JP2004033169A - Tea pulverizing apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a tea pulverizing apparatus to prevent the operation of a mortar in an empty state to improve the productivity of tea powder and prevent the abrasion of the mortar. <P>SOLUTION: This tea pulverizing apparatus is provided with a funnel 1 to charge tea leaves, a mortar 2 to grind the tea leaves supplied from the funnel 1 and a rotation drive mechanism 3 to rotate an upper mortar 20 constituting the mortar 2. The apparatus is further provided with a stirring mechanism 5 to stir the tea leaves charged into the funnel 1. The stirring mechanism 5 has a stirring member 50 rotating according to the motion of the tea leaves in the funnel 1 and a controlling mechanism 6 to periodically stop the follower rotation of the stirring member 50. The tea leaves in the funnel 1 is stirred by periodically stopping the stirring member 50. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a tea powder producing apparatus for producing powdered tea powder such as matcha by grinding tea leaves with a stone mill.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there have been proposed various tea powder producing apparatuses for producing matcha by grinding tea leaves with a stone mill. As shown in FIG. 8, this tea flour manufacturing apparatus has a funnel 71 for charging tea leaves 74 as a raw material of matcha, and a tea funnel 71 for grinding tea leaves 74 supplied from a lower end opening 71 a of the funnel 71. It comprises a millstone 72 and a rotation drive mechanism (not shown) for rotating an upper mill 72a provided above the millstone 72 with respect to a lower mill 72b. The tea leaves 74 are supplied into the stone mill 72 sequentially from the portion 71a, and the upper mill 72a and the lower mill 72b are ground to make the tea leaves 74 into a powdery state.
[0003]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, since the conventional funnel 71 is configured to rotate integrally with the upper mill 72a, the centrifugal force causes the tea leaves 74 to be pressed against the inner wall surface of the funnel 71 and not to be discharged from the lower end opening 71a. May be caused. In addition, since the tea leaves 74 put into the funnel 71 have a lightweight and complicated shape, they may overlap with each other as they are guided to the lower end opening 71a of the funnel 71, which may cause a clogging phenomenon. is there. Then, once the clogging phenomenon is caused, a state where the tea leaves 74 are not supplied into the millstone 72 (an empty mill state) is caused, and not only the production amount of matcha and the like is significantly reduced, but also the millstone 70 is damaged. It could be the cause.
[0004]
Accordingly, the present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and by preventing the occurrence of an air mortar state, it is possible to improve the production amount of tea powder and to manufacture a tea powder capable of preventing abrasion of a stone mortar and the like. It is intended to provide a device.
[0005]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
That is, in the present invention, in order to solve the above problems, a funnel for feeding tea leaves, a stone mill consisting of an upper mill and a lower mill that grind the tea leaves supplied from the funnel, and at least the upper mill or the lower mill. A rotary drive mechanism for rotating one of them, and a stirring mechanism for stirring tea leaves put in the funnel. This eliminates the clogging of tea leaves in the funnel and prevents the mortar condition, thereby improving the production of tea powder and preventing the abrasion of the stone mortar, and eliminating the need to manually check the condition of the mortar. To be able to reduce costs.
[0006]
Further, as the stirring mechanism, preferably, a mechanism for driving a stirring member which comes into contact with the tea leaves supplied into the funnel so as to have a relative rotation angle different from that of the funnel is provided. That is, as a stirring mechanism, various methods including a method of vibrating a funnel and a method of lifting tea leaves in a funnel and stirring them up and down can be considered, but according to a method of vibrating tea leaves, etc. There is a risk of spilling from the funnel. On the other hand, if the stirrer is driven to stir so that the relative rotation angles are different, stirring the tea leaves from inside the funnel as compared to a method of vibrating the funnel or a method of lifting tea leaves in the funnel and stirring up and down. It becomes possible to stir without worrying about spilling.
[0007]
As the mechanism for driving the stirring member so that the relative rotation speeds thereof are different, a control mechanism for periodically or irregularly stopping the funnel and the stirring member driven and rotated together with the tea leaves supplied in the funnel is used. . According to this structure, the tea leaves in the funnel can be stirred only by stopping the stirring member inserted into the tea leaves, and the cavity can be prevented with a simpler structure. .
[0008]
Further, the control mechanism is used as a mechanism for stopping a stirring member provided corresponding to a plurality of funnels. With this configuration, the device can be configured relatively inexpensively as compared with the case where a control mechanism is provided for each funnel.
[0009]
The stirring member is provided so as to be detachable from the funnel. With such a configuration, the stirring member can be replaced with one having various shapes, and an optimum stirring member can be appropriately selected and attached. Further, by providing a structure in which the stirring member can be removed, it is possible to secure a work space necessary for the work of removing the funnel, and it becomes possible to efficiently replace the funnel.
