JP2007282564A - Cooked rice supplying mechanism in food molding apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a cooked rice supplying mechanism in a food molding apparatus where cooked rice is divided into portions each having a prescribed amount through a closing movement of a pair of shutters while the rice grains are separately loosened without being cut. <P>SOLUTION: The cooked rice supplying mechanism Q in a food molding apparatus is connectedly installed at the lower part of a cooked rice hopper, and comprises the following: a cooked rice supplying part formed so as to axially support a plurality pieces of supply rollers feeding the cooked rice and disposed so as to sequentially narrow the facing space thereof; and a pair of shutters 2a, 2b arranged at the lower part of the rice supplying part and freely openable in a horizontal direction so as to separately supply the prescribed amount of the cooked rice fed out downward to the lower side transfer apparatus. The shutters 2a, 2b comprise teeth of a comb where a plurality of teeth 5 each having a pointed extremity are adjacently placed so as to separate the cooked rice without squashing the cooked rice when moving in such a direction as to get closer to each other. The mechanism is also provided with a shutter-tilting driving means so that one shutter 2a (2b) tilts downward against the other shutter 2b (2a) to make the cooked rice separable. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention provides, for example, a rice supply mechanism of a food molding apparatus provided with a shutter for dividing a predetermined amount of cooked rice sent to the lower side of the supply path by a supply roller of a cooked rice supply mechanism in a rice cooker such as sushi and rice balls About.

Conventionally, in this type of cooked rice supply mechanism, as disclosed in Patent Document 1, the rice balls such as sushi, rice balls, etc. In this manner, the fixed amount of the product is sequentially dropped and supplied to a transfer device such as a turntable or a transfer conveyor. That is, a handful of shaving balls, when a continuous shaving that is sequentially compressed and transferred from the upper side to the lower side by multi-stage feed rollers arranged oppositely on both sides projects below the lowermost feed roller, The two-stage pair of plate-like cutters arranged to face each other are made to bite while approaching each other.
Japanese Patent Publication No. 61-43981

  Therefore, conventionally, the rice grains themselves forming the sharp balls are cut by the cutter, and the rice grains may be crushed from both sides by the cutter. As a result, so-called kneaded balls are in a state of being kneaded, and after molding, there is a problem of quality deterioration that becomes a sticky crispy and impairs the texture and taste.

  Therefore, the present invention has been made in view of the existing circumstances as described above, and can be supplied to the transfer device in a state where the rice grains forming the shari balls are broken apart, so that sushi, It is possible to supply a fixed amount of shari balls such as onigiri in a soft state, just like a hand grip, so that the shaving after molding is not sticky, high quality with good texture and taste An object of the present invention is to provide a cooked rice supply mechanism for a food molding apparatus.

  In order to solve the above-described problems, in the present invention, a plurality of supply rollers that are continuously provided at the lower part of the cooked rice hopper and that are sequentially spaced from the upper side for feeding the cooked rice downward are pivotally supported. The formed cooked rice supply unit and a pair of shutters that can be opened and closed in the left-right direction are arranged at the bottom of the cooked rice supply unit so as to divide the cooked rice fed downward by a predetermined amount and feed it to the lower transfer device. In the cooked rice supply mechanism, the shutter is formed by comb teeth formed by arranging a plurality of pointed rod-shaped teeth adjacent to each other so as to divide the cooked rice without crushing when moving in the direction of closing each other. It is characterized by.

  At this time, the shutter may be provided with a shutter tilting drive unit so that the cooked rice can be separated by tilting one of the shutters downwardly after the other shutter is moved in the closing direction.

  Further, between the lowermost supply roller and the lower shutter, a circular frame-shaped cooked rice guide may be provided so as to feed the cooked rice in a substantially circular shape to the shutter side.

  Further, the supply roller may be formed in a substantially semicircular concave shape when the outer peripheral surfaces of the left and right rollers are viewed from above.

  In addition, each of the cooked rice supply unit, the shutter, and the cooked rice guide can be integrally formed in two sets corresponding to the two forming holes inside and outside the transfer device.

  According to the present invention, rice grains forming the shari balls can be supplied to the transfer device in a state of being broken apart, and therefore, the quantitative shari of sushi balls such as sushi and rice balls can be used in the same way as a hand grip. It can be supplied in a fluffy state, so that the shape after molding does not become sticky, and it becomes a high quality product with a good texture and taste.

