JP2008178391A - Method and apparatus for producing wrapped food - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a method and an apparatus for producing wrapped foods in which the inner material is wrapped with an outer skin material. <P>SOLUTION: The production method comprises following steps: a step where a flat outer skin 3 is positioned on the mounting member 34 having the opening part 33; a step where the nozzle member 43 for discharging the inner material 11 is allowed to go down and the outer skin material 3 is pressed to the mounting member 34 with the annular sealing member 47 that is set on the peripheral surface of the nozzle member 43; a step where, when the inner material 11 is discharged from the nozzle part 43 to swell the skin material 3 downward, the bottom part of the outer skin material 3 is supported with the vertically movable supporting means 15 under the mounting member 34; a step where the discharging of the inner material 11 is completed and the nozzle part 43 rises up, and the peripheral parts of the outer skin material 3 are gathered to the central part and the gathered parts are sealed with a sealing means 9, and a step for pressing the sealed part to the wrapped food 17 to be collapsed. The collapsing of the sealed part is carried out by pressing the sealing part to the sealing means 9 by vertically moving the vertically movable supporting means 15 relatively to the sealing means 9. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2008,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to the manufacture of encapsulated foods that can continuously produce encapsulated foods (products) having a structure in which an inner material made of food such as candy or jam is wrapped, for example, with a skin material made of food dough such as bread dough The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus.

As a conventional food manufacturing apparatus, for example, a disk-shaped food dough (coating material) made of bread dough is formed in a bowl shape in advance, and an inner material made of koji, for example, is supplied to the inside of the bowl-shaped portion of the covering material. It has been practiced to manufacture a food product such as bread that wraps the inner material with the outer skin material (for example, Patent Document 1).
JP 2003-079356 A

  The food manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 mounts and supports a disc-shaped outer skin material and seals the peripheral portion of the outer skin material after the inner material is supplied. And holding means for holding the peripheral portion of the outer skin material in such a manner as to cooperate with the second shutter, pressing means for forming the outer skin material holding the peripheral edge in a bowl shape, and the pressing means, An inner material supply device is provided for supplying an inner material to the inside of the hook-shaped portion of the outer skin material formed into a communication hook shape.

  The food manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a holding unit that presses a peripheral edge portion of the outer skin material, and a pressing means that serves as a supply nozzle that supplies an inner material to the inside of the outer shell material formed in a bowl shape. When the inner material is provided inside the outer skin material, the inner material may leak from the upper opening of the outer skin material. Furthermore, when the peripheral portion of the outer skin material is sealed with the second shutter, the inner material may leak from the sealed portion of the unencapsulated food, and the surface of the encapsulated food is contaminated by the inner material. There is a problem that it tends to be defective. Further, the food production apparatus such as the second shutter and the pushing means may be contaminated by the inner material leaked from the encapsulated food, and the operation of the production apparatus must be stopped to clean the production apparatus, There is a problem that productivity tends to decrease.

  In addition, the food manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1 includes a support member for supporting the outer skin material formed in a bowl shape so as to be movable up and down below the second shutter, and the outer skin material is Support interval adjusting means for adjusting the interval between the support member and the second shutter to a preset interval before forming into a shape.

  However, in the food manufacturing apparatus described in Patent Document 1, the center portion of the outer skin material is pushed downward by the pushing means in a state where the peripheral edge portion of the outer skin material is held, and the outer skin material is previously disposed below. Since it is dented until it is supported by the supporting member and is formed into a bowl shape, the bottom part of the outer skin material formed into a bowl shape tends to be thinly stretched compared to other parts.

  The bottom part of the outer skin material becomes the upper part of the encapsulated food when the encapsulated food is turned upside down after the peripheral edge is sealed. There is a problem in that the outer skin material becomes thinner than the other parts, and the skin around the outer skin material becomes non-uniform and the product value decreases.

  Moreover, if the peripheral part of the said skin | coating material is sealed, the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus of the said patent document 1 may be controlled to stop closing operation before the said 2nd shutter closes completely. is there.

