JP2004097084A - Apparatus for loosening and supplying food - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an apparatus for loosening and supplying a food such as boiled rice, etc., with which the food is quantitatively supplied by simple structure and miniaturization and reduction in cost are carried out. <P>SOLUTION: A loosening and supplying roller 4 is arranged in a state approximately perpendicular to the sending direction of a food sending roller 3 and the loosening and supplying roller 4 is rotated and driven by a driving means 13. A shutter 26 for dividedly supplying the food fed from the loosening and supplying roller 4 and a metering means 20 for metering the dividedly supplied food are installed below the loosening and supplying roller 4. The driving means 13 of the loosening and supplying roller 4 and the metering means 20 are connected through a control mechanism 23 composed of the food metering controller and a rotation speed controller. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2004,JPO

Description

[0001]
TECHNICAL FIELD OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a food disintegrating and supplying apparatus for supplying granular food such as cooked rice while disintegrating.
[0002]
[Prior art]
2. Description of the Related Art In order to manufacture a lunch box, bowls, rice balls, and the like, rice rice is automatically supplied to a lunch box, a bowl, a molding device, or the like. In this supply, if the cooked rice becomes a lump or a dumpling, the commercial value is unfavorably reduced, so the supply is performed while the cooked rice is broken.
[0003]
Conventionally, a food unraveling device has a structure using a unraveling roller provided with an unraveling nail and an unraveling pin on an outer peripheral surface.
[0004]
In addition, the conventional quantitative rice feeding apparatus is performed by using a plurality of feed rollers for transporting the unraveled cooked rice while gradually compressing it from above to below, and a shutter for quantitatively dividing the cooked rice transferred in a compressed state. ing.
[0005]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, in the conventional food unraveling apparatus, the cooked rice supplied to the supply path is unraveled at once from the whole length of the unraveling roller and is put into a container such as a lunch box or a bowl. Therefore, since a large amount of cooked rice is supplied to the container at once, not only is it difficult to supply a fixed amount of cooked rice, but also there is a problem that the cooked rice is placed in the container at a high density which is solidified and the appearance is deteriorated.
[0006]
In addition, in the conventional rice feed metering device, it is difficult to precisely feed the rice in a fixed quantity, and since there is large variation, it is necessary to finely control the rotation speed of the feed roller and the opening / closing speed of the shutter, which makes the control complicated. Have a problem.
[0007]
For this reason, Japanese Patent No. 3088719 discloses a main weighing unit that weighs cooked rice so as to have a weight smaller than a target weight and supplies the cut cooked rice, and an auxiliary weighing unit that weighs insufficient cooked rice. A fixed quantity supply device of cooked rice provided with: However, this device has a problem that it is not only large in size as a whole and requires a large installation space, but also high in cost.
[0008]
The present invention has been made in view of such a conventional problem, and enables a smooth quantitative supply of food such as cooked rice, and has a simple structure and can be reduced in size and cost. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a simple food dispensing and feeding device.
[0009]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above object, in the food unraveling and feeding device according to the first aspect of the present invention, the unraveling and feeding roller is disposed in a state substantially orthogonal to the feeding direction of the food feeding mechanism, and the unraveling and feeding roller is rotated by the driving means. A driven shutter for dispensing the food supplied from the dispensing supply roller and a measuring means for measuring the dispensed food are disposed below the dispensing supply roller. The means is connected via a control mechanism including a food metering controller and a rotation speed controller.
[0010]
A weighing signal from the weighing means is input to the weighing controller, and the rotation speed controller outputs a control signal to the driving means based on the weighing signal from the weighing controller. According to the present invention, the number of rotations of the unwinding supply roller can be adjusted by connecting the driving unit that rotationally drives the unwinding supply roller to the control mechanism including the weighing controller and the rotation speed controller. Therefore, at the beginning of the supply of food, by rotating the unraveling supply roller at high speed, a large amount of food is supplied in a short time, and when approaching the target supply weight, the unraveling supply roller is rotationally driven at low speed. Thus, control for reducing the supply amount can be performed. In the low-speed rotation drive, since the measuring means can accurately measure the food, even with a simple structure, it is possible to supply a fixed amount of the food, and it is possible to reduce the size and cost. .