  That is, this is because the shutter is formed by comb teeth formed by arranging a plurality of teeth in the shape of a pointed rod adjacent to each other, so that the rice grains themselves forming the sharp balls are not cut and the rice grains are not cut. Since it is no longer crushed from both sides, it is possible to supply a fixed amount of sushi balls, rice balls, and other crisp balls to the transfer device in a soft, high-quality state just like a hand grip. is there.

  At this time, the shutter is provided with shutter tilting drive means so that the rice can be separated by tilting one of the shutters in the downward direction after moving in the direction of closing each other. It can be performed reliably, and the supply of sharp balls to the transfer device side can be performed smoothly. The same effect can be obtained by lowering not only the front end of one shutter but the whole.

  In addition, between the lowermost supply roller and the lower shutter, a cooked rice guide having a circular frame shape is provided so that the cooked rice is substantially circular and fed to the shutter side. It can be reliably supplied to the shutter side via the cooked rice guide without being scattered outwardly and without being cut halfway. Therefore, the fixed amount of cooked rice can be smoothly and reliably supplied to the transfer device.

  Further, since the outer peripheral surfaces of the left and right rollers are formed in a substantially semicircular concave shape when viewed from above, the supply roller has a substantially circular shape to feed the cooked rice to the shutter side when it reaches the lowermost supply roller. be able to.

  In addition, the cooked rice supply unit, the shutter, and the cooked rice guide are each integrally formed in two sets corresponding to the inner and outer two molding holes of the transfer device, so that they are molded by being united with each other via a tool. The inner and outer rims are not sticky, and they are of high quality with a good texture and taste.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.
The reference symbol P shown in the figure is a cooked rice forming apparatus. As shown in FIG. 1, the cooked rice forming apparatus P is provided with a transfer device T for the cooked rice r on a pedestal H that is movable via a caster K. ing. This transfer device T is composed of two turntables T ₁ and T ₂ which are arranged in a vertical position so that a part thereof overlaps.

The main metering unit Q ₁ is on one side of the lower turntable T ₁ is, on one side of the upper turn table T ₂ the auxiliary metering unit Q ₂ are respectively arranged. In this embodiment, these main metering section Q ₁ and rice supply mechanism Q by 2 mechanisms of the auxiliary metering section Q ₂ are formed, of course also the turntable forms the cooked rice supply mechanism only by a single 1 mechanism Is possible.

Then, the cooked rice r in the shatter tray R is put into the cooked rice hopper W by the upper and lower conveyors U, and either the main weighing unit Q ₁ or the auxiliary weighing unit Q ₂ is switched from the horizontal conveyor V to the transfer roller. On the other hand, rice r is supplied. In addition, the cooked rice forming apparatus P is provided with a compression mechanism S for compressing the cooked rice r filled in the forming holes of the turntables T ₁ and T ₂ and for monitoring the operation of each mechanism. The monitoring device M is provided.

In addition, two rows of forming holes 8 are provided on the respective turntables T ₁ and T ₂ along the circumferential direction, and the cooked rice r supplied from the main measuring portion Q ₁ to the forming holes 8 of the turntable T _1. Is pressed and transferred from below into the forming hole 8 of the turntable T ₂ by ascending and descending the receiving member 9 which can be moved up and down, and the auxiliary cooked rice Q is supplied from the auxiliary weighing unit Q ₂ to the cooked rice r. . In this turntable T ₂ , half of the slurry is supplied to each of the outer molding hole and the inner molding hole, and a tool is provided on, for example, the outer molding hole by a tool supply mechanism (not shown). After loading, the rice balls (packed rice balls) containing ingredients are formed by placing the inside of the inside molding hole on the inside of the outside shaping hole.

As shown in FIG. 2, the main weighing unit Q ₁ of the cooked rice supply mechanism Q divides the cooked rice feed unit 1 connected to the lower part of the cooked rice hopper W and the cooked rice r fed downward by a predetermined amount without cutting. It is formed with a pair of shutters 2a and 2b that can be opened and closed in the left-right direction, arranged at the lower part of the cooked rice supply unit 1. In this case, rice supply unit 1, the shutter 2a, 2b, respectively, become the two sets corresponding to the inner and outer two shaped holes 8 of the turntable T ₁ is a transfer device T are integrally formed.

