JP2007276828A - Method for classifying frustum-shaped candy - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method for classifying frustum-shaped candies by arranging them efficiently in such a manner as one in which a vertical direction of frustum-shape may become a predetermined direction while an erroneous classifying is less and no occurrence of poor frustum-shape. <P>SOLUTION: In the case that some frustum-shaped candies 6 having a predetermined slant angle &theta; are arranged and classified in such a way that their vertical directions may all have the same orientation, the candies are supplied to the central part of a rotating disk 4 rotated around a central shaft 3 and having a frustum-shape recognizing means 8, the candies are moved toward the outer periphery of the rotating disk 4 under application of a centrifugal force, the candies moved toward the outer circumference are selected and classified by the frustum-shape recognizing means 8, the candies with their vertical directions of frustum shape being faced to the predetermined orientation are taken out of the system, the candies other than those above are returned back to the central part of the rotating disk 4, the classifying operation is repeated again to perform their classifying operation and then the specific problem can be solved. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a method for separating frustum-shaped candy, and more specifically, when supplying the candy to the step of individually packaging frustum-shaped candy having different upper and lower diameters, Since the packaging becomes difficult when the vertical posture is reversed, the present invention relates to a method of sorting and sorting so that the vertical direction of the frustum of the frustum-shaped candy is in a predetermined direction.

  Generally, when an industrial part is sent to the next processing step, supplying the part accurately is an indispensable device for automation and labor saving for the part processing industry. Various ingenuity has been made and put into practical use for machine parts such as automobile parts, electronic parts, electrical appliances, and miscellaneous goods. Many contents devised according to the parts and supplies have been proposed.

However, there has not been much proposal for a method for sorting and sorting confectionery.
For example, a method and apparatus for aligning and transferring plate-like food processed products such as rice crackers, snacks and biscuits have been proposed (see Patent Document 1).
The inventors of the present invention have proposed a method of sorting using a pair of belts that travel first (see Patent Document 2).
If the candy is as simple as a cube, cuboid, or sphere, there is no need to identify the top and bottom, but if the candy has a frustum shape with different upper and lower diameters, it will be neatly wrapped in the individual packaging process. Can not do.
In order to align the candy in the same direction as the separation, by separating and removing the candy in the opposite direction, the previous method of the present inventors has used a pair of thin belts to open the candy that is conveyed upward with a belt. It is a belt-type method that sandwiches and lifts it out of the system.

The classification methods are classified into vibration type and non-vibration type depending on the moving method of the parts. The vibration type includes electromagnetic type, piezoelectric type and mechanical type. is there. The vibration type has a drawback that it is very susceptible to damage due to collision between articles and vibration parts. The belt type is characterized in that collision of articles hardly occurs, but the apparatus is complicated and the supply speed is limited. With the rotary type, the supply speed can be increased, but collisions are more likely to occur than with the belt type.
The rotary type includes a rotary drum type and a rotary disk type. The rotary drum type has a higher collision frequency between articles, and the rotary disk type has a lower collision frequency. In addition, the disk rotation type includes a single disk rotation type and a composite disk rotation type.
JP 7-315331 A Japanese Patent Application No. 2005-178635

The shape of a frustum-shaped candy is not as simple as a cube, a rectangle or a sphere. For example, an elliptical frustum-shaped candy has a complicated shape with a vertical cross-section and a horizontal cross-section. The dimensions are different on the left, right, top and bottom.
Depending on the shape of the bottom, the frustum shape is elliptical frustum, elliptical frustum, circular frustum, quadrangular frustum, polygonal frustum, oval Is called an oval frustum.
Of these shapes of candy, those with a small tilt angle of the frustum and those with a small candy thickness are acceptable as long as they are within the allowable range of the individual packaging machine, even if the direction is supplied upside down. If the inclination angle is large or the candy thickness is large, it will be outside the allowable range of the packaging machine and cannot be normally individually packaged.
Therefore, it is necessary to recognize and align the top and bottom of the frustum-shaped candy and supply them.

The object of the present invention is that hard candy is particularly easily chipped among the frustum-shaped candy, and the chipped candy has a defect that the product is defective. The object is to provide a method for separating frustum-shaped candy that is efficiently sorted and aligned so that the vertical direction of the frustum is in a predetermined direction.
In the present invention, after the frustum-shaped candy thus separated and aligned in such a manner that the vertical direction of the frustum becomes a predetermined direction is individually packaged, it is externally packaged, and these are arranged in a bar shape. Provide products.

  The present inventors have studied various methods for separating frustum-shaped candy, and as a result of devising it from the viewpoint of damage to the candy, the supply speed and maintenance of the device, the frustum-shaped candy has the same vertical direction of the frustum It has been found that the problem can be solved by using a specific separation method in which the rotary disk and the frustum shape recognition means are combined in order to achieve the alignment.