[0011]
According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided the food unraveling and feeding apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein the two food feed mechanisms are arranged in parallel, and the respective food feed mechanisms are mutually rotated so as to rotate inward. Characterized by being connected to
[0012]
As described above, the parallel food feeding mechanisms rotate inward, so that the food can be supplied while being gathered toward the center side, thereby enabling the centralized supply of the food.
[0013]
According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the food dispensing and supplying apparatus according to the first aspect, the weighing means is an electronic weighing scale.
[0014]
By using an electronic weighing scale as the weighing means, food can be weighed with high accuracy, and an accurate amount can be supplied.
[0015]
BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION
Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.
FIGS. 1 to 9 show a food dispensing and feeding apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a plan view, FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view from the side, FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view from the front, and FIG. FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing an example of control of the feed roller, FIG. 6 is a timing chart of the amount of food supplied by the control of FIG. 5, and FIGS. It is sectional drawing which shows a supply state.
[0016]
As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the food unraveling device 1 has two food feeding mechanisms 3 and 3 arranged below and horizontally below a hopper 2 into which cooked rice B as a food is fed. The unwinding supply roller 4 is arranged on the leading end side of the mechanisms 3 and 3 in the feeding direction. A supply box 5 for cooked rice B is continuously attached to a lower portion of the hopper 2, and the food feeding mechanisms 3 and 3 are arranged on the upstream side in the supply box 5, and the dispensing supply roller 4 is arranged on the downstream side. Have been.
[0017]
As shown in FIG. 1, each of the food feed mechanisms 3, 3 has a feed conveyor 6, 6 composed of screws arranged in a horizontal parallel state, and one as a drive source for driving the feed conveyor 6, 6 to rotate. And a feed motor 7. The feed motor 7 and the feed conveyors 6, 6 are connected by a gear train 8 arranged between an output shaft 7a of the feed motor 7 and rotating shafts 6a, 6a of the feed conveyors 6, 6.
[0018]
That is, the connection between the feed motor 7 and the feed conveyors 6 and 6 is performed by attaching a gear 8a to an output shaft 7a of the feed motor 7 and meshing the gear 8a with two gears 8b and 8c side by side. The gears 8b, 8c are connected to the rotary shafts 6a, 6a of the feed conveyors 6, 6, respectively. Such a connection allows the feed conveyors 6, 6 to rotate inward relative to each other, as indicated by the arrow K in FIG. Then, as the feed conveyors 6 and 6 rotate inward in this way, the cooked rice B put into the hopper 2 is gradually moved to the center side along the longitudinal direction of the feed conveyors 6 and 6 to the downstream side. Be transported. As a result, the cooked rice B is gathered to the center side of the unraveling supply roller 4, so that the cooked rice B unraveled by the unraveling supply roller 4 can be intensively supplied to a molding hole or the like of a molding device described later. .
[0019]
On the downstream side of the food feeding mechanisms 3, 3, an upper guide plate 9 inclined downward is provided. At an end portion of the upper guide plate 9, supply rollers 4 are arranged at predetermined intervals. ing. The feed amount of the cooked rice B can be adjusted by changing the inclination of the upper guide plate 9 and the distance between the upper guide plate 9 and the unwinding supply roller 4.
[0020]
The feed roller 4 rotates about the rotation shaft 4a by inserting the rotation shaft 4a into the center thereof. The rotating shaft 4a is disposed so as to be substantially orthogonal to the feeding conveyors 6, 6 rotating shafts 6a, 6a in the food feeding mechanisms 3, 3, and therefore, the feeding roller 4 is used to feed the rice B by the food feeding mechanisms 3, 3. It is driven to rotate in a state substantially perpendicular to the feed direction. In this embodiment, one unwinding supply roller 4 is arranged for two food feeding mechanisms 3 and 3.
[0021]
The rotating shaft 4a of the pivoting supply roller 4 is connected via a gear train 12 to a pivoting motor 13 as driving means. A plurality of unraveling claws 11 are provided on the outer surface of the unraveling supply roller 4 in a spiral arrangement. When the unraveling and supplying roller 4 rotates, the unraveling claws 11 on the outer surface come into contact with the cooked rice B to cook the rice. It acts to solve B. The unraveling motor 13 as a driving means is electrically connected to the weighing means 20 via a control mechanism 23 (see FIGS. 3 and 4 described later).