  However, the sealing portion of the outer skin material may remain in a protruding shape on the upper part of the food to be encapsulated. However, Patent Document 1 discloses a specific solution for eliminating the protruding sealing portion. Although not described, there remains a problem of efficiently and surely disappearing the protruding sealing portion.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-described problems, and is a method of manufacturing a food package in which an inner material is wrapped with an outer skin material, and covers the opening on a mounting member having the opening. A step (a) for positioning the flat outer shell material as described above, and a nozzle member that is provided with an inner material discharge port for discharging the inner material at the lower end portion and that can move up and down relatively with respect to the mounting member. (B) a step of relatively lowering and pressing the outer skin material against the mounting member by an annular sealing member provided on the peripheral surface of the nozzle member; and discharging the inner material from the nozzle member to the outer skin (C) a step of supporting a bottom portion of the outer covering material by a lifting support means provided on the lower side of the mounting member so as to be vertically movable relative to the mounting member when the material is expanded to the lower side of the opening. And after the discharge of the inner material is finished and the nozzle member is raised, the outer skin It gathered the periphery to the central portion, and is characterized in that it comprises the steps of sealing to the step (d) the jumble part with a sealing means.

  Further, the method for producing encapsulated food comprises a step of pressing and crushing the sealed portion sealed by the sealing means against the encapsulated food.

  Further, in the method of manufacturing the encapsulated food, the crushing of the sealing portion may be performed by moving the elevating support unit relatively up and down relative to the sealing unit and pressing the sealing unit against the sealing unit. It is characterized by being performed.

  Further, in the method for manufacturing the encapsulated food, when the outer skin material is expanded downward, the lifting support means is constantly lowered while maintaining a state in which it is always in contact with the bottom of the outer skin material. Is.

  Further, in the method for producing encapsulated food, at the end of the discharge of the inner material from the nozzle member to the outer skin material, the gas is ejected from the gas ejection means provided in the nozzle member, and the inner material is discharged from the nozzle member. The inner material in the mouth is ejected into the outer skin material.

  An enveloped food manufacturing apparatus for producing encapsulated food that encloses an inner material with an outer skin material, the mounting member having an opening, and the mounting member on the above-described mounting so as to cover the opening An outer shell material transferring means for transferring the flat outer shell material to the lower member and an inner material discharge port for discharging the inner material to the outer shell material transferred onto the mounting member, and above the opening A nozzle member that is relatively movable up and down at a position, and an annular seal provided around the nozzle member to press the outer skin material against the mounting member when the nozzle member is relatively lowered And an elevating support means provided to be movable up and down to always support the bottom portion of the outer skin material when the inner material is discharged from the nozzle member and the outer skin material is expanded below the opening. The discharge of the inner material is finished, and the nozzle member is relatively raised. When or rises after, gathered the periphery of the outer skin material in the central portion, and is characterized in that it comprises a and a sealing means for sealing the jumble portion.

  Further, in the encapsulated food manufacturing apparatus, in order to press and crush the sealing portion formed on the encapsulated food against the sealing means in a closed state, the opening / closing operation of the enclosing means and the encapsulated food are performed. Control means for controlling the relative vertical movement of the supported elevating support means is provided.

  In the enveloping food manufacturing apparatus, the nozzle member is provided with gas ejection means for ejecting the inner material in the inner material discharge port of the nozzle member when the ejection of the inner material from the nozzle member is completed. It is characterized by this.

  In the enveloping food manufacturing apparatus, when the inner material is discharged from the nozzle member and the outer skin material is expanded downward, the elevating support means always keeps contact with the bottom of the outer skin material and descends. It is the structure which carries out.

  Further, in the encapsulated food manufacturing apparatus, the sealing means includes a centering function for matching the center of the opening and the center of the skin material provided in the mounting member, and gathering of the skin material It has two functions including a sealing function for sealing the part.

  According to the present invention, it is possible to prevent leakage of the inner material from the opening, and it is possible to prevent defective products from being produced due to leakage of the inner material from the sealing portion when sealing the peripheral portion of the outer skin material. . Further, since the inner material can prevent the food production apparatus from being contaminated, stable continuous production can be performed without stopping the operation of the food production apparatus.

  Further, according to the present invention, it is possible to suppress the bottom portion of the outer skin material from being stretched thinner than other portions, and in the final product that has been baked such as bread bread, the upper outer skin material is extremely thinner than other portions. There is nothing that can be done to produce high quality products with good skin coverage.

  In addition, according to the present invention, when sealing the peripheral edge of the outer skin material, the protruding sealing part remaining on the upper part of the encased food is surely formed flat without remaining on the upper part of the encapsulated food. . Therefore, the surface of the food to be encapsulated is molded without unnecessary irregularities.

  Hereinafter, food manufacturing apparatus 1 concerning a 1st embodiment of the present invention is explained with reference to drawings. 1 to 8 schematically illustrate the food production apparatus 1 and explain the food production process. FIG. 1A is a top explanatory view and FIG. 1B is a front explanatory view. Moreover, FIG. 9 is explanatory drawing which shows roughly the raising / lowering support means 15 provided in the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus 1. FIG.

