PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a vacuum cooling device capable of cooling a cooling target article down to a before-freezing temperature equal to or lower than 5°C, and capable of cooling the cooling target article without freezing the surface of the article.SOLUTION: A vacuum cooling device comprises: a processing tank 2 accommodating therein a cooling target article 7 a temperature measuring device 12 measuring a temperature of the cooling target article 7 in the processing tank 2 and a vacuum generator 1 discharging gas in the processing tank 2, and cools the cooling target article 7 accommodated in the processing tank 2 so that the temperature of the cooling target article 7 is equal to a target cooling temperature by decompressing an interior of the processing tank 2, a slow cooling operation function for reducing a decompression speed for decompressing the interior of the processing tank 2 being provided. The vacuum cooling device performs a slow cooling operation at a time of a state in which the temperature of the cooling target article 7 is equal to or lower than 5°C and higher than the target cooling temperature. During the slow cooling operation, a vacuum pressure regulating process is executed for keeping an internal pressure of the processing tank 2 to a predetermined value, and a vacuum cooling process is executed after the vacuum pressure regulating process for increasing a degree of vacuum of the interior of the processing tank 2 in order to further reduce the temperature of the cooling target article 7.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1COPYRIGHT: (C)2016,JPO&INPIT【課題】被冷却物の温度を5℃以下の凍結前温度まで冷却することができるようにしている真空冷却装置において、被冷却物の表面を凍結させることなく冷却を行う。【解決手段】被冷却物を収容する処理槽2、処理槽内の被冷却物7の温度を計測する温度計測装置12、処理槽内の気体を排出する真空発生装置1を持ち、処理槽の内部を減圧することで、処理槽内に収容した被冷却物の温度が目標冷却温度になるように冷却を行う真空冷却装置であって、冷却運転時に処理槽内の減圧速度を低減する徐冷運転機能を設けている真空冷却装置において、被冷却物温度が5℃以下であってかつ目標冷却温度より高い状態の時に、徐冷運転を行う。徐冷運転時には処理槽内の圧力を所定の値に維持する真空圧調の工程を行い、真空圧調の工程を行った後に、被冷却物温度のさらなる低下のために処理槽内の真空度を高める真空冷却の工程を行う。【選択図】図1
