Food dryer

Abstract

To provide a food dryer capable of easily performing cleaning work of the periphery and a back face part of a blowing fan for sending dehumidifying cold air into a drying chamber for drying food.SOLUTION: The food dryer comprises a shelf for placing food as an object to be dried, a drying chamber in which the shelf is housed so as to be capable of being taken in and out, a cooling chamber for dehumidifying and cooling air passed through the drying chamber, and a fan for blowing air dehumidified and cooled in the cooling chamber into the drying chamber.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

[Technical Field]

[0001] The present invention relates to a food dryer that uses airflow generated by a fan to dry food or produce dried fish and shellfish, and that is easy to clean not only the drying chamber but also the air flow path, and that meets HACCP requirements. [Background technology]

[0002] As a manufacturing device for removing moisture from fresh food and producing dried or dried fish, there is a food dryer that dehumidifies the moist air in a drying chamber in which the food to be dried is placed, and then dries the food by blowing the air back into the dryer using a fan. For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-45476 (Patent Document 1) proposes "a cold air dryer comprising a drying chamber, a cooler and a reheater provided in the drying chamber, a blower fan for circulating air in the drying chamber, and a compressor and a condenser provided outside the drying chamber, the cold air dryer also comprising an ozone generator provided in the drying chamber, a passage formed in the drying chamber and communicating the front and rear sides of the drying chamber, and a dehumidifying fan for passing the air in the drying chamber through the passage."

[0003] In Patent Document 1, impurities such as moisture contained in the air adhere to the fins of the cooler, and when the cooler switches to reheat operation, the frost on the fins melts and turns to water, which flows down, but the impurities cannot be completely removed, resulting in dirt and odors.This problem is solved by installing an ozone generator in the drying chamber.

[0004] In recent years, in order to ensure the safety of food provided to consumers, it has become necessary to incorporate the concept of HACCP at food manufacturing and processing sites, and from 2021, as a general rule, businesses involved in the manufacturing, processing, cooking, and sales of food are required to implement hygiene management in accordance with HACCP.

[0005] HACCP is a hygiene management method that aims to ensure product safety by having food business operators themselves identify hazards such as contamination with food poisoning bacteria and foreign matter contamination, and then managing key processes in order to eliminate or reduce these hazards throughout the entire process, from the arrival of raw materials to the shipment of products.

[0006] Based on this administrative guidance, manufacturers and processors of dried foods and fish, as well as restaurants that have installed food dryers in their stores with the aim of providing dried foods and fish to customers at any time, are now required to prepare hygiene management plans based on standards for "general hygiene management" and "hygiene management in accordance with HACCP," as well as procedure manuals that specify specific methods for cleaning, washing, disinfecting, and handling food as necessary.

[0007] As part of such a hygiene management plan, food dryers must be managed to maintain hygiene not only in the drying chamber where the food to be dried is placed, but also in the surrounding areas, particularly the fan and air flow path. In this regard, the cold air dryer shown in Patent Document 1 aims to clean and sterilize the drying chamber where the food to be dried is placed, and achieves this. However, there is a risk that dust may accumulate around the fan or on the back of the fan, causing mold to grow, and that the dust and mold may then be carried by the air current and spread throughout the drying room. Therefore, from a HACCP perspective, the same level of hygiene management is required in the surrounding areas other than the drying room (areas where peripheral equipment such as fans are installed).

[0008] In this regard, in the food dryer structure of Patent Document 1, cleaning of the back of the fan is limited to a simple process of spraying cleaning water, such as water, onto the fan from the drying chamber using a hose or other device at high pressure. To clean the back of the fan or the airflow path from the cooling chamber to the fan, the attached fan must be removed. Furthermore, to thoroughly clean every corner, the back of the housing that constitutes the dryer must be removed to expose the fan. This type of work requires the dryer itself to be moved, which is extremely tedious, making it difficult for small businesses such as stores to perform such work.

[0009] An example of a food dryer that is easy to clean and has improved operability is proposed in JP 2017-26257 (Patent Document 2): "A food dryer in which the housing is configured as a pair of one chamber and the other chamber, each of which is opened and closed by its own door and has a structure with a connecting passageway, the one chamber having an air intake passageway, a burner with a fan, a heat exchange tube, and a hot air generating unit consisting of an intake fan to ensure air flow, and the other chamber housing a cart on which a shrimp for storing food is set, a hot air inlet formed on the underside of the inner wall separating the one chamber from the other chamber, and an exhaust port on the upper back surface of the other chamber for exhausting used air and / or circulating air."