  In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the cooked rice supply unit 1 is opposed to the left and right in order to send the cooked rice r downward while compressing the cooked rice r, and has a large diameter that is arranged with a narrower width between the left and right as it goes downward. Each of the supply rollers 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d is formed by supporting the supply rollers 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d of the upper, middle diameter, lower diameter, and large diameter lowermost stages. The outer peripheral surface is formed in a substantially semicircular concave shape when viewed from above, and is formed in a circular shape when combined. And it shall rotate in the reverse direction inward by the drive source not shown.

  Further, between the lowermost supply roller 1d and the lower shutters 2a and 2b, a circular frame-shaped rice guide 6 which is integrated in two correspondingly to the inner and outer two molding holes 8 of the transfer device T is provided. The cooked rice r is formed in a substantially circular shape and is supplied to the shutters 2a and 2b.

  As shown in FIG. 2, the shutters 2a and 2b are formed in a rectangular plate shape on the tip side of a pair of slide arms 4a and 4b that can be repeatedly moved between a closed position and an open position by a drive source (not shown). The fixed portions 3a and 3b are mounted, and as shown in FIG. 3, a rod whose tip is pointed conically in a mounting hole formed at equal intervals along the longitudinal direction of the side surface of the fixed portions 3a and 3b. A plurality of teeth 5 are mounted and fixed, so that the whole is formed into comb teeth. At this time, two sets of teeth 5 are mounted and fixed in the front-rear direction along the longitudinal direction of the side surface of the fixed portions 3a, 3b of the shutters 2a, 2b corresponding to the two rice cooker guides 6. The pair of shutters 2a and 2b are moved in the direction of closing each other, so that the cooked rice r is divided so as not to be crushed.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, a shutter tilt driving means 7 is provided so that one shutter 2a (2b) of the pair of left and right shutters 2a and 2b can tilt downward, and the pair of shutters 2a and 2b. After the movement in the closing direction, the rice r can be separated by tilting the one shutter 2a (2b) downward with respect to the position of the other shutter 2b (2a).

  As a specific configuration of the shutter tilt driving means 7, one shutter 2 a (2 b) is operated in conjunction with a driving source that opens and closes a pair of shutters 2 a and 2 b having teeth 5 to each other in the left-right direction. For example, a tilt guide portion (not shown) is provided on one slide arm 4a (4b) side so as to tilt in the heel direction from the horizontal state, and on the base end side of one slide arm 4a (4b), a bifurcated clamping member is interposed on the support shaft. The guide projections fitted and integrated with each other are engaged in a substantially V-shaped groove formed in the tilting guide portion. Therefore, when the shutters 2a and 2b are moved in the direction of closing each other, the guide projection slides along the groove, so that one of the shutters 2a (2b) can be tilted from the horizontal state to the heel direction. Note that the configuration of the shutter tilt driving means 7 is merely an example, and other configurations, for example, means for lowering the entire one shutter 2a (2b) may be employed.

Next, an example of use and operation of the best mode configured as described above will be described.
As shown in FIG. 1, the upper and lower transfer conveyors U charged with cooked rice r in rice tray R in rice hopper W, rice r to one of the main metering unit Q ₁ or the auxiliary metering unit Q ₂ by the horizontal conveyor V Is inserted.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 2, the cooked rice supply unit ₁ in the main weighing unit Q ₁ has a large-diameter upper stage, a middle-diameter middle stage, and a small-diameter lower stage that are arranged so that the width between the left and right sides becomes narrower as it goes downward. The rice r is fed downward while being compressed by the supply rollers 1a, 1b, 1c and 1d of the lowermost large diameter stage.

  The cooked rice r fed downward is supplied to the shutters 2a and 2b through the circular frame-shaped cooked rice guide 6 while maintaining the substantially cylindrical state without being scattered. As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the cooked rice r is cut by the sliding movement of the pair of shutters 2 a, 2 b that are openable in the left-right direction disposed in the lower part of the cooked rice supply unit 1 in the closing direction. Only a predetermined amount is divided without being crushed.

