RU2766371C1 - Apparatus for accelerated (shock) freezing of food products - Google Patents

Abstract

FIELD: refrigerating or freezing equipment.

SUBSTANCE: invention relates to refrigeration process equipment for freezing food products. Accelerated freezing apparatus comprises a box-shaped refrigerating chamber with heat-insulating walls, guides for the transverse installation of food storage containers or confectionary trays, evaporator with tangential fans, refrigerating unit and controller controlling refrigerating unit. Evaporator with fans is located in rear wall of refrigerating chamber. Controller is configured to simultaneously control operation of each fan according to an algorithm developed for each type of frozen products.

EFFECT: reduced time for freezing food products, reduced power consumption, improved the quality of products subjected to deep freezing, possibility of obtaining optimum quality of freezing of various products when they are loaded into one chamber of the accelerated freezing apparatus, increased efficiency of the equipment for accelerated freezing, automation of the freezing process.

1 cl, 1 dwg

Description

The invention relates to refrigeration equipment for freezing food products in contact with low-temperature air. The device provides optimal modes of accelerated freezing for various types of food products, rational distribution of air to create optimal freezing conditions, reduce the duration of the freezing process, reduce capital costs, as well as preserve the quality of food products.

Known shock freezer SHOK-20-1/1 (https://www.whitegoods.ru/goods/70940.htm, Shock freezer SHOK-20-1/1 passport and operating manual, p. 10), designed for rapid cooling, freezing and further storage of various food products at public catering and trade establishments. The device consists of the following main components: a box-shaped refrigerating chamber with heat-insulating walls, guides for the transverse installation of gastronorm containers or confectionery trays, a double-circuit evaporator with two high-speed fans located on the upper wall of the refrigerating chamber, a refrigeration unit, a controller.

The operation of the refrigeration unit is controlled by the controller. The controller is designed to maintain the set temperature in the cooled volume. At
reaching the set temperature in the chamber or on the probe (depending on the selected mode), the controller turns off the compressor motor, when the temperature rises above the set one, it turns it on. Fans are used for intensive blowing of frozen products with cold air from the evaporator.

A feature of this blast freezer is the location of the fans in the upper wall of the refrigerating chamber. The advantage of this arrangement of blowing fans is the increased useful volume of the refrigerating chamber. The disadvantage is that when the fans are vertically positioned, uneven blowing of frozen products placed on gastronorm containers or confectionery trays occurs, due to the fact that gastronorm containers or trays located transversely to the air flow are an obstacle to the flow of cold air from the fans. Thus, the products located in the upper part of the refrigerating chamber are subjected to more intensive blowing than those placed at the bottom, and, accordingly, are frozen faster than the lower ones, which leads to additional energy and time costs, since the intensive blowing mode works until the lower products are reached the required temperature.

Closest to the proposed is the shock freezer SHOCK-20-1/1M (https://www.whitegoods.ru/goods/85546.htm, SHOCK-20-1/1M operating manual, pp. 11, 12), which includes the following main components:

- a box-shaped refrigerator chamber, the walls of which are made of stainless steel, for thermal insulation between the inner and outer walls, high-density polyurethane foam is poured;

- guides for transverse installation of gastronorm containers or confectionery trays;

- evaporator with four fans located on the rear wall;

- refrigeration unit;

- controller.

Here, axial-type fans are located horizontally in the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber. This arrangement creates a more uniform blowing of the frozen products, since the cold air flow is directed horizontally along the gastronorm containers with products, which contributes to less resistance to the air flow, and as a result, more uniform cooling of the refrigerating chamber. At the same time, axial-type fans create a wide air flow that fills the entire space of the chamber. In this case, the freezing time, as a rule, is 240 minutes. (see SHOK-20-1/1M operation manual, p. 3). Such a freezing system works well for products of large mass and volume. For products of small mass and volume, for example, portioned ready-made meals in individual packages, such an air flow and freezing time are excessive. In addition, when freezing dissimilar products and dishes (for example, liquid and solid dishes, vegetables, fruits), this requires different times and blowing intensity. Because of this, the quality of products may suffer, as they are subjected to excessive hypothermia, which leads to a violation of their internal structure. In addition, the production cycle of freezing products is increasing and energy costs are rising.

The technical result of the invention is to reduce the freezing time of food products, reduce energy costs, improve the quality of products subjected to deep freezing, the possibility of obtaining the optimal quality of freezing of various products when they are loaded into one chamber of the accelerated freezing apparatus, increasing the productivity of equipment for accelerated freezing, automation of the freezing process.

