JP2003205248A - Batch washing/flowing method - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the amount of crushed rice by combining washing work with minute bubble-containing water with work by using compressed air namely, by gentle washing work and slowly flowing work when rice is washed and flowed, to save a city water cost and to shorten the time necessary for a installation work. <P>SOLUTION: The powdery or nubble object to be washed is washed in an airtight vessel 2 by using the prescribed amount of minute bubble-containing water according to a bubble flotation principal. The water dirtied by washing work is discharged by opening a stop valve S<SB>4</SB>arranged on the side wall of the lower part of the vessel 2 and injecting the compressed air into the vessel 2 from the upper part of the vessel 2. The washed object is sent to the next stage through a sending pipe 7 together with the injected air by closing the valve S<SB>4</SB>, opening a sending stop valve M<SB>2</SB>and injecting the compressed air into the vessel 2 from the upper part of the vessel. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2003,JPO

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to grains such as milled rice, seaweed, cut vegetables, salmon roe, oysters and other fish and shellfish.
The present invention relates to a batch-type washing and feeding method and apparatus used for washing granular or small lump-shaped articles and for feeding them to the next step.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art As a granular or small lump article as described above,
In particular, in the case of washing typical rice, conventionally, the washing method is usually performed by using water pressure and water flow. After washing rice, use water pressure and water flow to dip a tank in the next step. The rice was sent, soaked in a dipping tank, and then a predetermined amount was put into a rice cooker by a measuring and cutting device.

FIG. 2 shows an example of the above conventional rice washing method.
As shown in the figure, the dipping tank 21 and the rice washing machine 22 are separately installed, the rice washing tank 25 is housed in the rice washing water tank 23 of the rice washing machine 22, and the pump 27 generates water pressure and water flow in the water in the rice washing water tank 23. The rice is washed from the hopper at the bottom of the rice washing tank 25 through the ejector 26, and the washing water is sent through the pipe 28. A three-way valve 29 is installed on the way to circulate the rice to the rice washing tank 25 through the pipe 28. Rice piping 30
It is configured so that the rice feeding process for feeding washed rice to the dipping tank 21 can be sequentially switched. The dipping tank 21 and the rice washing water tank 23 are filled with water in advance, and the rice sending pump 27 is operated to operate the dipping tank. The water pressure and water flow to 21 are generated, and after the water flow is generated, the milled rice is put into the rice washing machine 22, and the three-way valve 29 is switched to block the rice feeding to the dipping tank 21 for 2 to 3 minutes. After washing the rice by circulation and switching the three-way valve 29 after finishing the washing, the washed rice washed in the rice washing machine 22 is mixed with water pressure and water flow and sent to the dipping tank 21 through the rice sending pipe 30. The soaked rice 21a that has settled down is cut out in a predetermined amount by the measuring and cutting device 33 and is supplied to the rice cooker 35 through the opening / closing valve 34.

At this time, the water 21b separated into the upper part in the dipping tank 21 is appropriately returned to the rice washing water tank 23 through the return water pipe 31. Further, since the dirty water for washing rice is discharged through the drain pipe 32, the water supply pipe 24 for the washing water tank 23
Water supply is continuing.

However, the above-mentioned water pressure and water-flow rinsing method using pump pressure has various problems as described below. That is, (a) the loss rate of polished rice flowing out during the rice washing operation is about 2 to 3%, and the larger the rice is cooked, the larger the loss. (B) When transferring the washed rice to the next step, the immersion tank,
Since milled rice, which has become brittle due to rapid water absorption at the initial stage, is sent with a strong water pressure and water flow, crushed rice occurs, which causes deterioration of cooked rice quality. (C) It is difficult to finely adjust the performance of washing rice, and therefore it tends to be washed more than necessary, and a large amount of water is used, and the nutrients of rice flow out and the taste is deteriorated. (D) Sludge-like or carbon-like foreign matter that has accumulated and adhered to various places such as the pumps and piping of the rice washing machine will be the cause of complaints. And so on. Therefore, in order to improve it, it has been proposed that the milled rice be directly put into the dipping tank and the rice be washed with highly-concentrated oxygen bubble water containing high-concentration oxygen bubbles in the tank.

In this rice washing method, usually, a plurality of dipping tanks are arranged in parallel, water is filled in each dipping tank in advance, and a high-concentration oxygen bubble generator is operated to generate ultrafine bubbles in the dipping tank. In this method, unwashed rice is washed directly into the dipping tank, or rice that has been washed a little compared to the conventional method is added, and the rice is washed with high-concentration oxygen bubbling water in the tank.

