JP2005027577A - Sponge for dewatering laver, and method and apparatus for dewatering laver utilizing the same - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To efficiently carrying out a press dewatering of raw laver using sponges of increased mechanical strength while preventing the raw laver from getting out of shape and the sponge from staining. <P>SOLUTION: A laver-dewatering apparatus 10 is provided, comprising two dewatering sections 20 and 40. The upper and lower press parts 20A and 20B of the dewatering section 20 are vertically provided with dewatering sponges 24A and 24B so as to sandwich a laver drainboard 16 and raw laver 18 in between. These sponges 24A and 24B are detachably mounted on upper and lower fixing tables 22A and 22B so that water-permeable sheets 28A and 28B serve as press surfaces for the laver drainboard 16 and the raw laver 18. This apparatus 10 works as follows: On subjecting the press parts 20A and 20B to vertical motion, by a driving means not illustrated, the water-permeable sheets 28A and 28B press the raw laver 18 to extrude water therefrom, the water is then absorbed by upper and lower sponge layers 26A and 26B, thus accomplishing dewatering the raw laver 18. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2005,JPO&NCIPI

Description

  The present invention relates to a nori sponge for use in the production of sheet-like dry nori, and a nori dehydration method and apparatus using the sponge.

  The sheet-shaped dry seaweed is obtained by scraping raw seaweed into a sheet form on the surface of the seaweed rice cake, dehydrating and drying it, and peeling off the dry seaweed stuck on the seaweed rice cake. These series of operations are automatically performed by holding the laver on the conveying path such as a conveyor. Among these, the dehydration process of raw laver is performed at a low temperature and in a short time for the subsequent drying process. Very important for producing quality nori. Such dehydration of raw seaweed is conventionally performed by a press method. The press-type dewatering unit presses a sponge for dehydration from above and below on the raw nori on the laver that has been transported along the transport path, and absorbs and dehydrates moisture contained in the raw nori.

However, the background art as described above has the following inconvenience because the surface and the inside of the sponge have a uniform open cell structure.
(1) Since the pressing surface of the dehydrating sponge in contact with the raw nori is easily compressed and deformed during pressing, the force for extruding moisture from the raw nori is weak and the dehydrating ability is not always sufficient. For this reason, considerable time and thermal power are required for the next drying process.
(2) The dehydrating sponge is compressed during pressing, and in particular, the lower part (the pressed surface of fresh seaweed) is deformed so as to spread laterally. For this reason, the raw laver is pulled on the laver cocoon so as to spread laterally, and the shape tends to be deformed particularly in the vicinity of the outer edge thereof. In addition, the durability of the sponge itself is poor due to insufficient strength.
(3) The sponge has seaweed scraps and is easily soiled, which is undesirable in terms of hygiene management. For this reason, the cleaning operation of the sponge must be performed frequently.

  This invention pays attention to the above points, and provides a laver dehydrating sponge excellent in durability and hygiene, and a laver dehydrating method and apparatus using the sponge, which efficiently perform press dehydration of raw laver. That is the purpose.

  In order to achieve the above object, the sponge for dewatering nori of the present invention is a sponge for pressing and dewatering raw laver on a laver cocoon, and has a sponge layer having an open-cell structure, almost the press surface of the sponge layer surface. A water-permeable sheet is provided that is integrally provided throughout and is made of a cloth having higher strength than the sponge layer. One of the main forms is characterized in that the water-permeable sheet has antibacterial properties.

  The method for dehydrating laver according to the present invention is a method for dehydrating raw nori using the sponge for dehydrating seaweed according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the water-dried sheet is used to press the raw laver on the laver and press the moisture And a step of absorbing moisture exuded thereby by the sponge layer.

  The seaweed dewatering device of the present invention is a seaweed dewatering device that presses and dehydrates raw seaweed on a laver cocoon, wherein the sponge for laver dehydration according to claim 1 or 2 is spread on a laver It is characterized by comprising holding means for holding the worn raw laver so as to oppose it, and drive means for driving the holding means in the vertical direction. The above and other objects, features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description and the accompanying drawings.