The method for separating frustum-shaped candy according to claim 1 of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problem is as follows.
A rotating disk having a frustum shape recognition means that rotates around the central axis and separates the frustum-shaped candy having a predetermined tilt angle by aligning and sorting the frustum-shaped candy so that the vertical directions of the frustums are all the same. The candy is supplied to the center of the rotating disk, the candy is moved to the outer periphery of the rotating disk by the centrifugal force of the rotating disk, and the candy moved to the outer periphery is selected and sorted by the frustum shape recognition means. The candy with the frustum vertically extending in a predetermined direction is taken out of the system, and the other candy is returned to the center of the rotary disk and sorted again.

  By the frustum-shaped candy sorting method of the present invention, even if it is a hard candy that is easily chipped, the frustum-shaped candy can be efficiently sorted without being chipped, with few sorting errors and without occurrence of defects. The frustum-shaped candy separated so that the vertical direction of the frustum is in a predetermined direction can be taken out of the system and aligned and supplied to the individual packaging machine. This makes it possible to improve the troubles on the individual packaging machine and to provide a candy product in the form of a stick by wrapping them individually and arranging them.

Next, the contents of the present invention will be described in detail.
FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing an embodiment in which sorting is performed using the frustum-shaped candy sorting method of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is an explanatory view for explaining the elliptic frustum-shaped candy used in the classification test.
FIGS. 3A to 3D are explanatory diagrams for explaining the function of the frustum shape recognition means shown in FIG.

  A sorting apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1 includes a traveling lane 2 having a predetermined width W over the entire circumference, and a rotating disk 4 that rotates around a central axis 3 by being driven by a driving device (not shown). ing. Reference numeral 5 denotes a slippery inclined portion provided between the travel lane 2 and the rotary disk 4 and is provided integrally with the travel lane 2 and the rotary disk 4.

  In addition, the sorting device 1 is in contact with the outer periphery of the traveling lane 2 of the rotary disk 4 so as not to hinder its rotation, and has a fixed wall 7 that is inclined according to the inclination angle θ of the frustum-shaped candy 6. I have.

The sorting device 1 passes the candy 5 on the traveling lane 2 in which the vertical direction of the frustum is in a predetermined direction, but does not pass the other candy 5 and excludes it from the traveling lane 2 to rotate. A frustum shape recognition gate 8 having a function of returning to the center of the disk 4 is provided.
A control bar 9 having a predetermined size and shape is used by fixing it at a predetermined position above the traveling lane 2 to exhibit the function of the frustum shape recognition gate 8 or the inner surface of the fixed wall 7. As shown by the arrows, the function of the frustum shape recognition gate 8 is exhibited.
The traveling lane 2, the fixed wall 7, the frustum shape recognition gate 8, the control bar 9, and the like constitute frustum shape recognition means.

  When sorting, when the frustum-shaped candy 6 is supplied from the outside to the center of the rotating disk 4 as indicated by the arrow, the candy 6 moves onto the traveling lane 2 by the centrifugal force of the rotating disk 4. To do.

  The candy 6 moved onto the traveling lane 2 is not only the candy 6 in which the vertical direction of the frustum is in a predetermined direction as shown in FIGS. Or lying down.

However, in the frustum shape recognition gate 8, only the candy 6 whose vertical direction of the frustum is in a predetermined direction is passed, and the other candy 6 is not allowed to pass through and is removed from the traveling lane 2 to remove the inclined portion 5. After that, it returns to the center of the rotary disk 4.
The candy 6 returned to the central portion of the rotary disk 4 is moved again onto the traveling lane 2 by the centrifugal force of the rotating disk 4 as described above, and this is repeated to perform the separation.

As shown in FIG. 3 (a), the candy 6 in which the vertical direction of the frustum on the traveling lane 2 is in a predetermined direction is inclined according to the inclination angle θ of the candy 6 by the centrifugal force of the disk 4. It is pressed against the fixed wall 7 provided and passes through the frustum shape recognition gate 8 without touching the control bar 9.
The candy 6 that has passed through the frustum shape recognition gate 8 is discharged to the outside from the discharge port 10 by the centrifugal force of the disk 4 and the air discharge force from the air passage 11, and is aligned and supplied to an individual packaging machine (not shown). .

