FREEZING TUNNEL COLD-GAS EXTRACTION HOODS WITH VARIABLE-OPENING EXTRACTORS

Abstract

An installation for cryogenic cooling or freezing of products includes: a cryogenic tunnel through which products that are to be cooled or frozen circulate, between an entrance into the tunnel and an exit from the tunnel on a conveyor belt; an upstream extraction hood situated facing the entrance to the tunnel and/or a downstream extraction hood situated facing the exit from the tunnel; and movable blinds or shutters that make it possible to close all or part of a suction cross section of at least one of the said hoods over a width and depth of the conveyor belt.

Claims

1-4. (canceled)

5. An installation for the cryogenic deep-freezing or cryogenic cooling of products, comprising: a cryogenic tunnel through which the products to be deep-frozen or cooled circulate between an entrance into the tunnel and an exit from the tunnel, the tunnel being equipped with spray lines for injecting a cryogenic fluid into the internal space of the tunnel in which the products circulate with the aid of a conveyor belt; an upstream first extraction hood situated facing the entrance to the tunnel and/or a downstream second extraction hood situated facing the exit from the tunnel; and movable blinds or shutters for adjusting a cross section of at least one of said hoods across a width of the conveyor belt and over a depth of the conveyor belt by blanking off all or part of said cross section.

6. The installation claim 5, wherein the movable shutters or blinds can be actuated in a parallel manner, generating, after blanking, a rectangle in the cross section of at least one of the hoods; and the movable shutters or blinds can be actuated in a non-parallel manner, generating, after blanking, one or two triangles in the cross section of at least one of the hoods.

7. The installation of claim 5, wherein each hood is equipped with an extraction tube leading to the outside, connected in its middle to the top of the hood.

8. The installation of claim 5, wherein each hood is equipped with at least one extraction tube leading to the outside, at least one of the hoods having its tube(s) connected to one side of the relevant hood.

Description

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE FIGURES

[0022] Further features and advantages of the present invention will become more clearly apparent from the following description, given by way of illustrative but nonlimiting example, with reference to the attached drawings in which:

[0023] FIG. 1 is a partial schematic view of a deep-freezing tunnel according to the prior art;

[0024] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate embodiments of the invention.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0025] FIG. 1 shows the following elements:

[0026] the installation comprises a tunnel 1 equipped with a conveyor 2 able to transport the products that are to be treated between a tunnel entrance and a tunnel exit (the arrows 3 and 4 respectively symbolize the product entrance and exit).

[0027] the tunnel is equipped with means 5 for injecting a cryogenic fluid into the internal space of the tunnel in which the products circulate, notably here consisting of means for supplying cryogen to spray-lines for spraying the fluid into the internal space, and also comprises ventilation means 6.

[0028] in the conventional way known per se, the installation additionally comprises means for extracting the cold gases escaping from the tunnel, these means here consisting of an upstream extraction hood 7 situated facing the entrance to the tunnel and a downstream extraction hood 8 situated facing the exit from the tunnel. In this embodiment, the ducts for these two hoods 7 and 8 lead toward a common collection means 10 for collecting and discharging to the outside. However, in other embodiments currently practised, these two hood ducts discharge to the outside independently, without being collected into a common duct. Likewise, while the embodiment of FIG. 1 illustrates a configuration in which the ducts of the upstream and downstream extraction hoods are situated over the top of the conveyor, it is perfectly possible to employ a configuration in which the ducts for the upstream and/or downstream extraction hoods are situated underneath the conveyor, or some above and some below the conveyor.

[0029] FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 illustrate embodiments of the invention:

[0030] FIG. 2 illustrates, in views a) to g) thereof, various states of the cross section of a hood (viewed from beneath): not blanked off (a)) or blanked off (b) to g)), the blanking-off being achieved for example using a blind structure. The blind can open in parallel fashion from right to left, generating a rectangle (b)), the blind can also open and close in a non-parallel fashion and this then generates a structure of triangle(s) making it easier to make the distinction between the right-hand side and the left-hand side of the hood, that was desired earlier on in the present description.

[0031] and FIG. 3 illustrates the fact that, thanks to the blanking-off proposal according to the present invention, it is now conceivable to connect the extraction tube not to the middle and top of the hood, as is currently the case, but to one side of the hood, with the natural asymmetry now being able to be compensated by the system. It is therefore possible to conceive of an extraction tube connected to one of the sides (left or right) of the tunnel or even to both sides simultaneously, as illustrated in views w) and z) of FIG. 3.

[0032] As will have been appreciated from reading the foregoing, in the case of a tunnel equipped with two extraction hoods, at the entrance and at the exit, the invention makes it possible to regulate the cross section of one or each of these hoods, independently.

[0033] While the invention has been described in conjunction with specific embodiments thereof, it is evident that many alternatives, modifications, and variations will be apparent to those skilled in the art in light of the foregoing description. Accordingly, it is intended to embrace all such alternatives, modifications, and variations as fall within the spirit and broad scope of the appended claims. The present invention may suitably comprise, consist or consist essentially of the elements disclosed and may be practiced in the absence of an element not disclosed. Furthermore, if there is language referring to order, such as first and second, it should be understood in an exemplary sense and not in a limiting sense. For example, it can be recognized by those skilled in the art that certain steps can be combined into a single step.

[0034] The singular forms a, an and the include plural referents, unless the context clearly dictates otherwise.

[0035] Comprising in a claim is an open transitional term which means the subsequently identified claim elements are a nonexclusive listing i.e. anything else may be additionally included and remain within the scope of comprising. Comprising is defined herein as necessarily encompassing the more limited transitional terms consisting essentially of and consisting of; comprising may therefore be replaced by consisting essentially of or consisting of and remain within the expressly defined scope of comprising.

[0036] Providing in a claim is defined to mean furnishing, supplying, making available, or preparing something. The step may be performed by any actor in the absence of express language in the claim to the contrary.

[0037] Optional or optionally means that the subsequently described event or circumstances may or may not occur. The description includes instances where the event or circumstance occurs and instances where it does not occur.

[0038] Ranges may be expressed herein as from about one particular value, and/or to about another particular value. When such a range is expressed, it is to be understood that another embodiment is from the one particular value and/or to the other particular value, along with all combinations within said range.

[0039] All references identified herein are each hereby incorporated by reference into this application in their entireties, as well as for the specific information for which each is cited.