WO2023032586A1 - Food storage container - Google Patents

Abstract

A dry storage container (1) comprises: a storage section (3) for storing food; a refrigeration unit (10) which refrigerates the storage section (3); a defrosting unit (16) which defrosts the refrigeration unit (10) by melting frost attached to the refrigeration unit (10); a temperature detection unit (15a) which detects an internal temperature of the storage section (3); and a control unit (5) which controls the internal temperature of the storage section (3). The control unit (5) is configured so as to carry out the following as a drying step for gradually raising the internal temperature of the storage section (3): a step for maintaining the internal temperature of the storage section (3) for a prescribed amount of time in a temperature range below 0°C, which constitutes a first temperature band; and a step for maintaining the internal temperature of the storage section (3) for a prescribed amount of time in a temperature range at or above 0°C, which is a second temperature band. The number of times the refrigeration unit (10) is defrosted in the first temperature band is greater than the number of times the refrigeration section (10) is defrosted in the second temperature band.

Description

food storage

The present disclosure relates to storage in which food drying is performed.

In a storehouse or a storage room in which food is dried, if the cooling unit has a cooler, when the amount of food to be dried increases and the amount of dehumidification increases, frost forms on the cooler and the dehumidification performance decreases. . For this reason, a conventional storehouse or storage room has two coolers, and while dehumidification is being performed by one cooler, the other cooler is defrostered to melt the frost. Some defrost and alternately and independently perform dehumidifying operation and defrosting operation (see Patent Document 1, for example).

JP-A-63-167777

However, in the above-mentioned conventional storehouse or storage room, having two coolers makes the system large and complicated. In addition, the equipment itself becomes more expensive, and food cannot be dried easily or inexpensively. In addition, there is room for improvement with regard to the nutritional components and functional components contained in foods, and the "deliciousness" of dry foods.

In order to solve the above conventional problems, the storage of the present disclosure includes a storage compartment for storing food, a cooling part for cooling the storage compartment, and a defrost for the cooling part by melting frost adhering to the cooling part. A defrosting section, a temperature sensing section for sensing the internal temperature of the storage compartment, and a control section for controlling the internal temperature of the storage compartment using information from the temperature sensing section. The control unit maintains the internal temperature of the storage compartment in a temperature range of less than 0° C., which is the first temperature zone, for a predetermined time as a drying process for stepwise increasing the internal temperature of the storage compartment; and maintaining the internal temperature in a temperature range of 0° C. or higher, which is the second temperature zone, for a predetermined time. The number of times of defrosting of the cooling section performed in the first temperature zone is greater than the number of times of defrosting of the cooling section performed in the second temperature zone.

As a result, it is possible to suppress the deterioration of the dehumidification performance due to frost formation in the cooling part with a simple configuration, and the drying of the food is completed efficiently in a shorter time. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a dry food that retains as much of the nutrients and functional components contained in the food as possible and that gives a real sense of "deliciousness".

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a dry storage according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a diagram showing temperature and defrosting patterns in the dry storage of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how food is dried in the dry storage of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 4 is a diagram showing an example of drying without defrosting. FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of drying when defrosting is performed every day. 6A is a diagram showing defrosting by cooler temperature detection according to the first embodiment. FIG. FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of part A of FIG. 6A. 7A is a diagram showing defrosting by detecting the temperature on the leeward side of the cooling unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of portion B of FIG. 7A. 8A is a diagram showing defrosting by leeward humidity detection of the cooling unit according to Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of part C of FIG. 8A. FIG. 9 is a diagram showing results of sensory evaluation of Embodiment 1. FIG. FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional view of a dry storage according to Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure. FIG. 11 is a diagram showing how food is dried in the dry storage of Embodiment 2. FIG.