At the same time, as shown in FIG. 4, when the shutters 2a and 2b are moved in the closing direction, the guide protrusion of the tilting guide portion slides along the groove, so that one shutter 2a (2b) is moved. it shall be is tilted from the horizontal state to俯direction, whereby rice r is a reliably disconnected state, it is supplied to the forming hole 8 in the turntable T ₁ of the transfer apparatus T.

As the operation of the main metering unit Q ₁ and the auxiliary metering portion Q ₂ of the rice supplying mechanism Q, first main from the measuring unit Q ₁ slightly less weight of cooked rice r from the constant weight rice is transfer device T turntable T ₁ is fed into _one molding hole 8. Then, after weighing the rice weight in weight measuring device not shown (for example, 90% of the constant weight rice), pressed by the rise of the receiving member 9 from the lower side to the turntable T ₂ of the molding hole 8, and transfers . On the other hand, by switching the rice r is transferred rollers in rice hopper W, it is turned by the horizontal conveyor V to the auxiliary measuring part Q _2, from the auxiliary metering unit Q _2, further into the forming hole 8 in the turntable T ₂ weight The cooked rice r having a difference (for 10%) is replenished. This highly accurate constant weight rice is supplied to the turntable T ₂ side.

  Then, after the tool is placed on the shaving in the outer molding hole 8 by the tool feeding mechanism, the shaving in the inner molding hole 8 is placed on the shaving in the outer molding hole 8 and is not shown. By compressing the circular ball into a triangle by the compression molding mechanism, a triangular rice ball with ingredients is formed. Of course, it may be formed as a circular rice ball or an oval rice ball.

It is a front view which shows the whole structure of the food shaping | molding apparatus in the best form for implementing this invention. The structure of the whole supply path | route inside a cooked rice supply mechanism is similarly shown, (a) is a front view, (b) is XX sectional drawing of (a). Similarly, the state which closed the pair of shutters of the cooked rice supply mechanism on the upper side of the transfer device is shown, (a) is a partially cutaway plan view, and (b) is a front view. It is the partially notched sectional view which looked at the state which divided and separated the cooked rice with the pair of shutters of the cooked rice supply mechanism from the front side.

Explanation of symbols

P Cooked rice forming device Q Cooked rice supply mechanism Q ₁ Main weighing unit Q ₂ Auxiliary weighing unit H Pedestal R Shari weight measuring device S Compression mechanism T Transfer device T ₁ Turntable T ₂ Turntable U Vertical conveyor V Horizontal conveyor W Rice hopper R Shari tray r Cooked rice M Monitor device 1 Cooked rice supply unit 1a, 1b, 1c, 1d Feed roller 2a, 2b Shutter 3a, 3b Fixing unit 4a, 4b Slide arm 5 Tooth 6 Guide frame 7 Shutter tilt drive means 8 Molding hole 9 Receiving member

Claims (5)

  A rice supply unit that is continuously provided at the lower part of the cooked rice hopper and is formed by pivotally supporting a plurality of supply rollers that are sequentially spaced from the upper side for sending the rice downward, and the rice that is sent downward A cooked rice supply mechanism formed by a pair of shutters that can be opened and closed in the left-right direction and arranged in the lower part of the cooked rice supply unit so as to be divided into a predetermined amount and fed to the lower transfer device, and the shutters are closed to each other A rice supply mechanism for a food molding apparatus, characterized in that it is formed by comb teeth in which a plurality of tips of rod-shaped rods are arranged adjacent to each other so as to divide the rice without crushing when moving to.   2. The cooked rice in the food molding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the shutter is provided with a shutter tilting drive means so that the cooked rice can be separated by tilting one shutter in the downward direction of the other shutter after moving in the direction of closing each other. Supply mechanism.   3. The food molding apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, wherein a circular frame-shaped cooked rice guide is provided between the lowermost supply roller and the lower shutter so as to feed the cooked rice in a substantially circular shape to the shutter side. Rice supply mechanism.   4. The cooked rice supply mechanism for a food molding apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the supply roller is formed in a substantially semicircular concave shape when the left and right roller outer peripheral surfaces are viewed from above.   The cooked rice supply mechanism of the food molding apparatus according to claim 3 or 4, wherein the cooked rice supply unit, the shutter, and the cooked rice guide are each integrally formed in two sets corresponding to the two molding holes inside and outside the transfer device.

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