KR-20260065563-A - Free-fall type food treatment apparatus

Abstract

The present invention relates to a free-fall type food processing device comprising: a processing chamber providing a processing space for food; a supply unit for supplying food to free-fall along the interior of the processing chamber; and a laser unit for processing food by irradiating the food with a laser beam in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction of gravity so that the food can pass across the laser beam during the free-falling process.

Inventors

• 김인호
• 배성호

Assignees

• 주식회사 지스
• 배성호

Dates

Publication Date

20260508

Application Date

20251030

Priority Date

20241030

Claims (7)

1. A processing chamber providing a processing space for food; A supply unit that supplies the above food so that it falls freely along the interior of the processing chamber; A laser unit for processing the food by irradiating the food in a horizontal direction perpendicular to the direction of gravity so that the food can pass across the laser beam during the process of free fall; and It includes a recovery cartridge that loads food processed by the above laser beam after measuring its moisture content, and The above laser beam is a free-fall type food processing device that is controlled based on the above moisture content.
2. In paragraph 1, The above laser unit is, A free-fall type food processing device having a laser nozzle that irradiates the food by forming the laser beam to have a flat-top shape beam profile.
3. In paragraph 2, The above laser unit is, A laser oscillator having a laser diode that generates and oscillates a laser beam having a near-infrared wavelength and a Gaussian beam profile; and Further comprising an optical fiber that transmits the laser beam generated from the laser oscillator, The above laser nozzle is, A free-fall type food processing device having a forming optical system that forms the beam profile of a laser beam transmitted by the above optical fiber from a Gaussian shape to the above flat-top shape.
4. In paragraph 3, The above laser nozzle is, A free-fall type food processing device having a diffusion optical system that further diffuses the laser beam so that the width of the laser beam formed by the above-mentioned forming optical system becomes longer than the distribution length of the food.
5. In paragraph 1, The above recovery cartridge is, A sensing cartridge having a sensing hole into which food processed by the above laser beam is introduced, and a moisture content sensor for measuring the moisture content of the food introduced into the sensing hole; and A free-fall type food processing device having a loading cartridge having a loading space for loading food that has passed through the above-mentioned sensing hole.
6. In paragraph 1, A free-fall food processing device further comprising a cartridge receiving chamber in which the above-mentioned recovery cartridge is detachably received.
7. In paragraph 1, The above supply unit is, A hopper for feeding the above food; and A free-fall type food processing device having a supply amount regulator that controls the supply amount of food so that the food fed by the above-mentioned hopper is supplied into the processing chamber in a fixed amount per unit time.

Description

Free-fall type food treatment apparatus The present invention relates to a free-fall type food processing device. Various food processing devices are being used to heat food and process it into a predetermined form. Conventional food processing devices are configured to heat food primarily by using direct flame, hot air, near-infrared lamps, etc., as heat sources. Conventional food processing devices utilizing direct flames, hot air, or near-infrared lamps as heat sources had problems such as difficulty in heating food uniformly, low thermal efficiency, and low maximum heating temperature, which resulted in long processing times and caused air pollution due to high energy consumption. Meanwhile, there are types of foods where moisture content has a significant impact on shelf life or quality, such as when drying grains or roasting coffee beans. However, conventional food processing devices have had the problem of being unable to maintain a uniform moisture content in the food. FIG. 1 is a front view of a free-fall type food processing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention. Figure 2 is a partial cross-sectional view to explain the internal structure of the free-fall type food processing device shown in Figure 1. Figure 3 is a diagram showing the food processing aspect of the free-fall type food processing device illustrated in Figure 2. Figure 4 is a partial enlarged view of area A of Figure 3. FIG. 5 is a partial enlarged view of area B of FIG. 3, and Figure 6 is a diagram showing the recovery cartridge being separated from the cartridge receiving chamber. Figure 7 is a diagram illustrating a laser beam having a Gaussian beam profile. Figure 8 is a diagram illustrating a laser beam having a flat-top beam profile. Figure 9 is a diagram illustrating the process of a laser beam being shaped and diffused by the optical system of a laser nozzle. Figure 10 is a diagram showing the aspect of a laser beam being irradiated onto food in a shaped and diffused state by the optical system of a laser nozzle. Hereinafter, some embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to exemplary drawings. It should be noted that in assigning reference numerals to the components of each drawing, the same components are given the same reference numeral whenever possible, even if they are shown in different drawings. Furthermore, in describing the embodiments of the present invention, if it is determined that a detailed description of related known components or functions would hinder understanding of the embodiments of the present invention, such detailed description is omitted. In describing the components of the embodiments of the present invention, terms such as first, second, A, B, (a), (b), etc., may be used. These terms are intended merely to distinguish the components from other components, and the essence, order, or sequence of the components is not limited by the terms. Furthermore, unless otherwise defined, all terms used herein, including technical or scientific terms, have the same meaning as generally understood by those skilled in the art to which the present invention pertains. Terms such as those defined in commonly used dictionaries should be interpreted as having a meaning consistent with their meaning in the context of the relevant technology, and should not be interpreted in an ideal or overly formal sense unless explicitly defined in this application. FIG. 1 is a front view of a free-fall type food processing device according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a part to explain the internal structure of the free-fall type food processing device shown in FIG. 1. Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2, a free-fall food processing device (1) using a laser beam (LB) according to a preferred embodiment of the present invention may include a controller (not shown), a housing (10), a supply unit (20), a laser unit (30), a recovery cartridge (40), a blower fan (50), a cross jet (60), a sensing module (70), etc. First, the controller is a device for controlling various components included in the free-fall type food processing device (1). Since this controller has the same configuration as a conventional controller, a detailed description thereof will be omitted. Next, the housing (10) is a device that provides a processing space for processing food (F) and an installation space for various components provided in the free-fall type food processing device (1). The structure of the housing (10) is not particularly limited. For example, the housing (10) may be equipped with a processing chamber (11) providing a processing space for processing food (F), a machine room (12) providing an installation space for various components included in the free-fall type food processing device (1), a first door (13) for opening and closing the processing chamber (11), a second door (14) for opening and closing the machine room (12), e