A storage according to an aspect of the present disclosure includes a storage section for storing food, a cooling section for cooling the storage section, a defrosting section for defrosting the cooling section by melting frost adhering to the cooling section, and a storage A temperature sensing unit for sensing the internal temperature of the compartment and a control unit for controlling the internal temperature of the storage compartment using information from the temperature sensing unit. The control unit maintains the internal temperature of the storage compartment in a temperature range of less than 0° C., which is the first temperature zone, for a predetermined time as a drying process for stepwise increasing the internal temperature of the storage compartment; and maintaining the internal temperature in a temperature range of 0° C. or higher, which is the second temperature zone, for a predetermined time. The number of times of defrosting of the cooling section performed in the first temperature zone is greater than the number of times of defrosting of the cooling section performed in the second temperature zone. As a result, with a simple configuration, it is possible to prevent the dehumidification performance from deteriorating due to frost formation in the cooling section, thereby improving the efficiency of defrosting and drying the food. By making the defrosting more efficient, the drying is completed in a shorter time, the nutrients and functional components contained in the food are retained, and a dried food that can be perceived as "delicious" can be obtained.

The storage further includes a cooler temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the cooling unit, and the defrosting unit starts defrosting the cooling unit when the rate of decrease in temperature detected by the cooler temperature detection unit increases. may be configured to As a result, defrosting can be performed by predicting an increase in frost formation on the cooling part from the rate of decrease in cooler temperature, and defrosting can be controlled with higher accuracy.

The storage further includes an air temperature detection unit that detects the temperature on the leeward side of the cooling unit, and the defrosting unit is configured to start defrosting the cooling unit when the temperature detected by the air temperature detection unit rises. may be As a result, defrosting can be performed by predicting an increase in frost formation on the cooling section based on the temperature rise, and defrosting can be controlled with higher accuracy.

The storage further includes an air humidity detector that detects humidity on the leeward side of the cooling unit, and the defrosting unit is configured to start defrosting the cooling unit when the humidity detected by the air humidity detector rises. may be As a result, it is possible to perform defrosting while predicting an increase in frost formation on the cooling section based on an increase in humidity, and to control defrosting with higher accuracy.

The storage may further include an outlet for discharging high-temperature, high-humidity air generated when the frost adhering to the cooling section is melted to the outside of the storage compartment, and an opening/closing section for opening and closing the outlet. As a result, it is possible to suppress the humidity in the storage compartment from rising due to the humidity of defrosting, and to dry the food in a shorter time.

The storage may further include a blower that circulates the air cooled by the cooling unit to the storage compartment, and a dehumidifying unit that is arranged on the windward side of the cooling unit and dehumidifies the passing air. As a result, drying can be performed in a shorter time without defrosting the cooling section, or by reducing the number of times of defrosting.

The dehumidification unit may be desiccant type dehumidification means. As a result, since dehumidification can be performed regardless of the temperature, dehumidification can be performed in a wide temperature range, and food can be dried in a shorter time.

The dehumidifying section may be configured with a moisture permeable membrane type total heat exchanger. As a result, dehumidification can be performed with a simple structure, and food can be dried more easily.

The dehumidification unit may be configured with a small cooler. As a result, the dehumidifying section can have excellent dehumidifying ability at high temperatures, and the food can be dried in a shorter time.

(Embodiment 1)
FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view of a dry storage 1 according to Embodiment 1 of the present disclosure. In the present embodiment, a dry storage is described as an example of the storage or storage room.

In FIG. 1, the interior of the dry storage 1 is partitioned vertically by a heat insulating partition wall 2 . The dry storage compartment 1 includes a dry storage compartment (storage compartment) 3 arranged above the heat insulating partition wall 2 and a freezer compartment 4 arranged below the heat insulating partition wall 2 . The dry storage 1 also has a control section 5 for driving and controlling each part and each device of the dry storage 1 . In the example of FIG. 1, the controller 5 is arranged above the dry storage 1 .

The control unit 5 includes, for example, a memory storing programs and a processing circuit corresponding to a processor such as a CPU (Central Processing Unit). The control unit 5 reads data and programs stored in the memory and performs various arithmetic processing, thereby realizing a predetermined function.

The refrigeration cycle 6 is configured by annularly connecting a compressor 7, a radiator 8, an expander 9, and a cooling section (cooler) 10, and a refrigerant such as isobutane is sealed therein. The cooling unit 10 is located on the back surface of the freezer compartment 4 .

The capacity of the compressor 7 can be increased or decreased by changing the rotation speed of the motor, for example, using an inverter power supply. The capacity of the compressor 7 is controlled by the controller 5 .