[0010]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. As shown in FIGS. 1 to 7, a matcha producing apparatus 100 as one embodiment of the tea flour producing apparatus of the present invention has a funnel 1 for charging tea leaves as a raw material of matcha, and a lower end opening of the funnel 1. A stone mill 2 composed of an upper mill 20 and a lower mill 21 for grinding the tea leaves supplied from the unit 10, a rotation drive mechanism 3 for rotating the upper mill 20, and a stirring mechanism for stirring the tea leaves supplied into the funnel 1. 5 is provided. The stirring mechanism 5 is inserted into the funnel 1 that rotates integrally with the upper mill 20, and is a rod-shaped stirring member 50 that is driven to rotate with the tea leaves. The driven rotation of the stirring member 50 is periodically stopped. A control mechanism 6 is provided to supply the tea leaves stirred by the stirring mechanism 5 to the stone mill 2, and the tea leaves are ground by the relative rotation of the upper mill 20 and the lower mill 21 to be placed on the collection hopper 4. It is intended to be released. Hereinafter, the configuration of the matcha manufacturing apparatus 100 will be specifically described.
[0011]
The funnel 1 is formed in a tapered hollow rotary body, and is provided with a large-diameter opening 11 at an upper end portion so that tea leaves as a raw material of matcha can be charged, and a small-diameter opening portion 10 at a lower end portion. Is provided so that tea leaves can be supplied to the stone mill 2. The funnel 1 is fixed in the vicinity of an upper end opening 11 thereof by a mounting member 12 which is detachably attached to an outer peripheral portion of an upper end of an upper mill 20, while the lower end opening 10 is provided with a central opening 20 a of the upper mill 20. It is fixed in contact with the outer circumference.
[0012]
The stone mill 2 is composed of an upper mill 20 and a lower mill 21, and a diagonal groove 22 as shown in FIG. 4 is provided on the boundary contact surface between the upper mill 20 and the lower mill 21 to grind the tea leaves. In addition, a flat portion 23 is provided on the outer peripheral portion of each groove 22 so that the tea leaves ground in the groove 22 can be further finely ground. At the center of the lower mill 21, a core tree 21a protruding upward is provided, and the center opening 20a of the upper mill 20 is fitted into the core tree 21a to enable the rotation of the upper mill 20. The core 21a is provided with an inclined portion 21b having an upper end protruding, and is supplied from the funnel 1 by making the diameter slightly smaller than the inner diameter of the central opening 20a of the upper mill 20. The tea leaves can be supplied to the boundary contact surface of the stone mill 2 through the gap between the core tree 21a and the central opening 20a. This operation of grinding the tea leaves is performed by rotating the upper mill 20, and the upper mill 20 is rotated by pulling a puller 20b protruding from an outer peripheral surface of the upper mill 20. On the other hand, the lower mill 21 is fixed to a columnar support member 40 that stands in the collection hopper 4.
[0013]
The rotation drive mechanism 3 includes a columnar rotation member 30 located inside the support member 40, a rotation plate 31 provided at an upper end of the rotation member 30, that is, a portion directly below the lower mill 21, and an outer periphery of the rotation plate 31. Arm 32 extending upward from the arm, a belt 33 stretched between the arm 32 and the puller 20b of the upper mill 20, a motor 34, a belt 35, and a pulley 36 for driving these members to rotate. It is composed. The motor 34 is adapted to be capable of rotating a plurality of millstones 2 in order to constitute the entire apparatus as inexpensively as possible. In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. At the diagonal central portion (center position) of the millstone 2 and in the lower space inside the collection hopper 4. That is, when the rotation drive motor is disposed above the upper mill 20, which is the portion closest to the upper mill 20, a support member for fixing the motor at a high position is required. A reinforcing member or the like for attachment is required, so that the entire device is increased in size and cost. Further, when the motor is mounted above the upper mill 20, the arm for rotating the upper mill 20 rotates around the outer peripheral portion of the upper end opening 11 of the funnel 1, so that when the tea leaves are introduced. However, it is necessary to feed the tea leaves while avoiding or stopping the rotation of the arm. Further, since the motor 34 has oil or the like, if oil leakage or the like occurs due to a failure of the motor 34 or the like, foreign matter is mixed into the product matcha, resulting in a large loss. Therefore, in the present embodiment, the motor 34 is disposed below the funnel 1 and the motor 34 is configured to be shared by a plurality of devices, so that cost reduction, downsizing of the device, and product safety can be achieved. Like that.
