Mii, Inc.

Makoto Takehara

Shuji Morimoto

Masato Kobayashi

A freeze-dried product continuously manufactured by being dried while smoothly moving in a state of receiving a mechanical force in a freeze-drying apparatus. The freeze-drying apparatusincludes a freezing unitfor producing a frozen substance by spraying a raw material solution; and a drying unitfor drying the frozen substance. The drying unithas a tubular shape and includes a tubular memberkept in a vacuum state, and a spiral wall or groove portion is formed on an inner wall of the tubular membercontinuously in a longitudinal direction of the tubular member. A heat is transferred to the inner wall of the tubular memberand the spiral wall or groove portion. The tubular memberis configured to be rotated to transfer the freeze-dried product in the longitudinal direction of the tubular memberand sublimate or dry the freeze-dried product. A flow-start angle is less than 44 degrees or a repose angle is less than 55 degrees and larger than the flow-start angle, and a residual amount is 3 g or less with respect to 10 g of the raw material solution fed into freeze-drying apparatus when a length of the tubular memberis 30 cm in the longitudinal direction.

Freeze-dried product

Provided are a vacuum freeze-drying apparatus and a method capable of continuously performing vacuum freeze-drying in a short time. A vacuum freeze-drying apparatusof this invention having an exhaust path for performing vacuum suction, while a drying devicecomprises a tubular memberprovided an inlet portion and an outlet portion formed of a tubular shape, a temperature adjusting meanstoprovided in a plurality of regions formed from the inlet portion toward the outlet portion in a peripheral portion of the tubular memberwherein the plurality of regions are at least three or more regions whose temperature is capable of being controlled, for adjusting temperatures of a plurality of regionstoin outer surface of the tubular member, a temperature control unitfor independently controlling the temperature adjusting means, and a rotating portionfor rotating the tubular member, wherein the tubular memberhas a spiral transfer meanscontinuously provided adjacent to an inner wall of the tubular member from the inlet portion toward the outlet portion, and the transfer meanstransfers the frozen substance sequentially to locations corresponding to the plurality of regions in the tubular member so as to continuously sublimate and dry.

Vacuum freeze-drying apparatus and vacuum freeze-drying method

Provided is a vacuum freeze-drying apparatus, having a drying deviceprovided with an inlet portion and an outlet portion and comprising a tubular memberformed of a tubular shape, a temperature adjusting meanstoprovided in a plurality of regionstoin a direction from the inlet portion to the outlet portion in a peripheral portion of the tubular member for adjusting a temperature of the plurality of regions in an outer surface of the tubular member, a temperature control unitfor independently controlling the temperature adjusting means, and a rotating portionfor rotating the tubular member, wherein the tubular member has a spiral transfer meansfor transferring the frozen substance entering from the inlet portion sequentially to locations corresponding to the plurality of regions in the tubular member to continuously sublimate and dry the frozen substance.

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Osaka, Japan

Makoto Takehara