A blower 11 is arranged on the back of the freezer compartment 4 to forcibly ventilate the cold air generated in the cooling unit 10 to the dry storage compartment 3 . It also has a drying chamber duct 12 that guides cold air to the drying storage chamber 3 .

Inside the drying chamber duct 12, there are a damper 13 for selectively flowing cold air into the drying storage chamber 3, and a drying chamber heater 14 for heating the cold air in the drying chamber duct 12, which is composed of, for example, fins and pipe heaters. , are placed.

A temperature detection unit 15 a for detecting the temperature inside the drying storage chamber 3 is arranged in the drying storage chamber 3 . In addition, in the present embodiment, a humidity detection unit 15b for detecting the humidity inside the dry storage chamber 3 is also arranged, and the temperature/humidity detection unit in which the temperature detection unit 15a and the humidity detection unit 15b are integrally configured. 15. Note that the temperature detection unit 15a and the humidity detection unit 15b may be arranged separately as separate parts.

The dry storage 1 has a defrosting section 16 that defrosts the cooling section 10 by melting the frost adhered to it when the cooling section 10 is frosted.

An operation panel 17 is arranged in the dry storage 1. The control unit 5 controls the driving of each unit and each device according to user's instructions input through the operation panel 17 .

The operation of the dry storage 1 configured as above will be described below.

During the operation of the refrigeration cycle 6, the high-temperature and high-pressure gas refrigerant compressed by the compressor 7 flows through the radiator 8, dissipates heat to the outside air, and becomes a low-temperature and high-pressure liquid refrigerant. Then, by flowing through an expander 9 such as a capillary tube, it becomes a low-temperature, low-pressure gas-liquid two-layer refrigerant, and flows into the cooling section 10 .

The liquid refrigerant flowing inside the cooling unit 10 exchanges heat with the air inside the freezer compartment 4, and generates cool air by the heat of vaporization. The generated cool air is circulated through the freezer compartment 4 and the dry storage compartment 3 by the blower 11 . This action cools the freezer compartment 4 and maintains the freezer compartment 4 in a freezing temperature range of about -18°C or lower.

The dry storage room 3 is normally maintained in a temperature range of -18°C or lower. This −18° C. freezing temperature is set based on the concept of T-TT (Time-Temperature-Tolerance). In addition, in T-TT, the time for which the freshness of food is maintained is different from the time for which the quality of food (in terms of microorganisms and taste) is maintained.

The dry storage room 3 is normally maintained in a freezing temperature range of about -18°C or less. Here, when the user puts in the food and starts the drying operation mode according to the user's instruction input via the operation panel 17, the temperature detected by the temperature/humidity detection unit 15 causes the control unit 5 to compress the food. The machine 7, the blower 11, the damper 13 and the drying chamber heater 14 are controlled so that the air volume and temperature of the air flowing to the drying storage chamber 3 follow a predetermined pattern.

Here, the storage drying process in Embodiment 1 will be described, taking as an example the case where food is stored in the drying storage room 3 .

First, a tomato cut in half is placed in the drying storage room 3. Then, the user operates the switch on the operation panel 17 to select the "drying course 1". Further, the food information input section 17a on the operation panel 17 is used to input information (for example, size, thickness, weight, etc.) of the tomato to be placed. After that, the drying operation is started.

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing the temperature and defrosting patterns in the dry storage of the first embodiment. The horizontal axis of FIG. 2 represents the elapsed time from the start of the drying process. FIG. 3 is a diagram showing how food is dried in the dry storage of the first embodiment.

In Figure 3, the arrows indicate the air flow. First, the saturated air flowing out of the cooling unit 10 is warmed by the drying chamber heater 14 by the blower 11 , the relative humidity is lowered, and the saturated air becomes dry air and enters the storage section 3 . This dry air causes the moisture in the food items placed in the storage compartment 3 to sublime or evaporate into the air. Then, it becomes moist air containing moisture and returns to the cooling section 10 again. By repeating this series of cycles, the drying of the food proceeds.

On the other hand, as the drying of the food progresses, the cooling unit 10 is gradually frosted by moist air. This frost formation obstructs the flow of air in the cooling unit 10 and makes heat exchange in the cooling unit 10 difficult. As a result, the temperature and humidity of the circulating air are less likely to drop, and the drying efficiency of the food is reduced.