[0010] The food dryer proposed in Patent Document 2 is configured as a pair consisting of a second room, which corresponds to the drying chamber, and a first room, which has an intake fan that draws in moist air from the drying chamber and dehumidifies the moist air, and each room can be opened and closed with a door on the front of the dryer. The second room allows for the carriage containing the shrimp to be easily moved in and out, and the door of the first room can be opened to expose the intake fan to the outside, making it easy to clean not only the drying chamber, but also the equipment such as the fan and the air flow path, and to easily wash and clean dirt and dust that may have come into contact with gas in the circulating air. [Prior art documents] [Patent documents]

[0011] [Patent Document 1] Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2015-45476 [Patent Document 2] Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2017-26257 Summary of the Invention [Problem to be solved by the invention]

[0012] In the configuration of Patent Document 2, one room that constitutes a hot air generating section equipped with a fan casing and a heat exchanger, etc., is adjacent to the other room that constitutes a drying chamber, and by attaching doors that can be opened from the front of each room, it is possible to clean the hot air generating section (one room) when cleaning the drying chamber (the other room).

[0013] However, when the hot air generating unit is adjacent to the drying chamber, the width of the dryer increases, creating a problem of installation space. Also, medium-sized businesses such as dried fish manufacturers use large food dryers equipped with multiple ventilation fans, so horizontal dryers with ventilation fans installed next to the drying chamber are too wide and impractical.

[0014] The present invention was made in consideration of the above circumstances, and its purpose is to provide a food dryer that makes it easy to clean not only the drying chamber, but also the area around and behind the blower fan that sends dehumidified cool air into the drying chamber. [Means for solving the problem]

[0015] The food dryer of the present invention has the following features. [1] A food dryer comprising: a shelf for placing food to be dried; a drying chamber in which the shelf is stored so as to be movable; a cooling chamber for dehumidifying and cooling air that has passed through the drying chamber; and a blower fan for blowing the air that has been dehumidified and cooled in the cooling chamber into the drying chamber, The blower fan is fixed to a partition plate that forms the back surface of the drying chamber, and the partition plate serves as a door that can be opened and closed from the front surface of the drying chamber.

[0016] [2] The food dryer according to the above aspect [1], wherein the door is a double door. [3] The food dryer according to the above aspect [2], wherein the number of the blowing fans is an even number, and the fans are installed symmetrically on the double doors.

[0017] [4] A food dryer according to any one of aspects [1] to [3], wherein the partition plate defines a space (first space) between the rear side of the blower fan and the rear side of the food dryer housing, which serves as a communication passage between the cooling chamber and the drying chamber. [5] The food dryer according to any one of the aspects [1] to [4], wherein the cooling chamber is provided below the drying chamber.

[0018] [6] A food dryer according to aspect [5], wherein a space (second space) is provided between the front door of the food dryer and the front of the drying chamber, and air passing through the drying chamber is guided to the cooling chamber below through the second space.

[0019] [7] Furthermore, in any of the above embodiments [4] to [6], a space (third space) communicating with the first space may be provided on any or all of the sides and / or upper parts of the shelf, and a portion of the air that has passed through the drying chamber may be guided to the first space through the third space. [Effects of the Invention]

[0020] The food dryer of the present invention has a cooling chamber that produces cooled and dehumidified air for drying the food to be dried, and a drying chamber that stores the food, arranged above and below each other, and a blower fan that blows cooled and dehumidified air into the drying chamber is located at the back of the drying chamber, thereby reducing the width of the food dryer.In this food dryer, the partition plate that serves as the mounting surface for the blower fan located at the back of the drying chamber has a door structure that can be opened and closed from the drying chamber side, so that the back of the fan can be cleaned when cleaning the drying chamber. The food dryer of the present invention has a structure that makes cleaning easy while preventing the device from becoming too large, making it convenient for medium-sized food processors that require frequent cleaning for hygiene reasons, and for small-scale food providers that have limited space to install a dryer. [Brief explanation of the drawings]

[0021] [Figure 1] 1 is a schematic diagram illustrating a front view of a first embodiment of a food dryer according to the present invention with a front door open; FIG. [Figure 2] Cross section of the food dryer shown in Figure 1 along line AA [Figure 3] FIG. 2 is a view of the food dehydrator shown in FIG. 1 with the shelves removed. [Figure 4] FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram illustrating the structure of the rear surface of the food dryer shown in FIG. 1. [Figure 5] FIG. 3 is a schematic diagram illustrating the state of the food dryer of the first embodiment during cleaning. [Figure 6] FIG. 6 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state during cleaning of a second embodiment of a food dryer according to the present invention. [Figure 7] FIG. 10 is a schematic diagram illustrating a state during cleaning of a third embodiment of a food dryer according to the present invention. DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0022] A food dryer according to a first embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. Fig. 1 is a front view of food dryer 1 of the first embodiment with front door 11 open, and Fig. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along line AA in Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is a front view of food dryer 1 with shelves 12 for placing food to be dried removed, and Fig. 4 shows the food dryer with outer wall 1a removed from the portion of the housing corresponding to drying chamber 10.

