# US 2009/0260780 A1 · Method and apparatus for cooling bread just after baked

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- Number: US 2009/0260780 A1
- Document ID: US20090260780A1
- Status: Published application
- Kind: A1
- Application number: 12/092,647
- Filed: 2005-11-04
- Published: 2009-10-22
- Earliest claimed: 2005-11-04
- Assignees: Mayekawa Mfg. Co., Ltd.
- Inventors: Yoichi Katori; Toru Ota; Satoshi Tsutsumi
- Web page: https://patentgrep.com/patent/US20090260780A1

## CPC

- A21D 15/02: by cooling {, e.g. refrigeration or freezing}
- A21C 15/00: Apparatus for handling baked articles
- F25D 13/067: {with circulation of gaseous cooling fluid}
- A21D: TREATMENT OF FLOUR OR DOUGH FOR BAKING, e.g. BY ADDITION OF MATERIALS; BAKING; BAKERY PRODUCTS (preservation of flour or dough before baking A23B40/00; preservation of bakery products A23B45/00)
- A21C: MACHINES OR EQUIPMENT FOR MAKING OR PROCESSING DOUGHS; HANDLING BAKED ARTICLES MADE FROM DOUGH
- F25D: REFRIGERATORS; COLD ROOMS; ICE-BOXES; COOLING OR FREEZING APPARATUS NOT OTHERWISE PROVIDED FOR (refrigerated showcases A47F3/04; thermally-insulated vessels for domestic use A47J41/00; refrigerated vehicles, see the appropriate subclasses of classes B60 - B64; containers with thermal insulation in general B65D81/38; heat-transfer, heat-exchange or heat-storage materials, e.g. refrigerants, or materials for the production of heat or cold by chemical reactions other than by combustion C09K5/00; thermally-insulated vessels for liquefied or solidified gases F17C; air-conditioning or air-humidification F24F; refrigeration machines, plants, or systems F25B; cooling of instruments or comparable apparatus without refrigeration G12B)

## Abstract

A method and apparatus for cooling bread just after baked are proposed in which bread f just after baked is transferred on a conveyor 2 into a cooling chamber 1 and carried out therefrom after it is allowed to reside therein for a period of time needed for cooling, inside temperature of the cooling chamber is maintained at 5-20° C., hydrated air m is supplied in an upstream side part of the transfer direction of the conveyor where temperature is highest in the cooling chamber 1 to form an atmosphere of high absolute humidity around the transfer passage of the bread f by virtue of the heat of the bread f just after baked, by which the transfer space 3 surrounding the transfer passage of the conveyor 2 is rendered highly humid with relative humidity of 60% or higher, as a result, cooling time is reduced, eating quality is maintained by preventing evaporation of water from the bread while it is cooled just after it is baked, process yield is increased resulting in a reduced processing cost, temperature in the center part of the bread is properly lowered so that the bread can be cut well without developing a rough cut surface.

## Claims

### Claim 1

A method of cooling bread just after baked in which the bread just after it is baked is introduced into a cooling chamber on a conveyor to be carried out of the cooling chamber after the bread is cooled by allowing to reside therein for a period of time needed for cooling, wherein
inside temperature of said cooling chamber is maintained at 5-20° C., and
the transfer space surrounding the transfer passage of said conveyor is allowed to be a space of highly humid cooling space of relative humidity of 60% or higher by supplying hydrated air to an upstream side part of transfer direction of said conveyor where temperature is highest in the cooling chamber by virtue of the heat of the bread just after baked to form a region of high absolute humidity around the bread transferred in the cooling chamber.

### Claim 2 (depends on 1)

The method of cooling bread just after baked according to claim 1, wherein said transfer space surrounding the transfer passage of the conveyor is maintained to be of relative humidity of 90-100%.

### Claim 3

A method of cooling bread just after baked in which the bread just after it is baked is introduced into a cooling chamber on a conveyor to be carry out of the cooling chamber after the bread is cooled by allowing to reside therein for a period of time needed for cooling, wherein
said cooling chamber is partitioned into a quick cooling region maintained at a low temperature for cooling the surface of the bread quickly and a slow cooling region maintained at a temperature higher than that of said quick cooling region for cooling the center part of the bread slowly,
said bread just after baked is first introduced into said quick cooling region maintained at low temperature,
a region of high absolute humidity is formed in said quick cooling region around the bread by supplying hydrated air to an upstream side part of transfer direction of said conveyor where temperature is highest in said quick cooling region by virtue of the heat of the bread just after baked so that the bread just after baked is cooled quickly while thus allowing the transfer space surrounding the transfer passage of said conveyor to be of an atmosphere of high relative humidity,
then the bread is transferred from said quick cooling region to said slow cooling region,
a region of high absolute humidity is formed in said slow cooling region around the bread by supplying hydrated air to an upstream side part of transfer direction of said conveyor where temperature is highest in said slow cooling region by virtue of the heat of the bread just after transferred into said slow cooling region so that the bread is humidified while thus allowing the transfer space surrounding the transfer passage of said conveyor in said slow cooling region to be of an atmosphere of high relative humidity higher than that of said quick cooling region.

### Claim 4 (depends on 3)

The method of cooling bread just after baked according to claim 3, wherein
said transfer space in said quick cooling region is maintained at 5-15° C. in temperature and 60-80% in relative humidity, and
said transfer space in said slow cooling region is maintained at 15-25° C. in temperature and 80-100% in relative humidity.

### Claim 5

An apparatus for cooling bread just after baked comprising:
a cooling chamber in which cooling space is formed,
a conveyor for carrying bread just after baked placed thereon into and out of said cooling chamber, and
composed such that the bread just after baked is allowed to reside in said cooling chamber for a period of time needed for cooling by adjusting transfer speed of said conveyor, wherein are provided;
a refrigerating machine in said cooling chamber to blow out cooling air stream toward the starting position of transfer of the bread in the cooling chamber, and
a humidifier to effuse hydrated air toward an upstream side part of transfer direction of said conveyor where temperature is highest in the cooling chamber by virtue of the heat of the bread just after baked.

### Claim 6 (depends on 5)

The apparatus for cooling bread just after baked according to claim 5, wherein
said conveyor is a spiral conveyor spiraling vertically to form a transfer space to transfer the bread just after baked vertically spirally on said spiral conveyor,
said humidifier is located near the starting position of said transfer space, and
said refrigerating machine is configured so that the cooling air stream blown out from said refrigerating machine is directed from the starting position of said spiraling transfer space toward downstream thereof.

### Claim 7 (depends on 5)

The apparatus for cooling bread just after baked according to claim 5, wherein
said conveyor is a vertical conveyor,
said humidifier is located near the part where the horizontal transfer part of the conveyor just after it enters into said cooling chamber continues to the first vertical part of said conveyor, and
said refrigerating machine is configured so that the cooling air stream blown out from said refrigerating machine is directed from the entrance side of the vertical conveyor toward the exit side thereof.

### Claim 8 (depends on 5)

The apparatus for cooling bread just after baked according to claim 5, wherein
said cooling chamber is partitioned into a quick cooling region for cooling the surface of the bread quickly and a slow cooling region for cooling the center part of the bread slowly,
said conveyor is arranged such that it first enters into said quick cooling region and then advances out of the quick cooling region to enter into said slow cooling region, and
said refrigerating machine and humidifier are provided in each of said quick cooling region and slow cooling region.

### Claim 9 (depends on 8)

The apparatus for cooling bread just after baked according to claim 8, wherein said conveyor is a spiral conveyor or a vertical conveyor.