  The food production apparatus 1 transfers a disk-shaped outer covering material 3 made of food dough such as bread dough, for example, and transfers it as an example of an outer covering material transfer means for transferring to a required position on the upper surface of the mounting portion 7 to be described later. Conveying the conveyor part 5, the placing part 7 on which the outer skin material 3 is placed when the outer skin material 3 is formed in a bowl shape, and the peripheral edge 3A (see FIGS. 3 to 5) of the outer skin material 3 A shutter unit 9 as an example of a sealing means for sealing, an inner material supply unit 13 for supplying an inner material 11 such as a bag to the upper surface of the outer skin material 3, and a lower part of the placement unit 7 Elevated support means 15 for supporting the bottom portion 3B (see FIG. 3) of the outer skin material 3 formed into a bowl shape, and the food covered with the inner material 11 covered with the outer skin material 3 by the shutter portion 9 17 as an unloading conveyor unit 19 for unloading 17 and a control means for controlling the drive of each of the above units And a control unit 21 (see FIG. 9).

  The transfer conveyor unit 5 includes a drive pulley 23, a front end pulley 25, a rear end pulley 27, and a return pulley 29 that are linked to a control motor (not shown), and winds an endless flat belt 31 around each pulley. The tip pulley 25 and the return pulley 29 are provided so as to move back and forth (left and right in FIG. 1) along the conveying direction indicated by the arrow R. A side of the transfer conveyor unit 5 in the width direction is provided with a detection device 30 such as a pair of photoelectric switches that senses the presence or absence of the outer skin material 3 being conveyed, and based on a detection signal of the detection device 30. The length D of the outer skin material in the conveying direction is measured, and the center position C1 of the outer skin material 3 is calculated by the control unit 21. In the transfer conveyor section 5, the center position C1 of the outer covering material 3 coincides with the center position C2 of the opening 33 of the mounting member 34 provided in the mounting section 7 described later along the transport direction R. At this point, the conveyance of the outer covering material 3 is stopped, and the front end pulley 25 and the return pulley 29 are retracted in the direction opposite to the conveying direction R, whereby the outer covering material 3 is placed on the upper surface of the mounting portion 7 and the opening 33. To cover.

  The mounting unit 7 includes a plate-shaped mounting member 34 that is detachably attached to a base (not shown) of the food manufacturing apparatus 1 and includes a circular opening 33 having a required size. . In addition, by preparing a plurality of mounting members 34 having openings 33 having different sizes and shapes and exchanging them, it is possible to manufacture encapsulated foods 17 having various desired sizes.

  The shutter portion 9 as an example of sealing means is provided with a swingable shutter piece 37 that is detachably attached to, for example, six rotation shafts 35 arranged at equal intervals on the circumference. . Further, as shown in FIG. 3, each shutter piece 37 is provided such that the tip 37 </ b> A is slidable on the side surface 37 </ b> B of the adjacent shutter piece 37 and is surrounded by the side surface 37 </ b> B of each shutter piece 37. A polygonal shutter opening 39 to be formed is provided to be openable and closable. Here, the description will be made on the assumption that the opening 39 in the state shown in FIG. 1A is opened to the maximum. The shutter housing 41 that supports the rotating shaft 35 is a gear that is configured in, for example, a shutter mechanism (see FIGS. 11 and 12) described in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2006-304664 filed by the present applicant. By providing a drive mechanism, the rotation shaft 35 is provided so as to be rotatable, and is also provided so as to be lifted and lowered by a lift drive unit configured in the known shutter mechanism unit. The link mechanism described in Patent Document 1 and other known power transmission mechanisms may be used as a drive mechanism for rotating the rotation shaft 35.

  The inner material supply unit 13 is provided above the shutter unit 9, and has a cylindrical nozzle member 43 communicated with a transport device (not shown) such as a screw mechanism, and an inner material discharge port provided in the nozzle member 43. An annular sealing member 47 as a material pressing member is provided slightly above the extrusion port 45. The nozzle member 43 is provided such that it can be moved up and down relatively by a known lifting drive unit such as a feed screw mechanism linked to a control motor or a vertically moving actuator such as a fluid pressure cylinder. Furthermore, the outer diameter of the nozzle member 43 located below the sealing member 47 is provided smaller than the opening diameter of the opening 33 provided in the mounting member 34, and is relative to the opening 33. It is provided so that it can be inserted. Further, the outer diameter of the sealing member 47 is larger than the opening diameter of the opening 33, and the mounting member 34 covers the entire periphery of the peripheral edge 3 </ b> A of the outer skin material 3 mounted on the upper surface of the mounting member 34. It is provided so that it can be pinched in cooperation with. In addition, the fabric pressing portion 47E where the sealing member 47 presses the peripheral edge portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 has a substantially conical shape having a concave curved surface. Even if the sealing member 47 is provided integrally with the nozzle member 43, the sealing member 47 is movable up and down relatively with respect to the nozzle member 43 and biased downward by a biasing means such as a spring. Is also good.