[0014]
The recovery hopper 4 facilitates the recovery operation of the matcha ground by the mill 2, and is provided with an inclined plate 41 (see FIG. 2) so as to be gradually narrowed downward. An openable / closable bottom plate 42 is provided at the lower end so that matcha can be dropped and collected on a tray or the like.
[0015]
On the other hand, the stirring mechanism 5 includes a stirring member 50 inserted into the funnel 1 and a control mechanism 6 for periodically stopping the driven rotation of the stirring member 50.
[0016]
The stirring member 50 is provided with a hook portion 52 (see FIG. 7) on the same rotation axis as the funnel 1 to support the upper end side, and the lower end side is at a position retracted from the lower end opening 10 of the funnel 1. It is provided so as not to hinder the discharge of tea leaves. A bent portion 51 is provided at a substantially central portion so that the tea leaves supplied into the funnel 1 can be stirred. The hook portion 52 is provided so as to be detachable from a groove portion 53a provided in the suspension member 53, and facilitates replacement with another stirring member 50, and work required when the funnel 1 is removed. The space can be formed.
[0017]
The suspension member 53 is rotatably supported by a housing support frame 54 provided above the funnel 1, and positions a stop arm 53 b projecting in a direction perpendicular to the rotation axis above the housing support frame 54. To enable free rotation. A control mechanism 6 for periodically stopping the driven rotation of the suspension member 53 is provided near the stop arm 53b as shown in FIGS.
[0018]
The control mechanism 6 includes a shaft 61 having a protruding member 60 (see FIG. 6) capable of coming into contact with the stop arm 53b, a shaft rotation mechanism 62 for periodically rotating the shaft 61, a timer device (not shown), and the like. Be composed. The shaft 61 simultaneously stops the driven rotation of the stirring member 50 provided adjacently in the longitudinal direction, and is constituted by a single horizontally long member, and the shaft 61 provided adjacently in parallel. The bridge 63 is bridged to the shaft 61 so that the parallel shafts 61 can be rotated simultaneously. Further, the projecting member 60 is screwed to the shaft 61 via the bracket 60a, and by changing the position of the screwing, the mounting position and the angle of the projecting member 60 can be adjusted. The shaft 61 is periodically rotated by a shaft rotating mechanism 62 composed of a motor and the like and a control mechanism 6 composed of a timer device and the like. In normal times, the projecting member 60 is separated from the stop arm 53b. While the driven rotation of the stirring member 50 is allowed, the shaft 61 is periodically rotated by the shaft rotation mechanism 62, and the driven rotation of the plurality of stirring members 50 is controlled by bringing the protruding member 60 into contact with the stop arm 53b. It is temporarily stopped.
[0019]
Next, a description will be given of a state in which the funnel 1 is mounted and a state in which the tea leaves are crushed and crushed in the green tea manufacturing apparatus 100 thus configured.
[0020]
First, when the funnel 1 is mounted on the stone mill 2, the stirring member 50 is removed, and the placing member 12 is mounted on the upper mill 20 with a working space formed. Then, the lower end opening 10 of the funnel 1 is inserted into and fixed to the central opening 20 a of the upper mill 20, and the mounting member 12 fixes the vicinity of the upper end opening 11 of the funnel 1. After attaching the funnel 1 in this manner, the stirring member 50 is inserted into the funnel 1, the hook portion 52 is attached to the groove 53 a of the suspension member 53, and the tea leaves are put into the funnel 1. When the power is turned on, the upper mill 20 is rotated using the rotary drive mechanism 3, and the tea leaves are sequentially supplied from the inside of the funnel 1 to the stone mill 2 to gradually grind the tea leaves and collect the hopper 4. And put the matcha into it.
[0021]
When the tea leaves in the funnel 1 are supplied in this way, the shaft 61 is periodically rotated by the control mechanism 6 or the like to avoid the hollow state due to the overlapping of the tea leaves, and the projecting members 60 are respectively moved. To the stop arm 53b. Thereby, the respective stirring members 50 that have been driven and rotated together with the tea leaves are stopped, while the funnel 1 and the tea leaves are continuously rotated by the rotation drive mechanism 3, so that the tea leaves in the funnel 1 are stirred by the stirring members 50. Clear the blockage. Then, after a lapse of a certain time, the rotation of the shaft 61 is returned to the original state, the protruding member 60 and the stop arm 53b are retracted, and the driven rotation of the stirring member 50 is allowed.
[0022]
As described above, according to the above-described embodiment, as the stirring mechanism 5 for stirring the tea leaves supplied into the funnel 1, the stirring member 50 that is driven to rotate together with the tea leaves in the funnel 1 and the driven rotation of the stirring member 50 is periodically performed. Since the control mechanism 6 for stopping the operation is provided, the clogging of the tea leaves in the funnel 1 can be removed, and the hollow state can be eliminated. In addition, it is possible to obtain various effects such as prevention of reduction of the production amount of matcha and prevention of abrasion of the stone mortar 2.
