JP2003199494A - Sampling device for tea leaf - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a sampling device for tea leaves simplifying a moving part and realizing easy maintenance. <P>SOLUTION: The device includes a sampling member (a movable bottom plate 12) set as freely movably to outside and inside through a window (8) of a processing chamber (a rubbing chamber 4) for the tea leaves (2) to pick up the tea leaves in the chamber, and a pressing member (a pressing board 38) liftably located on the upper face of the sampling member to press the tea leaves collected by the sampling member, and allows the tea leaves collected in the sampling member to return to the processing chamber by retreat of the sampling member. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tea leaf sampling apparatus used for measuring the water content of tea leaves during the tea making process and controlling the tea leaf manufacturing process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Generally, in order to detect the water content of tea leaves during the manufacturing process, for example, a sampling device for extracting a part of tea leaves from a kneading chamber is used. This sampling device includes, for example, the sampling device disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 3-39041, "Method for controlling tea making process by electric conductivity", and Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-155422, "Sampling device for tea leaves during tea making". .

Taking the sampling device disclosed in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 3-39041, "Method for controlling tea making process by electric conductivity" as an example, this sampling device has a wall portion 102 of a kneading chamber 100 as shown in FIG. Window part 104 opened to
A sample collection box 106 is attached by an air cylinder 108 so as to be able to move back and forth horizontally.
At the rear part of 08, a wall plate 112 for pushing out the tea leaves 110 collected in the sample collecting box 106 to the kneading chamber 100 side.
Is attached by an air cylinder 114 so as to be able to move forward and backward. An electrode 116 for detecting the electric conductivity of the tea leaf 110 is installed on the bottom surface of the sample collection box 106, and a pressure plate 118 for pressing the tea leaf 110 detects the temperature of the tea leaf 110 on the upper side thereof. Temperature sensor 12
It is attached so as to be able to move forward and backward together with the air cylinder 122.

In such a sampling device, as shown in FIG. 8 (A), the sample collection box 1 is provided on the kneading chamber 100 side.
The extrusion wall plate 112 is pushed out together with 06, and the kneading chamber 10
After collecting the tea leaves 110 that have fallen into the sample collection box 106 that has advanced to 0, as shown in FIG. 7, the sample collection box 106 and the extrusion wall plate 112 are retracted to collect the tea leaves 110 that have been collected. By pressing down the pressure plate 118 with the air cylinder 122, the tea leaf 110 is pressed against the electrode 116, and the electrical conductivity is detected. When the detection is completed, as shown in FIG.
2 is pushed again to the kneading chamber 100 side by the air cylinder 114, so that the detected tea leaves 110 are kneaded in the kneading chamber 100.
I try to put it back inside.

[0005]

By the way, in such a sampling device, the sampling box 106 and the pushing wall plate 112 are independently moved forward or backward, that is, at the same time, only the pushing wall plate 112 is moved forward or backward selectively. Since the structure is such that it requires independent air cylinders 108 and 114 as its driving means, a movable mechanism that independently and movably supports the sample collection box 106 and the extrusion wall plate 112 is required. However, there is a problem that the structure and advance / retreat control are complicated, and failure is likely to occur.

Further, when the pushing wall plate 112 pushes out the tea leaves 110, the gap is small and high so that the tea leaves 110 are not caught between the pushing wall plate 112 and the inner wall portion of the sampling box 106. It is necessary to set the accuracy, and there is a problem in maintenance management that cleaning is difficult when the tea leaves 110 and tea astringent are accumulated.

Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a tea leaf sampling apparatus that simplifies the movable part and facilitates maintenance management.

[0008]

The constitution of the tea leaf sampling apparatus of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is as follows.

The tea leaf sampling apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1 is the window portion (8) of the processing chamber (rubbing chamber 4) of the tea leaf (2).
And a sample member (movable bottom plate 12) which is provided so as to be able to move back and forth in and out of the processing chamber to take out the tea leaves from the processing chamber,
A tea leaf collected on the sample member, including a pressing member (pressing plate 38) installed on the upper surface of the sample member so as to be vertically movable and pressing the tea leaf collected on the sample member onto the sample member. Can be returned to the processing chamber side by retracting the sample member.

A tea leaf sampling apparatus according to a second aspect of the present invention is the tea leaf sampling apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein the sample member opposes a falling direction of the tea leaf moving in the processing chamber. It is characterized by being slanted.

A tea leaf sampling apparatus according to a third aspect of the present invention is the tea leaf sampling apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention. A microstrip line 30) is installed.

A tea leaf sampling apparatus according to a fourth aspect of the present invention is the tea leaf sampling apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a microstrip line (30) is provided on the surface of the sample member. To do.