  As shown in FIG. 3 (b), the candy 6 in which the vertical direction of the frustum on the traveling lane 2 is opposite to the predetermined direction is fixed to the fixed wall 7 as indicated by the broken line due to the centrifugal force of the disk 4 as shown in FIG. It is pressed against the surface, touches the control bar 9 at the top, cannot pass through the frustum shape recognition gate 8, is excluded from the traveling lane 2, and returned to the center of the rotary disk 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3C, the candy 6 lying on the traveling lane 2 touches the control bar 9 and cannot pass through the frustum shape recognition gate 8 and is excluded from the traveling lane 2 and is rotated. Returned to the center of the disk 4.

  As shown in FIG. 3D, the candy 6 lying on the traveling lane 2 is pressed against the surface of the fixed wall 7 by the centrifugal force of the disk 4 as shown by the broken line, and touches the control bar 9 above. Thus, it cannot pass through the frustum shape recognition gate 8 and is removed from the traveling lane 2 and returned to the center of the rotary disk 4.

  The disc 4 of the sorting device 1 may be rotated while being inclined from the horizontal plane. In this case, the candy 6 on the disc 4 is moved in the direction of the inner periphery of the fixed wall 7 by the centrifugal force and this inclination. And the candy 6 which got on the driving | running | working lane 2 which exists in the perimeter of the fixed wall 7, and passed the frustum shape recognition gate 8 goes to the discharge port 10, and is supplied to the following individual packaging which is not shown in figure. The traveling lane 2 corresponds to two rotating rotating disk type outer disks rotating.

By using such a composite rotary disk 4, the candy 6 on the rotary traveling lane 2 can be easily fed into the frustum shape recognition gate 8. The frustum shape recognition gate 8 is preferably moved in contact with the fixed wall 7 having an inclination angle θ corresponding to the inclination angle θ of the frustum in order to recognize the top and bottom of the frustum shape.
If the inclination angle θ of the fixed wall 7 is set to an acute angle side, the lack of the candy 6 accumulates at the acute angle corner and the angle changes. Therefore, when the inclination angle θ is set to the obtuse angle side, the candy is added to the corner corner. Those lacking 6 are preferred because they do not accumulate.

When the candy 6 is riding on the traveling lane 2 in the shape of a truncated cone with the frustum up-and-down direction being a predetermined direction, that is, when the candy 6 is on the traveling lane 2, the candy 6 is in close contact with the fixed wall 7, and the narrow traveling lane 2 passes through the frustum shape recognition gate 8 without dropping.
However, if the candy 6 is supplied to the frustum shape recognition gate 8 with the candy 6 opened downward, the width of the lane 2 can be adjusted so that the candy 6 cannot come into close contact with the fixed wall 7 and falls off the narrow lane 2. If it is set, it cannot pass through the frustum shape recognition gate 8 and is removed from the traveling lane 2 and returned to the center of the rotary disk 4.

The dropped candy 6 rolls on the rotary disk 4 and receives a centrifugal force to try again.
The candy 6 that has passed through the frustum shape recognition gate 8 moves from the traveling lane 2 to the discharge port 10 and is carried by a shooter of an individual packaging machine of the candy 6 (not shown). There is an appropriate angle for introducing the candy 6 conveyed from the shooter (not shown) into the individual packaging machine (not shown), and the angle must be gentle so as not to disturb the directionality of the candy 6.

Examples The present invention will be described more specifically with reference to examples. However, the present invention is not limited to the examples without departing from the gist of the present invention.
Example 1
As shown in FIG. 2, the candy 6 is an elliptic frustum. The ellipse of the bottom having a large area has a major axis of 23 mm and the minor axis of 16 mm, and the ellipse of the upper surface having a small area has a major axis of 20 mm and a minor axis. Is 12 mm. The height of the frustum is 11 mm. The main raw material of candy 6 is manufactured by a method called deposit molding in which reduced maltose starch syrup is poured into a metal mold. Since it is made of a metal mold, the shape of the candy 6 has high accuracy and is suitable for the classification of the present invention.

  The sorting apparatus 1 has a tilted columnar fixed wall 7 having a diameter of 100 cm, a rotary disk 4 having a diameter of 99.5 cm, and a composite rotary type having a travel lane 2 having a width of 6 mm so as to ride on the entire circumference thereof. This is a sorter equipped with a disk 4. The rotary disk 4 is operated at a high speed of 100 rpm. As the rotary disk 4 rotates, the candy 6 is sent to the circumferential side of the rotary disk 4 and carried on the traveling lane 2 that turns.