[0023]
In this embodiment, since the plurality of stirring members 50 are stopped using the shaft 61, the entire apparatus can be made relatively inexpensive.
[0024]
Note that the present invention is realized by taking the above-described embodiment as an example, but can be realized by various methods different from this.
[0025]
For example, in the above-described embodiment, the upper mill 20 is rotated by using the rotation drive mechanism 3. However, the present invention is not limited to this, and the upper mill 20 and the lower mill 21 are relatively rotated by rotating the lower mill 21. It is also possible to adopt a method in which the motor is configured to rotate in a specific manner, or a method in which one rotation drive mechanism is assigned to one millstone.
[0026]
Further, in the above-described embodiment, the case where the stirring member 50 having the bent portion 51 is used has been described. However, if the stirring member 50 has a shape capable of realizing the action of stirring, a linear wire or a flat member is used. Is also good. As a method of controlling these stirring members, the stirring members may be driven constantly or irregularly to perform stirring.
[0027]
【The invention's effect】
Thus, according to the present invention, a funnel for charging tea leaves, a stone mill consisting of an upper mill and a lower mill that grind the tea leaves supplied from the funnel, and at least one of the upper mill or the lower mill. In a tea flour manufacturing apparatus comprising a rotary drive mechanism for rotating and driving, a stirring mechanism for stirring the tea leaves put into the funnel is provided, so that the clogging of the tea leaves in the funnel is removed. It is possible to prevent the state of the hollow mortar, thereby improving the production amount of the tea powder and preventing the wear of the stone mortar, and reducing the human cost by eliminating the manual check of the state of the hollow mortar.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a schematic front view of a matcha manufacturing apparatus showing a first embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is a schematic side view of the same embodiment. FIG. 3 is a schematic cross-sectional view taken along line AA in FIG. FIG. 5 is a schematic plan view showing a control mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 6 is a schematic side view showing a control mechanism of the present invention. FIG. 7 is a view showing a stirring member and a suspension member of the present invention. FIG. 1 shows a funnel of a matcha production apparatus showing a conventional technique.
1 Funnel 2 (2a, 2b) Stone mill (upper mill, lower mill)
3 ... Rotation drive mechanism 4 ... Recovery hopper 5 ... Stirring mechanism 6 ... Control mechanism 50 ... Stirring member 53 ... Hanging member 53a ... Groove 53b ... Stop arm 61 ... Shaft 60 ... Projecting member 62 ... Rotating mechanism

Claims (7)

A funnel for feeding tea leaves, a stone mill consisting of an upper mill and a lower mill that grinds the tea leaves supplied from the funnel, and a rotation drive mechanism that rotates at least one of the upper mill and the lower mill. A tea flour producing apparatus comprising: a stirrer for stirring tea leaves put into the funnel. The stirrer according to claim 1, wherein the stirrer is provided with a stirrer capable of contacting the tea leaves put into the funnel, and a control mechanism for controlling the drive of the stirrer so that the relative rotation speed with respect to the funnel is different. A tea flour production apparatus according to the above. The tea flour manufacturing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the stirring mechanism includes a stirring member that rotates together with the tea leaves put into the funnel, and a control mechanism that stops the rotation of the stirring member with respect to the funnel. The tea flour manufacturing apparatus according to claim 3, wherein the control mechanism is a mechanism that stops each of the stirring members provided for the plurality of funnels. The tea flour manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the stirring member is detachably attached. A funnel for feeding tea leaves, a stone mill consisting of an upper mill and a lower mill that grinds the tea leaves supplied from the funnel, and a rotation drive mechanism that rotates at least one of the upper mill and the lower mill. In the method for producing tea flour using the tea flour producing apparatus, the tea leaves in the funnel are guided between the upper mill and the lower mill by stirring the tea leaves put in the funnel, and the tea leaves are ground into powder. A method for producing tea flour, characterized in that: A funnel for feeding tea leaves, a stone mill consisting of an upper mill and a lower mill that grinds the tea leaves supplied from the funnel, and a rotation drive mechanism that rotates at least one of the upper mill and the lower mill. In the method for producing tea powder using the tea powder producing apparatus, the stirring member capable of contacting the tea leaves in the funnel is driven so that the relative rotation speed with the funnel is different to stir the tea leaves, and the tea leaves in the funnel are removed. A method for producing tea powder, comprising introducing tea leaves between an upper mill and a lower mill to grind the tea leaves into powder.

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