FIG. 4 is a graph showing an example of drying without defrosting. In the example of drying without defrosting shown in FIG. 4, tomatoes of the same lot and the same form (for example, size, thickness, weight, etc.) as in the example of FIG. 2 are used. The temperature, humidity, cooler temperature, and weight of the food in the dry storage chamber 3 are shown when the food is dried without defrosting in the same storage as in the example of FIG.

If the cooling unit 10 is not defrosted at all from the start of drying, the cooling unit 10 will be clogged with frost on the cooling unit 10 . As a result, the temperature of the cooling unit 10 continues to drop, and finally the humidity in the drying storage chamber 3 rises to 100%, the weight of the food does not decrease, and the drying of the food does not progress (see FIG. 4). Therefore, defrosting is always required as the drying progresses.

Next, with reference to FIG. 2, the operation of each device during the drying operation of Embodiment 1, changes in temperature and humidity in the drying storage chamber 3, and timing of defrosting will be described.

In FIG. 2, when the drying operation is started, the controller 5 maintains the internal temperature of the drying storage chamber 3 in the freezing temperature range of -18°C or lower (-25°C as an example) in the first temperature range. At this time, for example, the compressor 7 and the blower 11 are operated at the maximum capacity, the damper 13 is opened at the maximum opening, and the drying chamber heater 14 is not energized, thereby reducing the internal temperature of the drying storage chamber 3 to the freezing temperature range ( Stabilize at −25° C. as an example).

After a predetermined time (480 minutes as an example) has passed, for example, by energizing the drying chamber heater 14, the internal temperature is raised (to -3° C. as an example) in order to lower the internal humidity of the drying storage chamber 3, maintain. At this time, each device is controlled by the control unit 5, and appropriate defrosting is performed, thereby reducing the humidity from 50% to 20% in the first temperature zone.

In Embodiment 1, the defrosting timing in the first temperature zone is performed every predetermined time (two days as an example).

When the state of the first temperature zone has passed for a predetermined time (7800 minutes as an example), it shifts to the second temperature zone. In the second temperature zone, each device is controlled by the controller 5 to raise the internal temperature of the dry storage chamber 3 (to 3° C. as an example) and maintain that temperature.

After a predetermined time (120 minutes as an example) has passed, for example, by energizing the drying chamber heater 14, the internal temperature is further increased (to 8° C. as an example) in order to lower the internal humidity of the drying storage chamber 3, maintain. At this time, each device is controlled by the controller 5, so that the humidity drops to 8% in the second temperature zone.

In the second temperature zone, the moisture content of the food is reduced less than in the first temperature zone. Therefore, defrosting of the cooling unit 10 is not performed. Then, the drying operation is finished after a predetermined time (eg, 6000 minutes), and the dried tomato product is completed in about 10 days.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing an example of drying when defrosting is performed every day.

In the example shown in FIG. 5, drying is performed in a drying storage similar to the drying storage used in the example shown in FIG. 2, with the same temperature pattern in the drying chamber. Tomatoes of the same lot and the same form (for example, size, thickness, weight, etc.) as in the example shown in FIG. 2 are used. The graph of FIG. 5 shows the humidity in the dry storage room 3 and the weight of the food when defrosting the cooling unit 10 every day.

As shown in FIG. 5, the cooling unit 10 is defrosted every day. By defrosting, the frost on the cooling unit 10 is melted, the weight of the food is gradually reduced, and the food is dried. However, each time the defrost is performed, the air is humidified and the humidity increases, resulting in a decrease in drying efficiency. Therefore, it takes 14 days to complete the drying of the food.

In Embodiment 1, defrosting of the cooling unit 10 is performed in the first temperature range at predetermined time intervals (for example, two days). As a result, while moderately suppressing the formation of frost on the cooling unit 10, an increase in humidity in the drying storage chamber 3 is also suppressed, thereby efficiently drying the food. As a result, as shown in FIG. 2, the time required for drying the food can be shortened to 10 days.