  The relative lowering position of the nozzle member 43 can be adjusted based on a set value input in advance to the control unit 21, for example, a pulse encoder linked to a feed screw mechanism or a rod of a fluid pressure cylinder that moves forward and backward. By providing a distance sensor or the like that senses the position, position information based on the detection signal is transmitted to the control unit 21. In addition, the inner material supply unit 13 is provided so as to be adjustable based on the set values relating to the extrusion time and the amount of extrusion of the inner material 11 set and input to the control unit 21, and is substantially the same as the lowering operation of the lifting support means 15. A required amount of the inner material 11 can be supplied from the extrusion port 45 into the outer skin material 3 in synchronism with each other.

  A gas jetting means is disposed in the center of the inside of the nozzle member 43. That is, in the nozzle member 43, a thin cylindrical air nozzle member 49 communicating with a compressed air supply device (not shown) is disposed. The air nozzle member 49 stays in the vicinity of the extrusion port 45 of the nozzle member 43 by instantaneously blowing out compressed air after the supply of the inner material 11 from the inner material supply unit 13 is finished. When the nozzle member 43 rises relatively, the inner material 11 hangs down from the nozzle member 43, so that the amount of extrusion of the inner material 11 fluctuates. The weight of the food 17 is fluctuated, or the encapsulated food 17 and surrounding devices are prevented from becoming dirty due to the dripping of the highly fluid inner material 11 such as jam.

  The raising / lowering support means 15 is disposed below the mounting member 34 so as to be relatively movable up and down, and supports the bottom 3 </ b> B of the outer skin material 3 and also conveys the encapsulated food 17 to the carry-out conveyor 19. 15A and a lifting drive unit 15B (see FIG. 9) for moving the support unit 15A up and down are provided. The support portion 15A includes a drive pulley 51 interlocked with a control motor (not shown), a front end pulley 53, a rear end pulley 55, and an endless belt 57 wound around each pulley. A horizontal conveying surface 57A is formed by the belt 57 stretched between the front end pulley 53 and the rear end pulley 55, and the conveying surface 57A serves as a support portion that always supports the bottom 3B of the outer skin material 3. .

  As shown in FIG. 9, the elevating drive unit 15B includes a control motor 61 via a known power transmission mechanism such as a rack and pinion mechanism 59, for example. The rack and pinion mechanism 59 and the support unit 15A are interlocked. By connecting, the support portion 15A is raised and lowered. Then, by controlling the driving of the control motor 61 based on a set value input in advance to the control unit 21, it is possible to adjust the raising / lowering position, the raising / lowering speed, the raising / lowering timing, etc. of the support portion 15A.

  The carry-out conveyor unit 19 is a belt conveyor that receives the encapsulated food 17 that is encapsulated while being supported by the elevating support means 15 from the support unit 15A and conveys it to the next process.

  The control unit 21 controls driving of each unit based on data input in advance and a detection signal from the detection device 30 and the like. The data input unit inputs each set value (data); An arithmetic processing device that performs arithmetic processing based on the data and a driver that issues a drive command to each driving unit based on the arithmetic processing result are provided.

  The process by which the food production apparatus 1 forms the encapsulated food 17 will be described with reference to FIGS. FIG. 10 shows changes over time of the raising / lowering of the nozzle member 43, the supply / stop of the inner material supply unit 13, the raising / lowering operation of the shutter unit 9, the opening / closing operation of the shutter opening 39, the raising / lowering operation of the lifting support means 15, and the conveying operation. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing (time chart) which shows an example. In the present embodiment, the outer skin material 3 is described as a disk-shaped food dough that has been previously formed to a substantially uniform thickness. For example, the peripheral edge portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 is thinner than the central portion 3D. It may be a substantially disc-shaped food dough. It is also possible to reduce the amount of food dough collected as the sealing portion 17A of the encapsulated food 17 by forming the peripheral edge portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 thinner than the central portion 3D, and to adjust the circumference of the encapsulated food 17 It is. The peripheral edge 3A of the outer skin material 3 can be formed thinner than the central part 3D by pressing the peripheral edge 3A of the outer skin material 3 against the mounting member 34 by the sealing member 47, for example.

