Mist collection device and cooking equipment

Abstract

It efficiently captures mist generated during cooking. [Solution] In a mist collection device installed in a food factory, a mist processing unit 3A is provided that can be attached to the upper part of the heating and cooking line 2. The mist processing unit 3A is configured to capture mist contained in the gas flowing into the mist suction port 21 and to discharge the captured gas from the discharge port 51.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention relates to a mist collection device for collecting mist generated by heat cooking in a food factory, and cooking equipment equipped with this mist collection device.

Background Art

[0002] Conventionally, for this type of invention, as described in Patent Document 1 for example, there is an invention comprising an exhaust suction hood provided on the ceiling surface side of a food factory or the like, and an exhaust fan provided in the ceiling space, which sucks mist rising from heating equipment into the hood and discharges it to the outside by the exhaust fan.

Prior Art Documents

Patent Documents

[0003]

Patent Document 1

Summary of the Invention

[0006] As described above, the present invention is configured to efficiently collect mist generated during cooking. [Brief explanation of the drawing]

[0007] [Figure 1] This is a perspective view showing a cooking facility in which an example of a mist collection device according to the present invention is attached to a heating cooking machine. [Figure 2] Figure 1 is a perspective view in which part of the side panel has been omitted to show the internal structure. [Figure 3] This is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the main parts showing the structure of the cylindrical section and the cover section. [Figure 4] This is a plan view showing an example of a filter, and a close-up view of the main part is also shown in the same figure. [Modes for carrying out the invention]

[0008] Next, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The cooking equipment 1 shown in Figure 1 comprises a heating and cooking line 2 that transports food ingredients F while heating them, and a mist collection device 3 that is mounted above the heating and cooking line 2 to capture mist, and is installed in a food factory. Here, mist refers to liquids such as oil and water that have been atomized. This mist is generated when food ingredient F is heated during cooking.

[0009] The heating and cooking line 2 includes a conveying unit 2a that moves in a substantially horizontal direction, and side frames 2b that rise on both sides of the width direction of the conveying unit 2a. Food ingredients F placed on and conveyed on the conveying unit 2a are heated and cooked by a heating and cooking unit (e.g., a heater) not shown. In other words, the heating and cooking line 2 heats and cooks the food ingredients F while conveying them. As shown in Figures 1 and 2, the food ingredient F is exposed before and after passing through the mist collection device 3. However, hoods covering the transport path of the food ingredient F are provided before and after the mist collection device 3 as needed.

[0010] The mist collection device 3 comprises a mist processing unit 3A that processes the mist generated in the heating and cooking line 2 above it, and a mounting bracket 3B that attaches the mist processing unit 3A to the upper part of the heating and cooking line 2 (side frame 2b in the illustrated example).

[0011] The mist processing unit 3A is configured to capture mist contained in the gas flowing into the mist intake port 21 and to discharge the captured gas from the exhaust port 51 of the exhaust pipe 50. More specifically, the mist processing unit 3A comprises a housing 10 fixed above the heating and cooking line 2 via a mounting bracket 3B, a cylindrical section 20 with a mist intake port 21 facing downwards, a filter 30 for capturing mist contained in the gas, a blower 40 for forcibly transporting the gas, and an exhaust pipe 50 for discharging the gas that has passed through the filter 30 to the outside of the housing 10.

[0012] The housing 10 is configured as a hollow box shape (rectangular parallelepiped shape in the illustrated example) that straddles the heating and cooking lines 2 in a crisscross manner. The internal bottom surface 11 of this housing 10 extends in a direction intersecting the conveying direction of the heating and cooking line 2, and is inclined in that direction of extension. A cylindrical section 20 is provided vertically through the inclined internal bottom surface 11, and a drain collection section 12 is provided at a lower position than the cylindrical section 20.