[0007]

Compared with the conventional method, this method of washing rice with fine aerated water causes air bubbles to adhere to the entire rice bran of milled rice, adsorbs dirt and reduces the incidence of broken rice, which reduces
The water used for washing rice becomes rice-friendly, which improves the quality of rice cooked to the minimum required, and it is possible to expect a significant reduction in water charges and at the same time a reduction in drainage costs. However, since it is one-way water flow, it has the advantage that sludge-like foreign matter is completely eliminated and cleaning and maintenance of pumps and piping as in conventional equipment is unnecessary, but the immersion tank is relatively high. Since it is located in place, it is necessary to send it by some means.
The method of sending by using a water stream was generally used. However, the water pressure and water flow require a large amount of water at a ratio of about 10 to 1 rice, and since the flow velocity is high, the rice collided with the pipes and the like, which was a factor of rice breakage.

The present invention copes with the above-mentioned situation, and pays particular attention to a combination of gentle washing of rice in a closed container with fine bubble water and a gentle flow of air by injecting compressed air into the container. The purpose is to reduce the occurrence of broken rice to a great extent, to significantly reduce water and sewerage charges, to enable the use of soft hoses, etc. in the flow pipe, to shorten the installation work time, and to reduce costs. To do.

[0009]

In order to meet the above-mentioned object, the present invention is to wash and send a granular or small lump-like object to be washed, and to store the object to be washed in a closed container. Inject a predetermined amount of fine bubble water into the container to wash the above-mentioned object to be washed by using the floating and separation of bubbles that have adsorbed the dirt, and open the drainage opening / closing valve at the bottom of the container for the dirty water. By injecting compressed air from the upper part of the container to drain it with its air pressure, then close the drain opening / closing valve, open another flow opening / closing valve at the lower end of the container, and inject compressed air from the upper part of the container as well. Then, depending on the air pressure, the object to be cleaned is sent from the lower end of the container to the next step through a sending pipe connected to the lower end together with a small amount of water. In addition, in the above-mentioned flow, the pressure can be adjusted by the compressed air injection amount, and the flow rate can be controlled, which is preferable.

A third aspect of the present invention is an example of an apparatus for carrying out the above-mentioned cleaning and feeding method, which comprises: a hopper for introducing an object to be washed; a closed container connected to the lower part of the hopper through an opening / closing valve; and a lower end of the closed container. It is equipped with a flow pipe that is connected with a flow opening / closing valve and that feeds the cleaning product to the next process.The closed container has a drain pipe connected to the lower side wall via the drain opening / closing valve, and an internal center part. Accepting the oxygen-dissolved water injected from the oxygen-dissolved water supply pipe on the lower side wall of the container leaving a space above and below, separating the fine bubbles,
A convection jet tube that floats and causes convection in the container is arranged, and a compressed air injection pipe is connected to the top lid of the container with an opening / closing valve. Here, if a compressed air injection pipe equipped with an on-off valve is also connected to the lower side wall of the closed container so that compressed air can be injected also from the lower side wall of the container during drainage, it is effective for rapid discharge of sewage. . Further, it is also preferable to provide an overflow water storage chamber for storing water overflowing between the upper lid and the upper lid of the closed container via the perforated plate so that the water is drained by operating the opening / closing valve.

[0011]

In the cleaning and feeding by the above-described cleaning and feeding device of the present invention, first, the material to be cleaned is put into the closed container from the raw material hopper and the on-off valve is closed to form the closed pressurized container. Therefore, when a predetermined amount of fine bubble water in which oxygen or air is dissolved is injected into the same container, the base broom stain is attached and separated and floated according to the separation and floating principle of the bubbles, and cleaning is performed. At this time, air or water is introduced from the lower part of the convection jet tube to cause convection in order to efficiently separate and float the fine bubbles attached to the object to be cleaned and enhance the cleaning efficiency.

When the waste water is drained after cleaning, only the drain on-off valve is opened and the other on-off valves are closed to allow drainage. At this time, compressed air is supplied from the compressed air injection pipe to drain the waste water. Promote. On the other hand, when sending the washed article to the next step, after draining, only the sending on-off valve is opened and the compressed air is gradually injected from the compressed air injection pipe on the upper part to gradually flow the inside of the exhaust pipe. Pump relatively quietly. It should be noted that continuous operation can be performed by installing a plurality of washing and sending devices having the same structure and operating them alternately.

[0013]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Specific embodiments of the method and apparatus of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the apparatus for carrying out the cleaning and feeding method of the present invention shown in the accompanying drawings.

FIG. 1 shows one embodiment of the device according to the present invention.
In the figure, two units A and B of the present invention are arranged side by side, but since both have the same configuration, only one unit A of them will be described below.