A tea leaf sampling apparatus according to a fifth aspect of the present invention is characterized in that, in the tea leaf sampling apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, an air cylinder (18) is used as a driving means for the sample member. To do.

A tea leaf sampling apparatus according to a sixth aspect of the present invention is the tea leaf sampling apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, characterized in that an air cylinder (40) is used as a driving means of the pressing member. To do.

A tea leaf sampling apparatus according to a seventh aspect of the present invention is the tea leaf sampling apparatus according to the first aspect of the present invention, wherein when the pressing member is retracted, the sample member is advanced to the processing chamber side. Then, the tea leaves are collected, and when the sample member is advanced into the processing chamber, the pressing member is advanced to press the tea leaves on the sample member.

With the above-mentioned structure, the movable mechanism is simplified, and the movable part for collecting tea leaves is only the sample member.
Maintenance management becomes easy.

[0017]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the examples shown in the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of the tea leaf sampling apparatus of the present invention. For example, a kneading chamber 4 is installed as a processing chamber for drying the tea leaves 2 in the tea making process, and a housing unit 10 of the sampling device is installed outside a window 8 provided on a side wall 6 of the kneading chamber 4. There is.

A movable bottom plate 12 is provided as a sample member on the lower surface side of the casing unit 10 so as to be able to move in and out from the window 8 of the kneading chamber 4, and the movable bottom plate 12 is
It is attached to a fixed plate 16 fixed to the side wall 14 of the housing unit 10 via an air cylinder 18 which is a driving means. That is, in this embodiment, the fixed portion 20 of the movable bottom plate 12 is attached to the cylinder side of the air cylinder 18, and the air cylinder 1 is attached to the fixed plate 16 fixed to the side wall 14.
The fixed portion 24 on the front end side of the plunger 22 of No. 8 is fixed. The state of FIG. 1 is the plunger 2 of the air cylinder 18.
2, the movable bottom plate 12 is standing by backward. Therefore, when the plunger 22 of the air cylinder 18 is retracted to the cylinder side, the movable bottom plate 12 advances to the inside through the window portion 8 of the kneading chamber 4 by that amount.
The alternate long and two short dashes line indicates the state where the movable bottom plate 12 has finally advanced.

The movable bottom plate 12 is made of an insulating material such as acrylic, and a detector 26 for detecting the water content of the tea leaves 2 is installed on the upper surface of the movable bottom plate 12, for example. This detector 26 is provided with a cover member 28, for example, as shown in FIG.
In addition, the movable bottom plate 12 is provided with a microstrip line 30 as a detection element for detecting the water content of the tea leaves 2 by microwave attenuation. The microstrip line 30 is covered with a protective film 32 for surface protection.

Further, at the position where the movable bottom plate 12 stands by backward, a rear wall plate 34 is installed in a direction orthogonal to the movable bottom plate 12 at a position matching the front end side of the movable bottom plate 12. The rear wall plate 34 is attached to the side wall 14 of the housing unit 10 independently of the movable bottom plate 12.
That is, the rear wall plate 34 and the movable bottom plate 12 (the position shown by the chain double-dashed line) that has moved to the window portion 8 side together with the sampling chamber
To form.

A pressing plate 38 is provided above the sampling chamber 36 as a pressing member capable of advancing and retracting the tea leaves 2 sampled on the movable bottom plate 12.
The pressing plate 38 is attached to the fixed portion 44 at the tip of the plunger 42 of the air cylinder 40 attached to the side wall 14 of the housing unit 10. Also, the pressing plate 38
A shield plate 46 is attached as a means for preventing the tea leaves 2 from entering through the window 8 when the tea leaves 2 descend.

The sampling control device for controlling this sampling device has, for example, as shown in FIG. 3, a microprocessor as a control means and an RO as a storage means.
A control device 48 including M, RAM and the like is provided, and the control device 48 controls the air cylinders 18 and 40, controls the detector 26, and processes detection data. The control device 48 includes an operation switch 50 and another control system 5
2 is connected, its drive is switched by operating the operation switch 50, and another control system 52 is connected.
A control output based on the control of the air cylinders 18 and 40 and the detected data is generated by a command from the. That is, the moisture detection of the tea leaves 2 is executed by a command from the other control system 52, and the detection data representing the water content obtained by the detector 26 is used for controlling the heating temperature of the tea leaves 2 in the other control system 52. .

The operation of such a sampling device will be described.