[0013] The drain collection part 12 is formed on the concave groove so as to store the moisture and oil that have flowed on the inner bottom surface 11 of the housing 10. The oil and moisture stored in the drain collection part 12 are discharged to the outside through an exhaust pipe (not shown). As another example, the drain collection part 12 may be provided detachably, and the drain collection part 12 may be removed so that the oil and moisture stored inside are discharged.

[0014] According to the illustrated example, the cylindrical part 20 is formed in a rectangular cylindrical shape. The lower end opening of this cylindrical part 20 is used as the mist suction port 21, and it rises upward from the mist suction port 21. The upper end opening of the cylindrical part 20 is closed by the cover part 22. In addition, a ventilation path 23 is provided on the peripheral wall of the cylindrical part 20 between the mist suction port 21 and the cover part 22 and is located above the inner bottom surface 11 of the housing 10.

[0015] The lower end side of the cylindrical part 20 penetrates the bottom of the housing 10 and further penetrates the upper plate part 71 of the mounting bracket 3B (see FIG. 3) described later.

[0016] The mist suction port 21 is located above the conveying part 2a of the cooking line 2, and sucks in the mist emitted when the food F on the conveying part 2a is heated.

[0017] The cover part 22 is located above the mist suction port 21 and fits into the upper end opening of the cylindrical part 20 in a concave shape. This cover part 22 can be attached to and detached from the cylindrical part 20 for cleaning, maintenance, etc. In the figure, reference numeral 22a is a handle that is gripped when attaching and detaching the cover part 22.

[0018] The ventilation path 23 penetrates the peripheral wall of the cylindrical part 20 so as to allow mist and gas to pass through. According to the illustrated example, the ventilation path 23 is provided at four locations so as to penetrate each of the four wall surfaces constituting the rectangular cylindrical cylindrical part 20.

[0019] According to the cover part 22 and the ventilation path 23 with the above structure, oil and moisture adhering to the filter 30, the inner surface of the housing 10, etc. can drip and pass through the downward mist suction port 21, preventing it from dripping onto the food material F, etc. on the cooking line 2.

[0020] Also, on the side plate of the housing 10, a through-hole-shaped cold air inlet 13 is provided so as to be located upstream of the filter 30 and the blower 40 described later (see Fig. 2). The cold air inlet 13 is a through-hole communicating with the outside air. This cold air inlet 13 is formed larger than the total opening area of the plurality of ventilation paths 23 in the cylindrical part 20, and with this configuration, the introduction amount of cold air is ensured to be larger than the flow amount of the mist.

[0021] Also, on the side plate of the housing 10, an opening for maintenance and a lid member 14 for opening and closing this opening are provided. Reference numeral 14a in the figure is a handle that is gripped when detaching the lid member 14. According to these configurations, it is easy to remove the lid member 14, attach and detach the cover part 22, clean the inside of the housing 10, perform maintenance, etc. (see Fig. 2).

[0022] The filter 30 is located upstream of the blower 40 in the gas flow path between the mist suction port 21 and the discharge port 51 inside the housing 10. This filter 30 includes a rectangular frame member 31 with a circular opening on the central side, a substantially disk-shaped filter body 32 that rotates inside the frame of the frame member 31, and a motor 33 that drives the filter body 32 to rotate.

[0023] The frame member 31 is provided inclined with respect to the inner bottom surface 11 of the housing 10 so that the upper end side inclines toward the mist suction port 21 side (see Fig. 2). On the lower end side of the frame member 31, a drain hole 31a is provided to direct oil and water accumulated on the inner bottom surface 11 downstream of the filter 30 toward the drain collection part 12.

[0024] The filter body 32 is formed in a roughly circular plate shape and has numerous holes 32a through which gas passes (see Figure 4). Each hole 32a is an elongated hole that inclins in the rotational direction (clockwise in Figure 4) toward the center of the filter body 32. Multiple holes 32a are provided at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction of the filter body 32, and furthermore, multiple layers (four layers in the illustrated example) are provided at predetermined intervals in the radial direction of the filter body 32. As the filter body 32 rotates, each hole 32a moves at high speed in the circumferential direction of the filter body 32. As a result, oil, moisture, and other substances contained in the gas attempting to pass through each hole 32a come into contact with the inner edge of the hole 32a and are blown away. Oil and moisture blown out by the holes 32a of the filter body 32 flow down the inclined inner bottom surface 11 of the housing 10 and are collected by the drain collection section 12.