[0022]
As shown in FIG. 2, the supply box 5 is formed with a supply slope 14 facing the unraveling supply roller 4. By rotating the unraveling supply roller 4, the rice B is unraveled with the unraveling supply roller 4. It is unraveled by the pawl 11 while moving between the supply slope 14. That is, since the unraveling claws 11 hit not only the warm cooked rice immediately after the cooking but also the vacuum-cooled hard cooked rice, the cooked rice can be dropped downward in a state of being loosely separated.
[0023]
Below the supply slope 14, a storage unit 17 having a storage space 15 for temporarily storing the rice B is provided separately from the supply box 5. The storage portion 17 has an upper surface opening 17 a independently arranged in communication with the lower surface of the supply box 5. Further, a tapered portion 17b is formed inside the storage portion 17 so as to be inclined inward from the outside so that the cooked rice B is concentrated at the center, and a narrow opening 17c communicates with a lower end of the tapered portion 17b. .
[0024]
As shown in FIG. 3, one end of an arm 18 is attached to an outer surface of the storage unit 17, and the other end of the arm 18 is connected to a support 21 via a support 19. Thus, the storage section 17 and the like are supported by the support 21, and the support 21 itself is supported by an electronic weighing scale (load cell) 20 a as the weighing mechanism 20. The electronic weighing scale 20a measures the weight of the cooked rice B by measuring the storage unit 17, the arm 18, the support 19, the support 21 and the like, and then subtracting the weight other than the cooked rice B from the measured value. Has become.
[0025]
The electronic weighing scale 20a is connected to the above-described unraveling motor 13 via a control mechanism 23. Accordingly, the rotation of the unraveling motor 13 is controlled by the control mechanism 23 which has received a signal from the electronic weighing scale 20a.
[0026]
The control mechanism 23 includes a weighing controller 24 and a rotation speed controller 25 as shown in FIG. The weighing controller 24 is electrically connected to the electronic weighing scale 20a, and the rotation speed controller 25 is connected to the unwinding motor 13 of the unwinding supply roller 4. The weighing controller 24 receives a signal from the electronic weighing scale 20 a and outputs the weighing signal to the rotation speed controller 25. The rotation speed controller 25 is connected to the unraveling motor 13 and controls the rotation speed of the unraveling motor 13 based on a weighing signal from the weighing controller 24. Thereby, the rotation speed Vb of the unraveling supply roller 4 is controlled, so that the supply amount of the cooked rice B can be adjusted.
[0027]
A pair of two shutters 26 that are driven to open and close in the horizontal direction are arranged in the lower opening 17 c of the storage unit 17. Each of the shutters 26 is connected to a drive device (not shown), and is intermittently opened and closed at a predetermined timing, so that the cooked rice B in the storage space 15 of the storage unit 17 is supplied to the lower molding device 27.
[0028]
The forming device 27 is formed by a rotary table 28 having a plurality of forming holes 28a formed at appropriate intervals on the outer peripheral side of the upper surface, and forms the rice B dropped into the forming holes 28a into a predetermined shape. In addition, as the forming device 27, in addition to the rotary table 28, a conveyor device in which forming holes are formed at predetermined intervals on the upper surface can also be used.
[0029]
In such an embodiment, when the food feeding mechanisms 3 and 3 are rotationally driven at a constant speed Va, the cooked rice B is fed to the feed roller 4 while being collected at the center side. The unraveling motor 13 of the unraveling supply roller 4 is connected to a rotational speed controller 25 to control the rotational speed Vb. This control is performed based on a weighing signal from the weighing controller 24 input to the rotation speed controller 25.
[0030]
FIG. 5 shows an example of control of the unraveling motor 13, FIG. 6 shows the supply amount of cooked rice B to the storage unit 17 by this control, and FIGS. 7 to 9 show the supply state of cooked rice B in this control. ing. In this embodiment, the unraveling motor 13 is controlled in three stages: high speed, medium speed, and low speed.