Also, as shown in FIG. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 6A and 6B, the range of temperature decrease in the cooler temperature per 30 minutes increases from ΔT1 to ΔT2, that is, at the timing when the rate of decrease in the cooler temperature increases. , defrosting of the cooling unit 10 by the defrosting unit 16 is started. In addition, FIG. 6A is a diagram showing defrosting by cooler temperature detection, and FIG. 6B is an enlarged view of part A in FIG. 6A. As a result, defrosting can be controlled with higher accuracy, drying is made more efficient, and the drying time of the food is shortened.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 3, the dry storage 1 may include an air temperature detection section 12a that detects the temperature on the leeward side of the cooling section 10. In this case, as shown in FIGS. 7A and 7B, at the timing when the cooler downstream air temperature rises by 1 K or more in 30 minutes, that is, when the cooler downstream air temperature rises at a predetermined rate of increase or more, Start defrosting. In addition, FIG. 7A is a diagram showing defrosting by detecting the temperature on the leeward side, and FIG. 7B is an enlarged view of the B portion of FIG. 7A. As a result, defrosting can be controlled with high accuracy, the drying of food is made efficient, and the drying time of food is shortened.

Also, as shown in FIG. 3, when the dry storage 1 is provided with an air humidity detector 12b that detects the humidity on the leeward side of the cooling unit 10, as shown in FIGS. 8A and 8B, the air humidity downstream of the cooler rises by 1% or more in 30 minutes, that is, at the timing when the cooler downstream air humidity rises at a predetermined rate of increase or more, the defrosting of the cooling unit 10 may be started. FIG. 8A is a diagram showing defrosting by detecting the humidity on the leeward side of the cooling unit 10, and FIG. 8B is an enlarged view of part C in FIG. 8A. As a result, the defrosting of the cooling unit 10 can be controlled with high accuracy, the drying of the food is made efficient, and the drying time is shortened. The air temperature detection unit 12a and the air humidity detection unit 12b may be configured integrally as an air temperature/humidity detection unit.

Further, as shown in FIG. 3, when the discharge port 16a and the opening/closing portion 16b for opening/closing the discharge port 16a are provided, opening the opening/closing portion 16b after the cooling portion 10 is defrosted allows the high temperature generated by the defrosting. High humidity air can be discharged to the outside of the dry storage 1 . As a result, it is possible to suppress an increase in humidity in the dry storage room (storage section) 3 after the defrosting operation. Therefore, the drying of food is made efficient and the drying time is shortened.

FIG. 9 shows the sensory evaluation results of tomatoes dried by the method shown in FIG. As a conventional example, tomatoes of the same lot as shown in FIG. 2 were dried by osmotic dehydration with sugar at room temperature.

As shown in FIG. 9, compared with the conventional example, the half-sliced tomato of the first embodiment has the following items: "appearance (largeness/smallness of discoloration)", "fragrance (strong/weak)" and "comprehensive (good/weak)". Poor)" has increased by 2 points or more. The half-cut tomato of Embodiment 1 has little discoloration, has a strong raw fresh aroma, and has an overall good taste.

In the sensory evaluation, if the points of the evaluation item differ by 1 point between the two evaluation targets, the difference in the evaluation item is clearly recognized. Therefore, half-sliced tomatoes dried with the temperature pattern of Embodiment 1 can be realized in a shorter time after dry storage to a level where the difference in "deliciousness" can be felt compared to the conventional example. .

In the dry storage chamber 1 of Embodiment 1, by appropriately defrosting the cooling unit 10, drying of food is completed efficiently and in a short time. Therefore, denaturation is suppressed compared to tomatoes dried by osmotic dehydration with sugar at room temperature. Therefore, it is possible to obtain a healthy dry food that retains the "appearance" and "aroma" of the food before storage, is less discolored, has a stronger aroma, and does not contain added sugar.

In addition, in the dry storage chamber 1 of Embodiment 1, food is dried in a temperature range of 0°C or lower. For this reason, compared to tomatoes dried by osmotic dehydration with sugar at room temperature around 20 to 30°C, which is higher than 0°C, there is less loss of nutrients that are denatured by oxidation, such as vitamin C or total polyphenols. is also expected.