[0023] In this food dryer 1, the lower part of drying chamber 10, which dries items to be dried such as food, is cooling chamber 20, which dehumidifies and cools the air that has passed through drying chamber 10, i.e., the moist air that has absorbed moisture from the food. Cooling chamber 20 is equipped with cooling and dehumidifying set 21, which combines a cooler and a reheater to which a refrigerant is supplied. Air that has been dehumidified and cooled by passing through cooling chamber 20 is sent out to the back of drying chamber 10 by fan 22. The upper part of drying chamber 10 is a machine chamber 30 equipped with a compressor and condenser through which a refrigerant passes.

[0024] The front of the drying chamber 10 is a door 11 that can be opened and closed, and a shelf 12 (the food dryer shown in Figure 1 has 10 shelves) for placing food items to be dried is stored so that it can be taken in and out from the front of the drying chamber 10.

[0025] The back of the drying chamber 10 is made up of a partition plate 13 on which a blower fan 14 is fixed, which blows dehumidified air into the drying chamber 10. This partition plate 13 has doors 13a and 13b that can be opened in both directions at the center and are fixed to the inner wall surface of the housing 10a of the drying chamber 10. Recessed handles 15a and 15b are attached to the doors 13a and 13b, respectively, so that they can be opened in both directions from the drying chamber 10 side.

[0026] Two ventilation fans 14 are attached and fixed to the upper and lower doors 13a and 13b of each door. The blower fan 14 can suck in the dehumidified and cooled air sent out from the cooling chamber 20 and blow it into the drying chamber 10.

[0027] A space (rear space 2 corresponding to the first space) is formed between the rear side of partition plate 13 on which blower fan 14 is attached and outer wall 1a constituting the housing of dryer 1, and this space is in communication with cooling chamber 20 via ventilation opening 6. Dehumidified and cooled air sent out from cooling chamber 20 is sucked in from the rear side of blower fan 14 through ventilation opening 6 and can be sent into drying chamber 10. In addition, an upper space 3 (corresponding to the third space) is formed between shelf 12 and the ceiling surface of drying chamber 10, and upper space 3 is in communication with rear space 2 behind blower fan 14.

[0028] The shelves 12 are stored in the drying chamber 10 so that they can be slid back and forth to be taken in and out. When the shelves 12 are stored and the front door 11 of the dryer is closed, a front space 4 (corresponding to the second space) is formed. Humid air containing moisture from food flows downward from the front space 4 and is guided through the exhaust port 7 to the cooling chamber 20. A portion of the moist air is guided by the air flow through the upper space 3 to the rear space 2 behind the blower fan 14.

[0029] FIG. 5 shows the state in which the partition plate 13 is opened from both sides at the front of the drying chamber by recessed handles 15a and 15b.

[0030] When the food dryer 1 having the above configuration is in use, i.e., when drying food or producing dried fish, the door of the partition board 13 is closed, the shelf 12 is stored in the drying chamber 10, and the food to be dried is placed on the shelf 12 and the food is operated.

[0031] In the cooling chamber 20, the cooled and dehumidified air passes through the cooling and dehumidifying set (cooler and reheater) 21, and is then sent out by the delivery fan 14 through the ventilation opening 6 into the rear space 2 between the partition plate 13 and the rear surface of the dryer 1. The sent-out dehumidified air is then blown into the drying chamber 10 by the blower fan 14. Inside the drying chamber 10, the moist air that has absorbed moisture from the food is carried by the air flow from the blower fan 14, and most of it flows into the cooling chamber 20 below the drying chamber 10, and some of it flows into the upper space 3.

[0032] The moist air introduced into the cooling chamber 20 below the drying chamber 10 is dehumidified by passing through a cooler dehumidifying set 21 in the cooling chamber 20.

[0033] The cooling chamber 20 and the machine chamber 30 are connected via a refrigerant pipe (not shown), forming a cooling cycle in which vaporized refrigerant is compressed and liquefied by a condenser. Air passing through the cooling chamber 20 can be dehumidified using a refrigerant switching means. The method of connecting the machine chamber 30 and the cooling chamber 20 is not particularly limited as long as it is configured to allow switching between the cooling cycle and the dehumidification cycle.

