sealed by packing 24 on the underside of lid 23. When the items to be frozen in storage basket 25 are lowered to the lower position, they are immersed in the antifreeze in freezing tank 20 and cooled.

[0035] The items to be frozen in storage basket 25 are cooled by heat exchange with the antifreeze in freezing tank 20, and after the time required to freeze the items has elapsed, operation panel 91 is operated to drive gear motor 58 of drive mechanism 55 in the forward direction, causing lid 23 and storage basket 25 to rise from freezing tank 20. When lid 23 and storage basket 25 rise from freezing tank 20 and the lower part of storage basket 25 rises higher than the level of the antifreeze in freezing tank 20, roller 62 of mounting portion 49a of arm 49 begins to rise up first inclined guide surface 61b of guide plate 61, and the front parts of lid 23 and storage basket 25 begin to rotate so that they face diagonally upward. When roller 62 on mounting portion 49a of arm 49 rises up first inclined guide surface 61b of guide plate 61 and the front of lid 23 and storage basket 25 face most diagonally upward, second position sensor 72 detects first detectable member 74 and gear motor 58 of drive mechanism 55 stops. Storage basket 25 is positioned above the antifreeze liquid level in freezing tank 20 and is inclined so that its rear is lower, so that antifreeze adhering to storage basket 25 and the objects to be frozen easily falls from the rear side, allowing the antifreeze adhering to storage basket 25 and the objects to be frozen to drain smoothly.

[0036] If the frozen object in the storage basket 25 protrudes from the front opening 25a while the lifting mechanism 40 is lifting and lowering the lid 23 and the storage basket 25, the frozen object may become pinched between the periphery of the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20 and the storage basket 25. For this reason, when the obstacle sensor 80 detects an obstacle such as an object to be frozen, the gear motor 58 of the drive mechanism 55 is controlled to stop even when the operation panel 91 is being operated to lift and lower the lid 23 and the storage basket 25. This prevents the frozen object from becoming pinched between the periphery of the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20 and the storage basket 25, even if the frozen object in the storage basket 25 protrudes from the front opening 25a.

[0037] Furthermore, when lid 23 is in or near the lowered position blocking opening 20a of freezing chamber 20, obstacle sensor 80 detects lid 23 as an obstacle. Similarly, when lid 23 and storage basket 25 are tilted by guide mechanism 60, obstacle sensor 80 detects tilted storage basket 25 as an obstacle. Therefore, when fourth position sensor 81 detects that lid 23 is in or near the lowered position blocking the upper side of opening 20a of freezing chamber 20, even if lid 23 is detected as an obstacle by obstacle sensor 80, control is performed to allow lid 23 and storage basket 25 to be raised and lowered by lifting mechanism 40. Similarly, when fifth position sensor 82 detects that storage basket 25 is within a certain range after starting to rotate, control is performed to allow lid 23 and storage basket 25 to be raised and lowered by lifting mechanism 40, even if storage basket 25 is detected as an obstacle by obstacle sensor 80. This allows the lifting mechanism 40 to raise and lower the lid 23 and the storage basket 25 regardless of the detection result of the obstacle sensor 80 that the lid 23 or the storage basket 25 is an obstacle.

[0038] In this liquid freezing device 10, the lid 23 and storage basket 25 can be raised and lowered between a lowered position and a first raised position by operating the operation panel 91. If an object to be frozen is accidentally dropped into the freezing chamber 20, it is difficult to retrieve the object even if the lid 23 and storage basket 25 are raised to the first raised position. In contrast, by operating the maintenance switch 92 located on the left side of the top frame 43, the gear motor 58 of the drive mechanism 55 is driven in the forward direction, thereby raising the lid 23 and storage basket 25 further than the first raised position. When the lid 23 and storage basket 25 have risen to the second raised position and the third position sensor 73 detects the second detectable member 75, the gear motor 58 of the drive mechanism 55 is stopped. As shown in Figure 12, when the lid body 23 and the storage basket 25 are raised to the second raised position, the bottom of the storage basket 25 is away from the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20, so that the frozen object can be removed from the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20.

[0039] The liquid freezing apparatus 10 of this embodiment described above comprises a freezing tank 20 having an opening 20a on its top surface and freezing an object to be frozen using antifreeze liquid stored inside, a lid 23 that can be opened and closed to freely close the opening 20a on the top surface of the freezing tank 20, and an elevating mechanism 40 that raises and lowers the lid 23. The elevating mechanism 40 comprises a shaft 46 that extends vertically at the rear (one side) of the freezing tank 20, a slider 47 that is supported on the shaft 46 so as to be able to move vertically, and an arm 49 that extends from the slider 47 to the upper side of the freezing tank 20 and to which the lid 23 is fixed; by moving the slider 47 up and down, the lid 23 is raised and lowered above the freezing tank 20 to open and close the opening 20a of the freezing tank 20.

[0040] In this liquid freezing apparatus 10, arm 49 is supported on boss portion 47a of slider 47 by support pin 50 provided on the upper part of mounting portion 49a, and arm 49 is supported so as to be rotatable about a horizontal axis in the left-right direction (about the horizontal axis) relative to slider 47. Lid body 23 attached to arm 49 rotates above opening 20a of freezing tank 20, thereby eliminating any misalignment in the height direction in the front-to-back direction (horizontal direction) of lid body 23 relative to opening 20a of freezing tank 20 and allowing lid body 23 to be placed accurately, and enabling opening 20a of freezing tank 20 to be closed accurately.