[0031]
At the beginning of the supply of the cooked rice B, the rotation speed controller 25 controls the opening motor 13 to be driven at a high speed of the speed V1. In the high-speed control, the feed roller 4 is driven to rotate at a high speed, so that a large amount of cooked rice B falls into the storage unit 17 while being released, as shown in FIG. The electronic weighing scale 20a measures the weight of the cooked rice B supplied to the storage unit 17, and when the weight reaches the set weight W1, the weighing controller 24 outputs the weighing signal to the rotation speed controller 25. At the same time, the shutter 26 is opened, and the cooked rice B is dropped from the storage unit 17 into the forming hole 28a of the rotary table 28.
[0032]
Next, in response to the weighing signal from the weighing controller 24, the rotation speed controller 25 controls the motor 13 to be driven at a medium speed V2 slightly lower than V1. In the medium speed control, as shown in FIG. 8, when a slightly larger amount of cooked rice B is supplied to the storage unit 17 and reaches the supply weight W2 set at the time of the medium speed control, the weighing controller 24 outputs the weighing signal. Simultaneously with the output to the rotation speed controller 25, the shutter 26 is opened and the cooked rice B is dropped from the storage unit 17 into the forming hole 28 a of the rotary table 28.
[0033]
Further, in response to the weighing signal from the weighing controller 24, the rotation speed controller 25 switches the medium speed control to the low speed control (speed V3) and controls the unlocking motor 13. In the low-speed control, as shown in FIG. 9, a small amount of cooked rice B is supplied to the storage unit 17 while falling down. The electronic weighing scale 20a measures the cooked rice B supplied by the low-speed control, and when the set weight W3 to be supplied to the molding hole 28a is reached, the weighing controller 24 sends a weighing signal to the rotation speed controller 25 to end the supply. Output. Thus, the rotation speed controller 25 stops driving the unlocking motor 13. At the same time, the shutter 26 is opened, and the cooked rice B falls from the storage section 17 to the forming hole 28a in the final stage.
[0034]
In the above control, the steering motor 13 is controlled in three stages of high speed, medium speed and low speed, but it may be controlled in two stages of high speed and low speed, or may be controlled in four or more stages. good.
[0035]
In such an embodiment, at the beginning of the supply of cooked rice B, the unraveling supply roller 4 is controlled to rotate at high speed to supply a large amount of cooked rice B, while at the end of the supply, the unraveling supply roller 4 rotates at low speed. In this case, the supply amount of the cooked rice B is adjusted so that the quantitative supply of the cooked rice B can be accurately performed. Therefore, it is only necessary to provide a single unfolding supply roller 4 without having a complicated structure in which the main weighing unit and the auxiliary weighing unit are provided, so that the structure is simple and the size and cost can be reduced. .
[0036]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, the driving means for rotationally driving the unwinding supply roller is connected to the control mechanism including the weighing controller and the rotation speed controller, whereby the number of rotations of the unwinding supply roller is controlled and adjusted. Therefore, even with a simple structure, a fixed amount of food can be supplied, and miniaturization and cost reduction can be achieved.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is an overall plan view according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a side sectional view of the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a sectional view from the front of the embodiment.
FIG. 4 is a system diagram showing a control system of a feeding roller;
FIG. 5 is a timing chart showing the control of the unlocking motor.
FIG. 6 is a timing chart of a supply amount of cooked rice supplied to a storage unit.
FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing a supply state of cooked rice in high-speed control.
FIG. 8 is a cross-sectional view showing a supply state of cooked rice in medium speed control.
FIG. 9 is a cross-sectional view illustrating a supply state of cooked rice in low-speed control.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food unwrapping supply apparatus 3 Food unloading mechanism 4 Unwrapping supply roller 13 Unwinding motor 20 Metering means 23 Control mechanism 24 Metering controller 25 Rotation speed controller 26 Shutter

Claims (3)

An unwinding supply roller is disposed in a state substantially perpendicular to the feeding direction of the food feeding mechanism, and the unwinding supply roller is driven to rotate by driving means, and a shutter and a dispenser for dispensing food supplied from the unwinding supply roller are provided. The weighing means for weighing the prepared food is disposed below the open supply roller, and the driving means and the weighing means for the open supply roller are connected via a control mechanism including a food weighing controller and a rotation speed controller. A food dispensing and feeding device characterized by the following. 2. The food dispensing and feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the two food feed mechanisms are arranged in parallel, and the respective food feed mechanisms are connected to each other so as to rotate inward. The food dispensing and feeding device according to claim 1, wherein the weighing means is an electronic weighing scale.

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