FREEZING METHOD AND AIR CHAMBER FOR RAPID FOOD PRODUCT FREEZING Russian patent published in 2006 - IPC F25D13/00 

FIELD: food industry, particularly food freezing.

SUBSTANCE: method involves loading food products in heat-insulated chamber divided into sections; cooling food products with coolant supplied from cooling machine to provide continuous food product cooling; unloading cooled food products from the chamber. The coolant is directed into the first section via pipeline in bottom-top direction and into the second section in top-bottom direction through orifice formed in intermediate partition. Then coolant passes through all sections in zigzag manner, wherein coolant in fed in bottom-top direction via pipeline and in top-bottom direction through orifices created in partitions. The coolant is heated by heat exchange with food products to be cooled. Coolant temperature at chamber exit is close to that of loaded food product. After food product cooling inside the first and the second chambers up to predetermined temperature sectional inner device shell is moved forward towards coolant flow direction to align the first and the second sections with loading-unloading chamber and coolant flow into loading-unloading chamber is blocked. After that coolant flow is directed to discharge pipeline before food product loading-unloading operation termination. Device for above method realization comprises inner shell, which may rotate about vertical axis. Device is provided with sections defined by vertical partitions fixed to inner shell between inner and outer shells so that the partitions may move for equal distances along with inner shell. The partitions are provided with guiding means for tray installation. Each second partition is separated from inner surfaces of lower and upper closures and from outer shell by elastic members so that section pairs are created. Intermediate partition is provided with orifice formed in upper partition part and adapted to provide coolant circulation. Each second section of the pair communicates with pipeline of each first section of next section pair. The trays have latticed bottoms.

EFFECT: increased operational efficiency, reduced power inputs and possibility to use ecologically-friendly matter, namely air, as the coolant.

15 cl, 3 dwg