[0041] Additionally, a storage basket 25 capable of storing items to be frozen is attached to the underside of lid 23, and lifting mechanism 40 is provided with guide mechanism 60 that tilts storage basket 25 so that the front side (the front side opposite the rear side, which is one side of freezing tank 20) ​​of storage basket 25 is at the top by rotating the front side of lid 23 (the front side opposite the rear side, which is one side of freezing tank 20) ​​upward while lifting lid 23 when storage basket 25 is at a position above the antifreeze liquid level in freezing tank 20. When lifting mechanism 40 lifts storage basket 25 together with lid 23 to the first elevated position, storage basket 25 is tilted obliquely together with lid 23 above the liquid level of the antifreeze liquid in freezing tank 20, allowing antifreeze adhering to storage basket 25 to drain off smoothly.

[0042] Additionally, an obstacle sensor 80 for detecting obstacles is provided on the front periphery of opening 20a of freezing tank 30, and when obstacle sensor 80 detects an obstacle, control is exercised so that lid 23 is not raised or lowered by lifting mechanism 40 even if operation panel 91 is operated. This prevents frozen objects that protrude from storage basket 25 from becoming caught between the periphery of opening 20a of freezing tank 20 and storage basket 25 when lid 23 and storage basket 25 are being raised or lowered.

[0043] Furthermore, lifting mechanism 40 controls lid 23 so that it can be raised and lowered even when obstacle sensor 80 detects lid 23 and storage basket 25 as obstacles during the process of raising and lowering them. If obstacle sensor 80 detects lid 23 or storage basket 25 as an obstacle when lid 23 blocks opening 20a of freezing chamber 20 or when guide mechanism 60 tilts storage basket 50, it may be impossible for lifting mechanism 40 to raise and lower lid 23 and storage basket 25. For this reason, lifting mechanism 40 controls lid 23 so that it can be raised and lowered even when obstacle sensor 80 detects lid 23 or storage basket 25 as an obstacle. A fourth position sensor 81 detects the position at which obstacle sensor 80 detects lid 23 as an obstacle when closing opening 20a of freezing tank 20, and a fifth sensor 82 detects the position at which obstacle sensor 80 detects storage basket 25 tilted by guide mechanism 60 as an obstacle, and when either fourth position sensor 81 or fifth position sensor 82 detects each position, lifting mechanism 40 is controlled to be able to lift and lower lid 23 and storage basket 25. This allows lifting mechanism 40 to lift and lower lid 23 and storage basket 25 regardless of the detection result of obstacle sensor 80 that lid 23 or storage basket 25 is an obstacle.

[0044] In the above-described embodiment, the shaft 46 of the lifting mechanism 40 is provided on one side of the freezing tank 20, namely, on the rear side. However, this is not limited to this, and the shaft 46 of the lifting mechanism 40 may be provided on the right or left side of the freezing tank 20. [Explanation of symbols]

[0045] 10...liquid freezing device, 20...freezing tank, 20a...opening, 20d...inclined portion, 23...lid body, 25...storage basket, 40...lifting mechanism, 46...shaft, 47...slider, 49...arm, 60...guide mechanism, 80...obstacle sensor

Claims

1. a freezing tank having an opening on its top surface and configured to freeze an object to be frozen using antifreeze liquid stored therein; a lid that freely opens and closes an opening on the top surface of the freezing tank; A lifting mechanism is provided to lift the lid up and down, the lifting mechanism includes a shaft extending in a vertical direction on one side of the freezing tank, a slider supported by the shaft so as to be vertically movable, and an arm extending from the slider above the freezing tank and to which the lid body is fixed, and the slider is moved up and down to lift and lower the lid body above the freezing tank, thereby opening and closing an opening of the freezing tank. A liquid freezing device characterized in that the arm is supported rotatably about a horizontal axis relative to the slider.

2. The liquid freezing device according to claim 1, A storage basket capable of storing items to be frozen is attached to the underside of the lid body, The liquid freezing device is characterized in that the lifting mechanism is equipped with a guide mechanism that tilts the storage basket so that the side opposite to the one side of the freezing tank is at the top by rotating the side of the lid body opposite to the one side of the freezing tank upward while raising the lid body when the storage basket is at a position above the liquid level of the antifreeze in the freezing tank.

3. The liquid freezing device according to claim 2, an obstacle sensor for detecting an obstacle is provided around the opening of the freezing tank; A liquid freezing device characterized in that, when an obstacle is detected by the obstacle sensor, the lifting mechanism is controlled not to lift or lower the lid.

4. The liquid freezing device according to claim 3, A liquid freezing device characterized in that the lifting mechanism controls the lid so that it can be raised and lowered even when the lid and the storage basket are detected as obstacles by the obstacle sensor during the lifting and lowering process.

5. The liquid freezing device according to claim 2 or 3, A liquid freezing device characterized in that an opening of the freezing tank is provided with an inclined portion that slopes obliquely upward from an upper portion of a side surface of the freezing tank to an outer side.

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