  In the present invention, since the water-permeable sheet integrally formed on the surface of the dehydrating sponge is provided, the strength of the sponge is reinforced and the durability is improved. It is hygienic to prevent. Moreover, since the water-permeable sheet does not spread laterally during pressing, it is effective in preventing the shape of raw nori from being lost. Furthermore, since the raw nori is pressed with a water-permeable sheet to exude moisture, and the moisture is absorbed by the sponge layer to dehydrate the raw nori, the dehydration can be performed efficiently.

  Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail based on examples.

  Embodiment 1 of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS. FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a main part of Example 1 of a laver dewatering apparatus according to the present invention, and a partial cross-sectional view cut along the line # A- # A is shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a diagram illustrating an example of a manufacturing process of a dehydrating sponge used in the present embodiment.

  The laver dehydrating apparatus 10 of this embodiment constitutes a part of a laver making machine that dries raw laver to produce sheet-like dry laver. The raw laver 18 to be processed is spread in a predetermined sheet form on a plurality of laver ridges 16 continuously held by the holder 14, and sequentially transferred in the direction of arrow F1 by the conveyor 12 serving as a conveyance path. Then, it is dehydrated by the laver dehydrator 10. The dehydrated raw laver is further transferred in the direction of arrow F1 by the conveyor 12, and is dried in a drying chamber (not shown).

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the laver dewatering apparatus 10 includes two dewatering units 20 and 40, and each dewatering unit 20 and 40 includes a press unit that sandwiches the conveyor 12 from above and below. Since the dehydrating units 20 and 40 have the same configuration, the dehydrating unit 20 will be described below as a representative.

  The dewatering unit 20 includes a press unit 20A disposed above the conveyor 12 and a press unit 20B disposed below. A dehydrating sponge 24A is detachably attached to the bottom surface of the fixing base 22A of the upper press part 20A by hooking the rubber string 52 on the holder 50, and is attached to the upper surface of the fixing base 22B of the lower press part 20A. Similarly, a dehydrating sponge 24B is detachably attached. The dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B are provided in the same number as the laver cocoons 16 held on the holder 14, respectively, and the raw laver 18 spread on the laver cocoons 16 is moved up and down. It is set to a position and size that can be pressed.

  The sponges 24A and 24B for dehydration press the raw laver 18 conveyed by the conveyor 12 in the process of dehydrating the raw laver 18 on the laver cocoon 16 when manufacturing dry laver, and absorb the moisture, It is for dehydration. An example of the manufacturing process of the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B will be described with reference to FIG. First, as shown in FIG. 3A, a sponge raw material 24 is poured into a mold 34 having a predetermined shape and size set on a table 32. The raw material 24 is obtained, for example, by deammoniaating latex and mixing a foaming agent, a foam stabilizer, a gelling agent, and the like. The mold 34 has a size that roughly matches the finished dimension of the dehydrating sponge 24A in advance.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3B, a water-permeable sheet 28 is provided so as to cover the surface of the raw material 24 filled in the mold 34. At this time, in order to prevent the water-permeable sheet 28 from coming into close contact with the surface of the raw material 24 and generating a gap, the portion of the water-permeable sheet 28 that protrudes outward from the upper end of the mold 34 was pulled toward the base 32. The clip 36 is fixed to the base 32 in the state. That is, the water permeable sheet 28 is used in advance that is set larger than the frame of the mold 34. At this time, if necessary, a water permeable sheet 28 and the raw material 24 may be in close contact with each other by placing a weight 38 on the upper edge portion of the mold 34 as shown in FIG. In this state, when the raw material 24 is hardened by heating and vulcanizing for a predetermined time, a sponge having a water-permeable sheet 28 integrated on the surface is completed. As the water-permeable sheet 28, various known materials can be used as long as the cloth has water permeability and desired strength. For example, the polyester has strength and water absorption itself. Chemical fibers such as are suitable. Further, if necessary, the water-permeable sheet 28 may be used after being subjected to antibacterial treatment in advance, or a product containing an antibacterial material may be used when the water-permeable sheet 28 is manufactured.