In the dry storage chamber 1 of Embodiment 1, in the first temperature zone, after a predetermined time (480 minutes as an example) has passed in the freezing temperature zone (-25° C. as an example), the internal temperature of the storage compartment 3 rises. , (to −3° C. as an example), the humidity drops from 50% to 20%.

In addition, in the first temperature zone, the defrosting of the cooling unit 10 is performed every predetermined time (for example, two days).

Then, a predetermined temperature (−3° C. in the example of FIG. 2) is maintained for a predetermined time (7800 minutes as an example), and the temperature shifts to the second temperature zone. In the second temperature zone, the internal temperature of the storage compartment 3 increases (eg, to 3° C.), and after a predetermined time (eg, 120 minutes), the internal temperature further increases (eg, to 8° C.). Then, in the second temperature zone, the humidity inside the storage compartment 3 drops to 8%.

The defrosting of the cooling unit 10 is not performed in the second temperature zone. Then, the drying operation is finished after a predetermined time (eg, 6000 minutes), and the dried tomato product is completed in about 10 days. In this embodiment, the example in which the cooling unit 10 is not defrosted in the second temperature zone has been described. good too.

According to the dry storage 1 of the present embodiment, the food is dried while maintaining the temperature in the low temperature range for a predetermined period of time, starting from the freezing temperature range. It can be carried out. In the drying process, for example, the drying can be easily performed with one cooling unit. In addition, by efficiently defrosting the frost that forms on the cooling unit 10, the drying of the food is further promoted and the drying is completed in a short time, so the growth of putrefactive bacteria and the reactivity of the chemical reaction are suppressed. can be used to dry food. Moreover, even if the weight of the food to be dried increases, the food can be dried easily regardless of the amount.

As described above, the dry storage 1 of Embodiment 1 includes the storage section 3 for storing food, the cooling section 10 for cooling the storage section 3, and the frost adhering to the cooling section 10 to melt the cooling section. a defrosting unit 16 that defrosts 10, a temperature detection unit 15a that detects the internal temperature of the storage compartment 3, and a control unit 5 that controls the internal temperature of the storage compartment 3 using information from the temperature detection unit 15a. , provided. The control unit 5 performs a step of maintaining the internal temperature of the storage compartment 3 in a temperature range of less than 0° C., which is the first temperature zone, for a predetermined time as a drying process for stepwise increasing the internal temperature of the storage compartment; It is configured to perform a step of maintaining the internal temperature of the compartment 3 in the temperature range of 0 ° C. or higher, which is the second temperature zone, for a predetermined time, and the defrosting of the cooling unit performed in the first temperature zone. The number of times is greater than the number of defrosting of the cooling section performed in the second temperature zone. This facilitates drying of the food placed in the storage compartment 3 regardless of the amount of food. The dried food (for example, tomato) is less discolored, brightly colored, has a good appearance, has a strong raw fresh scent, and has a natural sweetness close to that of the raw food. be able to.

(Embodiment 2)
FIG. 10 is a sectional view of the dry storage 1 of the second embodiment. In Embodiment 2, the dry storage 1 is equipped with a dehumidifying section 18 a on the windward side of the cooling section 10 . In addition, the description of the content that overlaps with the content described in the first embodiment will be omitted.

FIG. 11 is a diagram showing how food is dried in the dry storage 1 of Embodiment 2 of the present disclosure.

In FIG. 11, arrows indicate the flow of air. First, the saturated air flowing out of the cooling unit 10 is warmed by the drying chamber heater 14 by the blower 11 , the relative humidity is lowered, and the saturated air becomes dry air and enters the storage section 3 . This dry air causes the moisture in the food items placed in the storage compartment 3 to sublime or evaporate into the air. Then, it becomes moist air containing moisture. This moist air is in front of the cooling unit 10 (upwind of the cooling unit 10) in the return air passage 18 on the way back to the cooling unit 10 through the suction port 19 (see FIG. 10) connected to the storage compartment 3. It is dehumidified in the dehumidifying section 18 a and returns to the cooling section 10 . By repeating this series of cycles, the drying of the food proceeds.

In Embodiment 2, since dehumidified air flows to the cooling unit 10, defrosting of the cooling unit 10 during drying of the food becomes unnecessary, and the food can be dried more efficiently.