[0034] The inside of the dryer 10 can be cleaned by removing the shelf 12. Furthermore, by opening the doors 13a and 13b that make up the partition plate 13, the back side of the blower fan 14 (the intake side of the fan) can be cleaned, and the rear space 2 between the dryer outer wall 1a and the back surface of the drying chamber 10, which serves as a communication passage between the cooling chamber 20 and the drying chamber 10, can also be cleaned.

[0035] A drain (not shown) for draining water is provided on the floor of the cooling chamber 20, so that the cooling chamber 20 can be cleaned by spraying water with a hose.

[0036] In this way, with the front door 11 of the dryer 1 open, it is possible to easily clean not only the inside of the drying chamber 10 but also the blower fan 14, which is prone to attracting dust, and the communication passage between the drying chamber 10 and the cooling chamber 20, so that the communication passage, which is prone to become the cause of mold and odor due to condensation in the cooling chamber 20, can be cleaned regularly in accordance with the cleaning schedule for the drying chamber 10.

[0037] In the food dryer shown in FIG. 1, the front door 11 is a single-door, but is not limited to this and may be a double-door. In the above embodiment, only the third space is provided, but a space communicating with the rear space 2 may also be provided between the side plate of the shelf 12 and the side wall of the drying chamber 10.

[0038] Other Embodiments The food dryer shown in Figure 1 has a double door with four ventilation fans 14, two on each side, symmetrically mounted on a partition plate 13, but the door type can be designed appropriately depending on the number of ventilation fans to be installed.

[0039] For example, in food dryer 40 shown in Figure 6, two ventilation fans 42, 42 are arranged side by side above and below partition board 41. Partition board 41 is made up of a larger door (wide door) 41a to which ventilation fan 42 is attached, and a smaller door (narrow door) 41b to which ventilation fan 42 is not attached.

[0040] Furthermore, in the case of the small dryer 50 shown in FIG. 7, only one blower fan 52 is provided, but in this case, the partition plate 51 may be a one-sided door.

[0041] In either case, the partition plate to which the blower fan is attached forms the back of the dryer and also functions as an openable door. Therefore, by pulling out the shelf and opening the partition door, the back of the fan and the back of the drying chamber (the passageway connecting to the cooling chamber) can be cleaned from the front of the dryer without having to move the dryer, making cleaning easy. Since the back of the fan can be cleaned at the same time as the drying chamber, this cleaning work can easily be incorporated into HACCP hygiene management plans. [Industrial Applicability]

[0042] This is a vertical food dryer with a ventilation fan for circulating air installed at the back of the drying chamber, and cleaning of the drying chamber, ventilation fan, and communication path for the dehumidified cooling air can be done from the front of the drying chamber at the same time as cleaning the drying chamber, making it easy to create a hygiene management plan required by HACCP.As such, it is a convenient food dryer for medium-sized businesses that manufacture and process dried foods, and small businesses with limited space, such as stores that sell dried foods. [Explanation of symbols]

[0043] 1 food dryer 2. Rear space (first space) 3 Upper Space (Third Space) 4. Front space (second space) 6 Ventilation hole 7. Exhaust port 10 Drying room 11 Front door 12 shelves 13, 41, 51 Dividers 14, 42, 52 Blower fans 15a, 15b Recessed handle 20 Cooling room 30 Machine room

Claims

1. a shelf for placing food to be dried; a drying chamber in which the shelf is housed so as to be accessible; A cooling chamber for dehumidifying and cooling the air that has passed through the drying chamber: A food dryer equipped with a blower fan that blows the air dehumidified and cooled in the cooling chamber into the drying chamber, The blower fan is installed and fixed to a partition plate that forms the back surface of the drying chamber, The partition plate serves as a door that can be opened and closed from the front of the drying chamber.

2. 2. The food dehydrator according to claim 1, wherein the door is a double door.

3. 3. The food dryer according to claim 2, wherein an even number of said blowing fans are provided, and said blowing fans are symmetrically disposed on said double doors.

4. 2. The food dryer according to claim 1, wherein the partition plate has a space between the rear side of the blower fan and the rear side of the food dryer housing, the space forming a communication passage between the cooling chamber and the drying chamber.

5. 2. The food dryer according to claim 1, wherein the cooling chamber is provided below the drying chamber.

6. A space is provided between the front door of the food dryer and the front of the drying chamber, 6. A food dehydrator according to claim 5, wherein the air passing through the drying chamber is guided through the space to the cooling chamber below.

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