[0025] The motor 33 is an electric motor, and it is installed inside the housing 10 such that the center of the filter body 32 is attached to its rotating shaft.

[0026] The blower 40 forcibly transports gas within the housing 10, forming an airflow that moves from the mist intake port 21 to the exhaust port 51. The blower 40 in the illustrated example draws in the gas that has passed through the filter 30 and sends it out toward the exhaust pipe 50 above. For this blower 40, any well-known fan such as an axial fan, centrifugal fan, or mixed-flow fan can be appropriately selected and used.

[0027] The exhaust pipe 50 is formed in a cylindrical shape that penetrates the top plate of the housing 10, with its lower end opening connected to the outlet of the blower 40 and its upper end opening serving as an exhaust port 51 that communicates with the outside. A well-known backflow prevention damper 52 is provided inside the exhaust pipe 50. This backflow prevention damper 52 prevents outside air from flowing back into the housing 10 through the exhaust pipe 50 when the blower 40 is stopped, etc.

[0028] The exhaust pipe 50 in the above configuration has its outlet 51 directed towards, for example, an exhaust intake hood or ventilation fan located on the ceiling side of the room.

[0029] In the diagram, reference numeral 60 denotes a control unit equipped with a control circuit for controlling the rotation of the filter 30 and the blower 40. Reference numeral 15 denotes a partition plate that divides the space inside the housing 10 vertically at the top. The control unit 60 is located above the partition plate 15.

[0030] The mounting bracket 3B is a component for attaching the mist processing unit 3A, configured as described above, to the heating and cooking line 2, and is provided between the housing 10 of the mist processing unit 3A and the heating and cooking line 2. This mounting bracket 3B is formed to straddle the heating and cooking line 2 in a cross direction. More specifically, this mounting bracket 3B integrally includes a flat upper plate portion 71 that extends to cross the heating and cooking line 2, and support legs 72, 72 that extend vertically at both ends of the upper plate portion 71 in the direction of extension.

[0031] The upper plate portion 71 is positioned below the lower surface of the housing 10 of the mist processing unit 3A, with a gap between them. Between the upper surface of the upper plate portion 71 and the lower surface of the housing 10, an insulating space S is secured to prevent heat from the heating cooking line 2 from being transferred to the mist processing unit 3A.

[0032] The insulated space S is surrounded by multiple side plates 73 (see Figure 1). A ventilation hole 73a is provided in part of the side plates 73, which connects the inside and outside. Therefore, the insulated space S is in communication with the outside air through the ventilation holes 73a.

[0033] In addition to the illustrated example, another example is to omit part or all of the side plate 73 from the above configuration so that the insulated space S is directly exposed to the outside air.

[0034] The housing 10 of the mist processing unit 3A is placed on and connected to the upper ends of the support legs 72, 72. Furthermore, the lower ends of the support legs 72, 72 are placed on and connected to the upper ends of the side frames 2b, 2b of the heating and cooking line 2.

[0035] Next, we will explain the characteristic effects of the mist collection device 3 with the above configuration, and the cooking equipment 1 equipped with this mist collection device 3.

[0036] When the blower 40 is activated, the mist generated from the numerous food items F on the conveying section 2a is sucked into the mist intake port 21 along with the surrounding gas.

[0037] More specifically, as shown in Figure 3, the mist-containing gas enters the mist intake port 21, is bent laterally by the lower surface of the cover portion 22, passes forcefully through the ventilation passage 23 on the upper end side of the cylindrical portion 20, and is ejected into the housing 10.