As shown in FIG. 4A, the movable bottom plate 1
2 is advanced into the kneading chamber 4 through the window 8 and the sampling chamber 36 is formed on the window 8 side of the kneading chamber 4, the movable bottom plate 12
The tea leaves 2 that fly and fall in the kneading chamber 4 are received by the movable bottom plate 12 as shown by the arrow a, that is, the upper surface of the movable bottom plate 12, that is, the sampling chamber 36. Deposit on. This sampling is continuously performed for a predetermined time, and when a predetermined amount of tea leaves 2 are accumulated,
As indicated by the arrow b in (B), the pressing plate 38 is lowered by the air cylinder 40, and the tea leaves 2 accumulated on the upper surface of the movable bottom plate 12 are pressed with a predetermined pressure. In this state, the water content of the tea leaves 2 is detected.

At this time, the shielding plate 46 together with the pressing plate 38.
Since the rear side of the pressing plate 38 is shielded from the window portion 8 because it is descending, the falling tea leaves 2 do not enter the rear side of the pressing plate 38. That is, the movable part such as the plunger 42 of the air cylinder 40 is protected from the tea leaves 2.

When this moisture detection processing is completed, as shown by the arrow c in FIG. 5C, the pressing plate 38 is returned to the original position before pressurization, and then the arrow d in FIG. 5D. As shown in, the air cylinder 18 is operated to retract the movable bottom plate 12. When the movable bottom plate 12 is retracted, the tea leaves 2 tend to move rearward together with the movable bottom plate 12, but since there is the rear wall plate 34, only the tea leaves 2 are blocked, and as shown by the arrow e, the sampling chamber 36 Then, the tea leaves 2 are returned to the inside of the kneading chamber 4. At this time, the movable bottom plate 12 retracts.
Then, since the movable bottom plate 12 slides in a state of being in contact with or not in contact with the lower end face of the rear wall plate 34, the tea leaves 2 and the tea astringent accumulated on the surface of the movable bottom plate 12 will be transferred to the lower end face of the rear wall plate 34. It is scraped off toward the kneading chamber 4 side, and the upper surface of the movable bottom plate 12 is cleaned.

Then, as shown in FIG. 6E, when the movable bottom plate 12 is retracted to the final position, the tea leaves 2 are surely returned from the sampling chamber 36 to the kneading chamber 4, and the sampling process and the moisture detection process are performed. Complete and wait. From this state, upon receiving the sampling command and the moisture detection command, the processes of (A) to (E) of FIG. 4 are repeated.

According to this structure, the movable part can be composed of only the movable bottom plate 12 and the pressing plate 38, and its driving means can be composed of the two air cylinders 18 and 40, which simplifies the movable part. At the same time, ease of maintenance management can be realized.

The air cylinder 18 side may be composed of two air cylinders.

Further, in the embodiment, the case where the microwave is used as the means for detecting the water content of the tea leaf 2 has been described, but an electrode pair is installed on the upper surface of the movable bottom plate 12 to determine the electric conductivity of the deposited tea leaf. You may make it measure.

[0032]

As described above, according to the present invention,
In addition to simplifying the moving mechanism, the only moving part for collecting tea leaves is the sample member. It can be facilitated.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view showing an embodiment of a tea leaf sampling apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a side view showing a sample member.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram showing a sampling controller.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing sampling and pressing of tea leaves.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing the release of pressing of tea leaves and the start of discharging tea leaves.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing a process of discharging tea leaves.

FIG. 7 is a diagram showing a conventional tea leaf sampling device.

FIG. 8 is a diagram showing an operation of the tea leaf sampling apparatus.

[Explanation of symbols]

2 tea leaves 4 massage room (processing room) 8 windows 12 Movable bottom plate (sample member) 26 Detector (Detector) 28, 40 Air cylinder 30 microstrip line (detector) 38 Pressing plate (pressing member)

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A sample member that is provided so as to be able to move in and out from a window portion of a tea leaf processing chamber and take out the tea leaf from the processing chamber; and a sample member that is installed on the upper surface of the sample member so as to be vertically movable. A pressing member that presses the collected tea leaves onto the sample member, and that allows the tea leaves collected in the sample member to be returned to the processing chamber side by retracting the sample member. A characteristic tea leaf sampling device. 2. The tea leaf sampling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the sample member is slanted so as to face the falling direction of the tea leaf moving in the processing chamber. 3. The tea leaf sampling apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a detection unit for detecting electric conductivity, which is provided on a surface of the sample member. 4. The tea leaf sampling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a microstrip line is provided on the surface of the sample member. 5. The tea leaf sampling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an air cylinder is used as a driving means for the sample member. 6. The tea leaf sampling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein an air cylinder is used as a driving means for the pressing member. 7. When the pressing member is retracted, the sample member is advanced toward the processing chamber to collect the tea leaves, and when the sample member is advanced into the processing chamber, the pressing member is moved. The tea leaf sampling apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the tea leaf is pushed forward to press the tea leaf on the sample member.