Conveyor belt cleaning apparatus for food freezing

In a freezer comprising:

• a freezing compartment having an inlet through which articles to be refrigerated enter the freezing compartment, the refrigeration supplied by a liquid cryogen and the articles refrigerated at a temperature higher than that of the liquid cryogen prior to entry of the liquid cryogen to the freezing compartment and an outlet through which the articles are discharged from the freezing compartment after having been refrigerated;
• and a porous conveyor belt for conveying the articles through the freezing compartment, from the inlet to the outlet, the porous conveyor belt accumulating ice during operation of the freezer;
• the improvement comprising:
• liquid cryogen conduit means configured to be connected to a source of the liquid cryogen for conveying a stream of the liquid cryogen into the freezing chamber;
• a vaporizer located within the freezing chamber and in communication with the liquid cryogen conduit means for vaporizing the stream of the liquid cryogen to form cryogenic vapor while said freezer is in use;
• and
• means for forming and for directing jets of the cryogenic vapor against the porous belt to clear ice accumulated on the porous belt.