In addition, it is possible to further shorten the drying time, improve the quality of the dried food, and obtain a dried food that is more delicious.

Further, when the dehumidifying section 18a is of a desiccant type, dehumidification can be performed regardless of the temperature. Therefore, the dehumidifying effect can be exhibited in a wide temperature range, and the food can be dried in a shorter time.

Further, when the dehumidifying section 18a is a moisture permeable membrane type total heat exchanger, dehumidification can be performed with a simple configuration, and food can be dried more easily.

Also, by using a small cooler as the dehumidifying section 18a, it is possible to obtain excellent dehumidifying performance at high temperatures. Therefore, the food can be dried in a shorter time.

As described above, the dry storage 1 of Embodiment 2 further includes the dehumidifying section 18a that is arranged on the windward side of the cooling section 10 and dehumidifies the passing air. As a result, regardless of the amount of food, drying of the food placed in the storage compartment 3 is accelerated, the food is less discolored, brightly colored, has a good appearance, has a strong raw fresh scent, and has a natural sweetness close to that of raw food. It is possible to obtain a dry food that gives a sense of "deliciousness".

The storehouse according to the present disclosure is useful as a storehouse for storing food because it can appropriately control temperature and humidity during storage. It can also be applied to storage of organic matter other than food by changing the storage temperature and maintenance time to control the chemical reaction.

1 dry storage compartment 2 thermally insulated partition wall 3 dry storage compartment (storage compartment)
4 freezer compartment 5 control section 6 refrigerating cycle 7 compressor 8 radiator 9 expander 10 cooling section (cooler)
10a cooler temperature detector 11 fan 12 drying chamber duct 12a air temperature detector 12b air humidity detector 13 damper 14 drying chamber heater 15 temperature/humidity detector 15a temperature detector 15b humidity detector 16 defrost 16a outlet 16b opening and closing Section 17 Operation Panel 17a Food Information Input Section 18 Return Air Path 18a Dehumidifying Section 19 Suction Port

Claims (9)

a storage compartment for storing food;
a cooling section for cooling the storage compartment;
a defrosting section that defrosts the cooling section by melting frost adhering to the cooling section;
a temperature detection unit that detects the internal temperature of the storage compartment;
a control unit that controls the internal temperature of the storage compartment using information from the temperature sensing unit;
with
The control unit, as a drying process for stepwise increasing the internal temperature of the storage compartment,
maintaining the internal temperature of the storage compartment in a temperature range of less than 0° C., which is a first temperature zone, for a predetermined time;
a step of maintaining the internal temperature of the storage compartment in a temperature range of 0° C. or higher, which is a second temperature zone, for a predetermined time;
is configured to run
The number of times the cooling unit is defrosted in the first temperature zone is greater than the number of times the cooling unit is defrosted in the second temperature zone,
storage. Further comprising a cooler temperature detection unit that detects the temperature of the cooling unit,
The defrosting unit starts defrosting the cooling unit when the rate of decrease in temperature detected by the cooler temperature detecting unit increases.
A store as claimed in claim 1. Further comprising an air temperature detection unit that detects the temperature on the leeward side of the cooling unit,
The defrosting unit starts defrosting the cooling unit when the temperature detected by the air temperature detecting unit rises.
A store as claimed in claim 1. Further comprising an air humidity detection unit that detects the humidity on the leeward side of the cooling unit,
The defrosting unit starts defrosting the cooling unit when the humidity detected by the air humidity detecting unit rises.
A store as claimed in claim 1. a discharge port for discharging high-temperature and high-humidity air generated when the frost adhering to the cooling unit melts to the outside of the storage compartment;
an opening/closing unit that opens and closes the outlet;
5. A storehouse or chamber according to any one of claims 1 to 4, further comprising: a blower that circulates the air cooled by the cooling unit to the storage compartment;
a dehumidification unit disposed on the windward side of the cooling unit and dehumidifying passing air;
2. The reservoir of claim 1, further comprising: The dehumidification unit is a desiccant type dehumidification unit,
7. Storage as claimed in claim 6. The dehumidification unit is a moisture permeable membrane type total heat exchanger,
7. Storage as claimed in claim 6. The dehumidification unit is a small cooler,
7. Storage as claimed in claim 6.

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