In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a hopper for inputting articles to be washed, for example, grains such as milled rice, seaweeds, cut vegetables and fish and shellfish such as salmon roe, oysters, etc., at the bottom thereof. Is connected to a closed container 2 closed by an upper lid portion 3 via an automatic opening / closing valve M ₁ , and when the automatic opening / closing valve M ₁ is opened, the closed container 2 becomes an open container and can be loaded with a cleaning object. At the same time, it can be cleaned as a closed container when closed.

The closed container 2 is provided with an overflow water storage chamber 5 for accommodating water overflowing through a perforated plate 6 such as a punching metal on the outer circumference of the closed container, and is drainable via an on-off valve S _3. inside the center convection for jet pipe 4 leaving the space it is disposed vertically, and the drainage pipe 8 is connected through a such a perforated plate 6 'and the drain-off valve S ₄ of the punching metal on the side wall of the lower At the same time, the lower end is connected with a flow pipe 7 such as a dipping tank 16 for feeding the cleaning product to the next step, which is provided with a flow opening / closing valve M ₂ .

The convection jet tube 4 causes convection in the container 2 in order to efficiently separate fine bubbles adhering to the object to be cleaned, and oxygen bubbles introduced from the lower portion into the pipe are dissolved into fine bubbles. The water is received as indicated by the arrow and discharged from the upper part to the outside of the tube for reflux. The fine bubble water in which the oxygen is dissolved is generated by the fine bubble generator including the water supply tank 9, the oxygen generator 11 and the oxygen dissolving tank 10 installed adjacent to the closed container 2, and is supplied from the water supply tank 9. Oxygen generated in the oxygen generator 11 is mixed with water and introduced into the oxygen dissolution tank 10 by the pump P to form oxygen dissolution water, and the oxygen dissolution water is sealed from the dissolution tank 10 through a pipe b equipped with an on-off valve S _5. It is introduced from the lower side wall of the container 2 into the vicinity of the lower part of the convection jet tube 4 inside.

On the other hand, a compressed air injection system including a compressor 12 and an air tank 13 is connected to the upper part of the closed container 2, and the oxygen generator 11 described above is provided on the way to the air tank 13.
So that compressed air is generated in the air tank 13 through the on-off valve S ₆ by introducing oxygen partially, and the compressed air can be injected from the upper pipe a into the closed container 2 by the operation of the on-off valve S _1. It has become.

Further, the compressed air injection system is the closed container 2 described above.
The on-off valve S ₂ is branched from the pipe a leading to the upper part and passed through the pipe c.
Can be injected from the lower side wall of the closed container 2 to accelerate the drainage of water from the drain pipe 8 after cleaning or to promote introduction of oxygen-dissolved water into the convection jet pipe 4. . In the figure, 14 is a pressure switch and 15 is a pressure gauge.

Although the structure of one of the cleaning and sending devices A has been described above, the cleaning and sending devices B having the same structure are installed in parallel and alternately operated as shown in the drawing to perform the cleaning and sending work. Can be continuously performed.

Next, a cleaning and feeding method using the above apparatus will be described. First, the automatic opening / closing valve M ₁ at the bottom of the hopper 1 is opened, and the object to be cleaned is put into the lower closed container 2, and when the predetermined amount is charged, the opening / closing valve M ₁ is closed and the container 2 is changed to the closed container. To do. In this state, fine air bubble water in which oxygen or air is dissolved is injected into the closed container 2 from below,
The container 2 is filled with the same fine bubble water, and the fine bubble water is introduced into the jet tube 4 in the central portion from the lower part of the container,
While washing convection in the inside, wash the granular or small objects such as grains, vegetables, seaweeds, seafood, etc. by the washing method applying the air bubble separation and floating principle. It should be noted that, during cleaning, the fine bubbles adhered to the object to be cleaned by convection attach dirt and efficiently separate and float. Then, when the cleaning progresses and the action is completed, it is necessary to rapidly discharge the contaminated water in the container 2, and therefore, the drainage on-off valve S ₄
Opening only the other on-off valve and closing the other on-off valve to open the on-off valve S ₁ for injecting compressed air in the upper part to supply compressed air from the valve, pressurize with air pressure and drain from the lower part. An open / close valve S for injecting compressed air on the lower side wall of the closed container 2 to promote drainage.
It is also possible to open ₂ as necessary and supply compressed air through a branched pipe c.

When the object to be cleaned is washed in this way and the dirt during cleaning is discharged, a small amount of oxygen-dissolved water or fresh water is injected into the closed container ₂ to open the lower automatic opening / closing valve M ₂ . The other on-off valves are all closed, and the upper on-off valve S ₁ is opened in the same manner as described above to gradually supply compressed air to relatively quietly pass the cleaning material through the flow pipe 7 to the immersion tank 16 of the next step. Send by pressure.