  The sponge molded in the mold 34 is then taken out from the mold 34 as shown in FIG. 3C, and the portion of the water-permeable sheet 28 protruding from the upper surface along the shape of the sponge is cut off. A dewatering sponge 24A as shown in FIG. The finished dehydrating sponge 24A has a skin layer 30A having a cell particle structure that is slightly harder than the internal sponge layer 26A and larger than the cell particles constituting the sponge layer 26A. The surface has a structure in which the above-described water-permeable sheet 28A is integrally provided. The other dehydrating sponge 24B is produced in the same manner.

  As materials for these dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B, various known materials can be used as long as they form a continuous foam sponge and are excellent in water absorption, but flexibility, elasticity, water resistance, From the viewpoint of antibacterial properties, rubber and the like are suitable, and for example, NR sponge (natural sponge) is used. In addition to the above-described method, the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B are foamed by a mechanical foaming method or foaming agent in which a raw material resin or the like is melted into a dispersed state, mixed with gas to form a foam, and then solidified. Various known methods are known, such as a chemical foaming method, an elution method in which eluable particles having a size that becomes pores are mixed with a raw material resin, and any of these methods may be used.

  The dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B formed as described above are attached to the upper and lower fixing bases 22A and 22B so that the water-permeable sheets 28A and 28B face each other, and correspond to the vertical movement of the press portions 20A and 20B. Then, the press on the nori seaweed 16 and the fresh nori 18 is repeated. That is, as shown in FIG. 1, the upper press part 20A is moved downward in the direction indicated by arrow F2a, and the lower press part 20B is moved in the upward direction indicated by arrow F2b. The laver 18 is pressed with water-permeable sheets 28A and 28B. In addition, since the drive means for moving up and down press part 20A and 20B up and down is a known mechanism, description here is abbreviate | omitted.

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described with reference to these drawings. The laver cocoon 16 held on the holder 14 is conveyed to the laver dewatering apparatus 10 by the conveyor 12 after the raw laver 18 is lifted into a predetermined sheet shape. When the laver cocoon 16 reaches the position of the first dewatering unit 20, the conveyor 12 is temporarily stopped at that position, and the upper and lower press units 20A and 20B are moved up and down by a driving means (not shown), and the dehydrating sponge 24A and The raw seaweed 18 is pressed by 24B.

  At this time, since the press surfaces in contact with the laver cocoon 16 and the raw laver 18 are the water permeable sheets 28A and 28B, the moisture of the raw laver 18 is pushed out. When the pressed parts 20A and 20B are separated from the laver cocoon 16 and the raw laver 18, the dehydrated sponges 24A and 24B that have been compressed during the pressing return to their original shapes, and the extruded moisture is pumped up and down by the pumping effect. The raw laver 18 is dehydrated by being absorbed by the sponge layers 26A and 26B.

  The raw seaweed 18 dehydrated by the first dehydrating unit 20 is then conveyed to the second dehydrating unit 40 by the conveyor 12, where dehydration is performed in the same procedure. The raw laver 18 that has passed through the laver dewatering apparatus 10 as described above is conveyed to a drying chamber (not shown) or the like and gradually dried. The dried laver that has been dried is peeled off from the laver cocoon 16, and the laver cocoon 16 is washed and reused again.

  Thus, according to the present embodiment, since the water-permeable sheets 28A and 28B are provided on the press surfaces of the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B, the strength of the sponge is reinforced and the durability is improved. 16 and raw laver 18 are pressed, and no spatter of laver enters the sponge layers 26A and 26B or adheres to the surface. In addition, since the press surface is not deformed laterally by the water-permeable sheets 28A and 28B, the raw nori 18 spread on the laver ridge 16 is prevented from being deformed, and sufficient moisture is oozed from the raw nori 18. Therefore, dehydration can be performed efficiently.

  In addition, this invention is not limited to embodiment mentioned above, A various change can be added in the range which does not deviate from the summary of this invention. For example, the following are also included.