[0038] On the other hand, outside cold air is introduced into the space downstream of the filter 30 within the housing 10 through the cold air inlet 13. Mist that enters the enclosure 10 via the ventilation passage 23 is cooled and enlarged into mist particles upon contact with the cold air introduced by the cold air inlet 13. These mist particles are captured as they pass through the filter 30.

[0039] After passing through the filter 30, the gas is sent to the exhaust pipe 50 by the blower 40 and is forcefully discharged upward from the outlet 51 at the upper end of the exhaust pipe 50. The discharged gas is then drawn into, for example, an exhaust intake hood on the ceiling side of the room or a ventilation fan, and discharged outside.

[0040] Therefore, with the mist collection device 3 and cooking equipment 1, the space above the heating and cooking line 2 can be effectively utilized to efficiently collect mist generated during heating and cooking.

[0041] <Variation> According to the above embodiment, in one preferred example, the mist intake port 21 is an opening that faces directly downwards. However, in other examples, the mist intake port 21 can also be an opening that faces diagonally downwards or a sideways opening.

[0042] According to the above embodiment, the mist intake port 21 is formed in the shape of a square hole, but as another preferred example, the mist intake port 21 may be configured in a shape that widens downwards (for example, a bell mouth shape). According to this other example, the suction resistance is reduced and gas containing mist can be drawn in from a wider area.

[0043] According to the above embodiment, the cold air introduced into the cold air inlet 13 is drawn into the fluid flow inside the housing 10. However, as an alternative, a separate blower may be provided outside or inside the cold air inlet 13, and this blower may be used to forcibly supply more cold air into the housing 10.

[0044] According to the above embodiment, the filter body 32 is formed in the shape of a plate with holes and is driven to rotate. However, other examples of the filter body 32 include a form without holes, a form formed in the shape of a feather, a form formed in the shape of a rod, and so on. Furthermore, other examples of the filter body 32 include a configuration in which it is made non-rotatable by a breathable sheet, cloth, mesh, or the like.

[0045] In the above embodiment, the blower 40 is provided inside the housing 10, but in other examples, the blower 40 can also be provided outside the housing 10, for example, inside the exhaust port 51 or inside the exhaust pipe (not shown) connected to the exhaust port 51.

[0046] In one preferred example of the above embodiment, the blower 40 is provided downstream of the filter 30 in order to increase the flow velocity of the gas discharged from the outlet 51. However, in another example, the blower 40 may be provided upstream of the filter 30.

[0047] According to the above embodiment, oil and moisture accumulating on the internal bottom surface 11 downstream of the filter 30 are drained downstream through a drain hole 31a provided in the frame member 31 and collected by the drain recovery unit 12. However, in another example, an oil drain hole is provided downstream of the filter 30 that penetrates the internal bottom surface 11 vertically, and the oil and moisture can be drained through this oil drain hole.

[0048] According to the above embodiment, the mist collection device 3 is used to collect mist generated in a food factory. However, this mist collection device 3 can also be installed in equipment that performs steam cleaning that also degreases after cutting, or in powder baking and drying ovens, and used as a device to collect high-temperature steam and fine dust.

[0049] Furthermore, the present invention is not limited to the specific configurations described above, and can be modified as appropriate without altering the essence of the invention.