Thus, the object to be cleaned is gently cleaned by the fine bubble water in the object to be cleaned 2, while the contaminated water can be quickly discharged by the air pressure, and at the time of the flow after cleaning, the closed container 2 By gradually injecting compressed air into the container by operating the on-off valve, a relatively gentle flow of even a small amount of water is possible. When washing rice, the amount of water used is conventionally 7 to 8 However, it can be sent with a small amount of water such as about 1 water to 1 rice. The flow rate can be controlled by adjusting the amount of compressed air injected and adjusting the pressure, and by slowing the flow rate, it is possible to greatly reduce the occurrence of broken rice during washing.

[0024]

As described above, according to the present invention, the inside of the closed container is washed with fine air bubble water, compressed air is injected into the container by the operation of the opening / closing valve, and the water contaminated by the air pressure is discharged. In addition, the cleaning product is sent to the next process from the lower end, and the convection of fine bubble water promotes the separation and floating action of fine bubbles to improve the cleaning effect, and the cleaning wastewater is forcibly discharged by air pressure. , It is possible to wash for a short time, and because the air pressure by compressed air is used with almost no water when sending it, the amount of water required for washing rice is about 1.5 per 1 rice, This is a significant reduction, and it has the remarkable effect of being able to significantly reduce water and sewerage charges.

In addition, since there is no circulation of used water as in the conventional case during the cleaning and flow, there is no risk of sludge accumulation in each pipe or contamination of foreign matters, which was frequently caused by the circulation of a part of waste water. Extrusion method using compressed air makes it possible to send a soft hose etc., which shortens the installation work time and reduces costs. In addition, cleaning and sending are gentle and damage to the object to be washed is small. Especially, in washing rice, it has an effect that the generation of broken rice can be extremely reduced, and the yield can be improved and the quality of cooked rice thereafter can be improved. In addition, according to the present invention, since the cleaning function and the feeding function are integrated, the installation space is small, and there is also an advantage that the rice can be washed and fed in the unit of one rice cooker when cooking rice.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a schematic view showing an example of a batch-type cleaning and feeding apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a schematic diagram of a conventional device for washing rice with water pressure and water flow.

[Explanation of symbols]

A, B washing and sending device 1 hopper 2 closed container 3 Top lid of airtight container 4 Convection jet tube 5 Overflow storage room 6 Perforated plate 7 flow pipe 8 drainage pipes 9 water tank 10 oxygen dissolution tank 11 oxygen generator 12 compressor 13 Air tank 16 immersion tank a Compressed air injection pipe b Oxygen-dissolved water supply pipe

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A granular or small lump-shaped object to be cleaned is housed in a closed container, and a predetermined amount of fine bubble water is injected to clean the object to be cleaned by a method utilizing floating separation of bubbles adsorbing dirt. , Open the drainage opening / closing valve at the bottom of the container and drain the dirty water at the air pressure by injecting compressed air from the top of the container, and then close the drainage opening / closing valve to send the water at the bottom of the container. By opening the on-off valve and injecting compressed air from the upper part of the container as well, it is possible to send the object to be cleaned together with a small amount of water to the next process through the flow pipe connected to the lower end of the container according to the air pressure. Characteristic batch type cleaning and feeding method. 2. The batch-type cleaning and feeding method according to claim 1, wherein the feeding rate is controlled by adjusting the pressure by the injection amount of compressed air. 3. A hopper for introducing an object to be cleaned, a closed container connected to a lower part of the hopper via an opening / closing valve, and a lower part of the closed container having a flow opening / closing valve for connection, which is connected to the next step for cleaning the product. The closed container is equipped with a flow pipe, and a drain pipe is connected to the lower side wall of the closed container via a drain opening / closing valve, and an oxygen-dissolved water supply pipe on the lower side wall of the container leaving a space above and below in the inner central part. There is a convection jet tube that accepts the injected oxygen-dissolved water from below, separates and floats the fine bubbles to cause convection in the container, and the container top lid is equipped with an on-off valve. A batch-type cleaning / flowing device, wherein a compressed air injection pipe is connected. 4. The batch-type cleaning and feeding apparatus according to claim 3, wherein a compressed air injection pipe having an opening / closing valve is also connected to a lower side wall of the closed container. 5. An overflow container for accommodating water that overflows through a perforated plate is provided between the outer periphery of the upper part of the closed container and the upper lid, and the open / close valve is actuated to discharge the water. Batch-type cleaning and feeding device.