 (1) Various materials are known as the material of each part constituting the above-described embodiment, and those known materials may be used. Moreover, you may change suitably the magnitude | size, shape, etc. of each part as needed. In particular, the size of the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B can be arbitrarily changed depending on the structure of the entire dehydrating apparatus and the size of the laver to be manufactured.

 (2) In the above embodiment, the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B are formed so as to have a desired size from the beginning. However, a large dehydrating sponge sheet in which a water-permeable sheet is integrally formed on the surface of the sponge layer. May be formed according to the above-described procedure, and cut into a predetermined size and processed into the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B.

 (3) In the above embodiment, the water-permeable sheets 28A and 28B are provided only on one of the main surfaces of the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B, but a similar water-permeable sheet is also formed on the other main surface, You may make it provide a water-permeable sheet on both surfaces of dehydration sponge 24A, 24B.

 (4) The manufacturing process shown in FIG. 3 is an example, and may be appropriately changed so as to achieve the same effect.

 (5) In the above embodiment, the raw nori 18 is pressed from above and below by the water-permeable sheets 28A and 28B of the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B, but only the upper dehydrating sponge 24A on the raw nori 18 side is used for the dehydration of the present invention. A sponge may be used, and the nori cocoon 16 side may be a sponge without a conventional water-permeable sheet.

 (6) In the above embodiment, the laver dewatering device is composed of the two dewatering units 20 and 40. However, the dewatering unit may be one, or three or more may be appropriately changed as necessary. Is possible.

 (7) In the above embodiment, the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B are attached to the fixing bases 22A and 22B by hanging the rubber string 52 on the holder 50. Various known holding means may be used. For example, Velcro (registered trademark) is provided on the surface of the fixing bases 22A and 22B and the surface of the dehydrating sponges 24A and 24B on the skin layers 30A and 30B, respectively, and fixed by combining them.

  According to the present invention, a water-permeable sheet made of a cloth having a strength higher than that of the sponge layer is provided on the surface of the sponge layer having an open cell structure. . In particular, it is suitable when durability, cleanliness, and efficient dehydration of a dehydrating sponge are required.

It is a perspective view which shows the structure of one Example of this invention. It is the fragmentary sectional view which cut | disconnected FIG. 1 along the # A- # A line. It is a perspective view which shows an example of the manufacturing process of the sponge for dehydration of the said Example.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 10 ... Nori dehydration apparatus 12 ... Conveyor 14 ... Holder 16 ... Nori seaweed 18 ... Raw nori 20, 40 ... Dehydration part 20A, 20B ... Press part 22A, 22B ...・ Fixing base 24 ... Raw materials 24A, 24B ... Sponges for dehydration 26A, 26B ... Sponge layers 28, 28A, 28B ... Water-permeable sheets 30A, 30B ... Skin layer 32 ... Base 34 ..Mould 36 ... Clip 38 ... Weight 50 ... Holder 52 ... Rubber strap

Claims (5)

A sponge that presses and dehydrates raw nori on the laver
A sponge layer having an open cell structure,
A water-permeable sheet made of a cloth that is integrally provided on almost the entire pressing surface of the sponge layer and has a strength higher than that of the sponge layer;
A sponge for dehydrating nori seaweed.   The sponge for laver dehydration according to claim 1, wherein the water-permeable sheet has antibacterial properties. A method for dehydrating raw nori using the nori sponge according to claim 1 or 2,
Pressing the raw seaweed on the laver with the water-permeable sheet to exude moisture;
A process of absorbing the exuded moisture by the sponge layer,
Nori seaweed dehydration method characterized by including. A laver dewatering device that presses and dehydrates raw laver on laver
A holding means for holding the sponge for dehydration of laver according to claim 1 or 2 so that the water-permeable sheet faces the fresh laver spread on the laver
Drive means for driving the holding means in the vertical direction;
Nori dehydration apparatus characterized by comprising: A laver dewatering device that presses and dehydrates raw laver on laver
The sponge for dewatering laver according to claim 1 or 2,
A holding means that is disposed above and below the laver and holds the water-permeable sheets of the dehydrated sponge so as to face each other;
Drive means for driving the holding means in the vertical direction;
Nori dehydration apparatus characterized by comprising:

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