The surface portion of the sorting apparatus 1 is polished or chamfered so that the candy 6 is less damaged.
When the candy 6 that has gone up to the traveling lane 2 via the inclined portion 5 is lying down, the large elliptical short axis is 16 mm, so a frustum shape recognition gate 8 that is variable from 11 mm to 16 mm can be formed. By setting and setting to 13 mm, the lying candy 6 can be dropped on the original central portion of the rotary disk 4 to be re-sorted.
The candy 6 that is dropped and re-sorted is preferably returned to the original central portion of the rotary disk 4 so as to slide through the inclined portion 5 made of a Teflon (registered trademark) sheet so as not to be damaged. If there is a protruding portion (not shown) in the thickness direction of the candy 6, it is removed due to its height restriction.

In order to unify the vertical direction of the candy 6, the candy 6 on the traveling lane 2 of the rotary disk 4 is sent to the frustum shape recognition gate 8.
The frustum shape recognition gate 8 is preferably moved in contact with the fixed wall 7 having an inclination angle θ corresponding to the inclination angle θ of the frustum in order to recognize the top and bottom of the frustum shape of the candy 6. Since the disk type disk 4 is rotating, the candy 6 is necessarily arranged so that the elliptical short axis side of the candy 6 is in contact with the fixed wall 7, and does not become unstable such that the long axis side of the candy 6 is in contact.

  When the inclination angle θ of the fixed wall 7 is set to 80 °, for example, the candy 6 riding on the travel lane 2 in a state where the vertical direction of the frustum is a predetermined direction (reverse frustum) is fixed to the fixed wall 7. Is exactly along. However, the candy 6 riding on the traveling lane 2 in a state where the vertical direction of the frustum of the candy 6 is opposite to the predetermined direction (a normal frustum having a large lower surface) is in contact with the fixed wall 7 completely and perfectly. I can't.

The candy 6 placed in a normal frustum state in which the vertical direction is opposite to the predetermined direction is positioned on the inner side by 2.0 mm, which is half of the difference of 4 mm in the minor axis length of the frustum. If the width of the traveling lane 2 is set to 6 mm, the candy 6 falls from the traveling lane of 6 mm in the normal frustum state.
In addition, when it is forced to enter the inside of 2.0 mm, it comes into contact with the control bar 9 of the frustum shape recognition gate 8 and drops off. Although the principle action of the inclination angle θ is as described above, it is preferable to finely adjust the inclination angle θ because centrifugal force works. Since the sorting apparatus 1 is contaminated with scraps of the missing candy 6, it is preferable to install a waste receptacle that can be cleaned.

  The delivery of the candy 6 sorted so that the vertical direction of the frustum becomes a predetermined direction is discharged from the discharge port 10 by centrifugal force and discharge force by air from the air passage 11. The delivered candy 6 is sent out on a slide (not shown) provided with an inclination by being aligned by vibration of a vibrator. When the supply of the candy 6 becomes too large, a sensor (not shown) that detects the supply amount is activated, and the delivery is suppressed by blowing air. When the supply amount is insufficient, the individual packaging machine (not shown) in the next process stops and waits for the supply of the candy 6. It is preferable to set a time lag without urgently performing the operation of the sensor (not shown).

  By the frustum-shaped candy sorting method of the present invention, even if it is a hard candy that is easily chipped, the frustum-shaped candy can be efficiently sorted without being chipped, with few sorting errors and without occurrence of defects. Can be sorted, maintenance is easy, and the frustum-shaped candy sorted so that the vertical direction of the frustum is in a predetermined direction can be arranged and supplied to the individual packaging machine. In addition, the trouble on the individual packaging machine is improved, and after the individual packaging, the outer packaging is performed, and they can be arranged side by side to provide a stick-shaped candy product, so that the industrial utility value is high.

It is explanatory drawing which shows 1 embodiment which sorts using the method for fractionating the frustum-shaped candy of this invention. It is explanatory drawing explaining the candy of an elliptic frustum shape used for the classification test. (A)-(d) is explanatory drawing explaining the function of the frustum shape recognition gate of the sorting apparatus shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

θ Inclination angle W width 1 Sorting device 2 Traveling lane 3 Central axis 4 Rotary disk 5 Inclined portion 6 Frustum-shaped candy 7 Fixed wall 8 Frustum-shaped recognition gate 9 Control bar 10 Discharge port 11 Air passage

Claims (1)

  A rotating disk having a frustum shape recognition means that rotates around the central axis and separates the frustum-shaped candy having a predetermined tilt angle by aligning and sorting the frustum-shaped candy so that the vertical directions of the frustums are all the same. The candy is supplied to the center of the rotating disk, the candy is moved to the outer periphery of the rotating disk by the centrifugal force of the rotating disk, and the candy moved to the outer periphery is selected and sorted by the frustum shape recognition means. The frustum is characterized by repeatedly taking out the candy whose vertical direction of the frustum is in a predetermined direction out of the system, returning the other candy to the central part of the rotary disk, and sorting again. How to separate shape candy.

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