Refrigeration – Gas controller or director – Cooled gas directed relative to cooled enclosure
Patent
1991-06-19
1993-07-20
Bennet, Henry A.
Refrigeration
Gas controller or director
Cooled gas directed relative to cooled enclosure
62100, 62169, 62298, 62371, 624571, 220366, F25B 1900, B65D 8118, B65D 8550, B65D 8534
Patent
active
052283143
DESCRIPTION:
BRIEF SUMMARY
TECHNICAL FIELD
The present invention relates to a method of storing fruits and/or vegetables, herein produce and a refrigerating container therefor, wherein fruits and/or vegetables are stored in a refrigerating container consisting of a body and a cover made of a foamed synthetic resin; air in the container sealed with the cover is forcibly discharged from the container along with reduction of pressure in a vacuum chamber; and after precooling, the vacuum chamber restores pressure, thereby allowing the inside of the container to return to the atmospheric pressure level.
BACKGROUND TECHNOLOGY
A conventional container used for the vacuum-precooling method is constructed, as shown in FIG. 7, of a container body A made of a foamed synthetic resin and a cover B made of a foamed synthetic resin to be fitted gas-tight on the container body A. There is ventilation through hole C, having a diameter of about 10 mm, in proper positions in the container, in the cover B, for example. Thus, fruits and vegetables are put into the container body A of the refrigerating container. The container is closed with the cover and is placed in a vacuum chamber. When the vacuum chamber lowers its inside pressure to about 3 mmHg, air in the container is forcibly evacuated by ventilation through holes C. Thus, moisture contained in the cooled materials is partially evaporated to derive latent heat for gasification, thereby precooling the materials in the container.
The present Applicant has already disclosed in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 63-616 this type of container usable for the vacuum precooling method, which has drastically improved the existing technology by forming openings with orifice effects in the vicinity of the fitting portions of the body and the cover.
In the former technology out of the two conventional containers as above mentioned, however, from the instant when the inside of the container is returned to the atmospheric pressure level by causing the inside of the vacuum chamber to restore the original pressure, free air flows are allowed between the inside and outside of the container through the ventilation holes. This is because the ventilation holes have a relatively large diameter. The resulting problems: the temperature of precooled materials gradually approaches the ambient temperature deteriorating the precooling effects and the precooled materials are supplied with oxygen, thereby gradually deteriorating their freshness. In order to solve these problems, therefore, the ventilation holes are sealed from the outside with tape or the like after the precooling operation so that the air flow to and from the inside of the container is blocked. Despite this procedure, however, another problem arises, namely, prolonged working time.
In the latter technology, a great deal of attention in view of potential industrial availability is given since operation without sealing the openings of the container drastically reduces the amount of work. Despite of this advantage, however, the structure may be likely to require "trial-and-error" work to determine orifice shapes. And there is other problem that the orifices acting as the ventilating communication conduits cannot be made longer.
DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION
In view of the problems of the prior arts thus far described, the present invention proposes both a method of storing fruits and/or herein produce, and a refrigerating container therefor, in which cooled materials such as produce can be quickly refrigerated by the vacuum-precooling method even if they are sealed in the container. After precooling, free air flow between the inside and outside of the container can be substantially blocked without sealing the communication conduits to and from the inside of the container. When a refrigerating container of high gas-tightness is closed, air confined in the container is temporarily compressed to raise the internal pressure of the container. Then, the cover may not be completely sealed, even if it is in the closed position, or it may be hard to close com
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patent: 3401671 (1968-09-01), Axelrod et al.
patent: 3741815 (1973-06-01), Peterson
patent: 4294079 (1981-10-01), Benson
patent: 4600117 (1986-07-01), Tzifkansky et al.
patent: 4615178 (1986-10-01), Badenhop
patent: 4845959 (1989-07-01), Magee
Bennet Henry A.
Kanegafuchi Kagaku Kogyo & Kabushiki Kaisha
Kilner C.
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