[0050] <Summary> As described above, the above embodiment discloses the following invention. (1) A mist collection device for installation in a food factory, comprising a mist processing unit that can be attached to the upper part of a heating and cooking line, wherein the mist processing unit is configured to capture mist contained in the gas flowing into the mist intake port and to discharge the captured gas from the outlet (see Figures 1 to 3). (2) The mist collection device according to claim 1 (see Figure 2) is characterized in that the mist processing unit is equipped with a cold air inlet for introducing cold air, and the mist is cooled by the cold air introduced through the cold air inlet. (3) The mist collection device according to (1) or (2) (see Figure 2) is characterized in that the mist processing unit comprises a filter that captures mist contained in the gas in the gas flow path between the mist intake port and the discharge port, and a blower that sends the gas to the discharge port. (4) A mist collection device according to any one of (1) to (3) (see Figure 3), characterized in that the mist intake port is provided to open downward, a cover portion is provided to cover the upper side of the mist intake port, and a ventilation passage is provided between the mist intake port and the cover portion for passing gas containing mist. (5) The mist collection device according to (4) (see Figure 3), characterized in that a cylindrical portion is provided that rises from the mist intake port toward the cover portion, and the ventilation passage is formed through the peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion. (6) The mist collection device according to any one of (1) to (5) (see Figures 1 and 2), characterized in that the mist processing section has an inclined internal bottom surface, and a drain collection section is provided on the lower side of this inclined bottom surface. (7) A mist collection device according to any one of (1) to (6) (see Figure 2), characterized in that an insulating space is provided below the mist processing section. (8) The mist collection device according to (7) (see Figure 2), characterized in that the insulated space is in communication with the outside air. (9) The mist collection device according to (3) (see Figures 2 and 4), characterized in that the filter is configured to rotate to capture mist. (10) A mist collection device according to any one of (1) to (9) (see Figures 1 and 2), characterized in that the discharge port is provided facing upward. (11) A mist collection device according to any one of (1) to (10) (see Figures 1 and 2), comprising a mounting bracket for attaching the mist processing unit to a heating and cooking line, wherein the mounting bracket spans the heating and cooking line in a cross direction. (12) A cooking facility characterized by having a mist collection device described in any of (1) to (11) installed in the heating and cooking line (see Figures 1 and 2). [Explanation of Symbols]

[0051] 1. Cooking equipment 2. Cooking line 2a Conveying section 2b side frame 3. Mist collection device 3A Mist Treatment Unit 3B Mounting Bracket 10 cabinets 11 Internal bottom 12 Drain recovery section 13 Cold air inlet 14 Lid member 20 Cylinder part 21 Mist intake port 22 Cover section 23 Ventilation channel 30 filters 31 Frame members 31a Drain hole 32 Filter body 33 Motor 40 Blower 50 Exhaust pipe 51 Outlet 60 Control Unit 71 Upper plate section F Ingredients S Insulated Space

Claims

1. In a mist collection device installed in a food factory, It is equipped with a mist processing unit that can be attached to the top of the heating and cooking line. The mist collection device is characterized in that the mist processing unit is configured to capture mist contained in the gas flowing into the mist intake port and to discharge the captured gas from the outlet.

2. The mist collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the mist processing unit is equipped with a cold air inlet for introducing cold air, and the mist is cooled by the cold air introduced through the cold air inlet.

3. The mist collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the mist processing unit comprises a filter for capturing mist contained in the gas and a blower for sending the gas to the discharge port, in the gas flow path between the mist intake port and the discharge port.

4. The mist intake port is provided to open downwards, The mist collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that a cover portion is provided to cover the upper side of the mist intake port, and a ventilation passage is provided between the mist intake port and the cover portion for passing a gas containing mist through.

5. The mist collection device according to claim 4, characterized in that a cylindrical portion is provided that rises from the mist intake port toward the cover portion, and the ventilation passage is formed through the peripheral wall of the cylindrical portion.

6. The mist collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the mist processing section has an inclined internal bottom surface, and a drain collection section is provided on the lower side of this inclined bottom surface.

7. The mist collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that an insulating space is provided below the mist processing section.

8. The mist collection device according to claim 7, characterized in that the insulated space is in communication with the outside air.

9. The mist collection device according to claim 3, characterized in that the filter is configured to rotate to capture mist.

10. The mist collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the discharge port is provided facing upward.

11. The mist processing unit is equipped with a mounting bracket for attaching it to a heating and cooking line. The mist collection device according to claim 1, characterized in that the mounting bracket straddles the heating and cooking lines in a cross direction.

12. A cooking facility characterized by having a mist collection device according to any one of claims 1 to 11 installed in a heating cooking line.

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