This technical result is achieved by the fact that in the rapid freezing apparatus containing a box-shaped refrigerating chamber with heat-insulating walls, guides for the transverse installation of gastronome containers or confectionery trays, an evaporator with fans, a refrigeration unit and a controller that controls the refrigeration unit, the fans are made in the form of tangential fans, creating cold air streams directed along the gastronorm containers with food, while the evaporator with fans is located in the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber, and the controller is made with the ability to simultaneously control the operation of each fan according to the algorithm developed for each type of frozen food, thereby ensuring optimal food freezing modes located in the zone of air flows of the respective fans, while the temperature sensors installed in each of the blowing zones of the tangential fans control the temperature generated by them modes.

The drawing shows a part of the rapid freezer: front view and section.

In the refrigerating chamber 1, box-shaped with heat-insulating walls 2, there are guides 3 for installing gastronorm containers or confectionery trays 4. The evaporator 5 and tangential fans 6 are built into the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber 1. The gastronorm containers 4 contain frozen products 7, which are fed through the holes 8 flows cold air 9. Temperature control sensors 10 are installed in the airflow zones created by the corresponding tangential fans. Separate elements of the refrigeration unit (compressor, condenser, etc.) and the controller are not shown.

The blast freezer works as follows. Before the freezing cycle, food products 7 are placed in gastronorms 4, which are placed in the refrigerating chamber 1 by means of guides 3. The refrigeration unit, controlled by the controller, maintains the set temperature in the chamber 1 due to the operation of the compressor, which circulates the refrigerant in the evaporator 5 and condenser. For accelerated freezing of products 7, tangential fans 6 create an intense flow of cold air 9 from the evaporator 5 through holes 8 to products 7 placed in gastronorm containers 4. Guides 3 are installed in the chamber 1 so that each gastronorm container 4 with products 7 is opposite the corresponding hole 8, having the shape of an elongated rectangle. Due to this shape of the holes 8 and the design features of the tangential fans 6, which also have a shape elongated along the axis of rotation, an intense air flow is created, directed along the gastronorm containers 4 with products 7. a number of partially isolated volumes in the area of operation of each of the fans 6, which prevents the mixing of air flows 9 and the rapid equalization of the temperature inside the refrigerating chamber 1. This facilitates the creation and maintenance of individual temperature regimes in the areas of operation of each of the fans 6. Temperature control in these areas is carried out by sensors temperature 10, information from which enters the controller. Due to the presence of such relatively isolated zones, the time to reach the desired temperature of the products 7 is reduced and energy costs for freezing are reduced. The controller has the ability to control the rotation speed and the on-off time of each of the fans 6. This allows you to create individual freezing algorithms for various food products, for example, for liquid and solid products, heat-treated and non-heat-treated products, vegetables, fruits, herbs, etc. During the operation of the accelerated freezing device according to the program set by the controller, the fans 6 can operate individually, in groups and all at the same time, depending on the products 7 loaded into the chamber 1 and the cycle being performed: accelerated cooling, accelerated freezing, soft cooling, soft freezing, rapid cooling of the entire volume of the chamber 1 to the set temperature, etc. All possible algorithms for freezing products are stored in the electronic memory of the controller. To start the freezing process, it is enough to indicate in the controller the type of products 7 and the number of the gastronorm container 4 on which they are placed. Further, the freezing process takes place automatically. This makes the process of freezing products more flexible, since products of the same composition and different in composition and properties can be loaded into the rapid freezer. In any case, each type of product will be frozen according to the optimal algorithm to preserve their structure and taste. At the same time, the energy consumption of the rapid freezing apparatus is significantly reduced, since the operating time of the compressor of the refrigeration unit and fans 6 is reduced.

Claims (1)

An accelerated freezing apparatus containing a box-shaped refrigerating chamber with heat-insulating walls, guides for transverse installation of gastronomy containers or confectionery trays, an evaporator with fans, a refrigeration unit and a controller that controls the refrigeration unit, characterized in that the fans are made in the form of tangential fans that create directed along gastronomic containers cold air streams with food products, while the evaporator with fans is located in the rear wall of the refrigerating chamber, and the controller is configured to simultaneously control the operation of each fan according to an algorithm developed for each type of frozen products, thereby ensuring optimal modes for freezing products located in the zone air flows of the corresponding fans, which allows you to simultaneously subject to accelerated freezing products of different properties loaded into the refrigerating chamber, while the temperature sensors installed in each each of the blowing zones of tangential fans, control the temperature regimes created by them.

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