  The A1 position shown in FIG. 10 indicates the initial state or initial position shown in FIG. In the shutter unit 9, the shutter opening 39 opens to the maximum, and the shutter housing 41 stands by at the rising end position. In the inner material supply unit 13, the nozzle member 43 stands by at the rising end position, and the extrusion of the inner material 11 is stopped. In the transfer conveyor unit 5, the front end pulley 25 and the return pulley 29 are most advanced in the transport direction, and the belt 31 covers the upper portion of the mounting member 34. The elevating support means 15 stands by at the rising end position with the support portion 15A stopping the conveying operation of the belt 57, and the conveying surface 57A and the lower surface of the mounting member 34 are at a position where a slight gap is opened. It is arranged.

  The outer skin material 3 formed in a substantially disc shape is conveyed by the transfer conveyor unit 5 and detected by the detection device 30, and also based on the detection signal and the transfer data of the transfer conveyor unit 5. The length D along the conveyance direction and the center position C1 of the outer skin material 3 are calculated by the control unit 21. Furthermore, the transfer conveyor unit 5 stops the conveyance of the outer skin material 3 when the central position C1 of the outer skin material 3 reaches and coincides with the central position C2 of the opening 33 provided in the mounting member 34 (FIG. 1). In the outer shell material 3 indicated by a two-dot chain line).

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, the outer covering material 3 covers the opening 33 of the placement unit 7 by retracting the front end pulley 25 and the return pulley 29 of the transfer conveyor unit 5 in the direction opposite to the conveying direction R. In this way, it is transferred to the upper surface of the mounting member 34.

  Further, at the A2 position, the shutter housing 41 starts to descend, and the lower surface of each shutter piece 37 slightly touches the upper surface of the mounting member 34, and the shutter opening 39 surrounds the outer skin material 3. Then, at the A3 position, the closing operation is started so that the opening diameter of the shutter opening portion 39 is reduced (reduced), the side surface 37B of each shutter piece 37 is in contact with the outer peripheral portion of the outer skin material 3, and the outer skin material 3 The closing operation is temporarily stopped at a position where the central portion 3D is slightly depressed downward by its own weight from the opening 33 of the mounting member 34 described above. Even when the center position C1 of the outer skin material 3 is transferred in a state shifted from the center position C2 of the opening 33 of the mounting member 34, the center position C1 is changed to the center position C2 by the closing operation. The peripheral edge 3A of the outer skin material 3 is arranged substantially evenly around the opening 33. That is, the shutter portion 9 as sealing means has a centering function for matching the center position C1 of the outer skin material 3 with the center position C2 of the opening 33.

  Further, the support portion 15A of the elevating support means 15 starts to descend from the rising end position with the diameter reduction of the shutter opening 39 and is slightly depressed downward from the opening 33 to the bottom of the outer skin material 3. The lowering is temporarily stopped while 3B is supported by the conveyance surface 57A of the belt 57. The stop position of the shutter unit 9 and the lifting support means 15 at the A4 position is referred to as the alignment stop position, and is illustrated in FIG.

  The peripheral portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 arranged around the opening 33 is a fabric portion that forms a sealing portion 17A that wraps and seals the inner material 11 by a closing operation of a shutter opening 39 described later. Become. Accordingly, by adjusting the size of the opening diameter of the shutter opening 39 at the alignment stop position, that is, adjusting the amount of the fabric of the peripheral portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 arranged around the opening 33. Thus, it becomes possible to adjust the thickness of the dough on the top of the encapsulated food 17.

  The nozzle member 43 starts to descend at the A4 position, and the extrusion port 45 enters the recess of the outer skin material 3 from the upper opening 3E of the outer skin material 3, and the lowering is stopped at a predetermined position set in advance. At this time, the sealing member 47 as a fabric pressing member provided in the nozzle member 43 cooperates with the mounting member 34 to sandwich the peripheral edge portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 over the entire circumference, so that the outer skin material 3 The upper opening 3 </ b> E is sealed in a sealed state by the nozzle member 43 having the sealing member 47.

  At this time, the configuration of the sealing member 47 is a configuration in which the outer peripheral portion has a square or rectangular cross-sectional shape and an annular pressing portion, and the peripheral portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 is placed on the mounting member with the pressing portion. The peripheral edge 3A of the outer skin material 3 can be formed thinner than the thickness of the central portion 3D by pressing against the upper surface of 34, and the upper opening 3E of the outer skin material 3 can be sealed by the pressing portion. It is.

  Next, the inner material 11 is pushed out from the extrusion port 45 of the inner material supply section 13 from the A5 position to the A8 position, the inner material 11 is supplied into the outer skin material 3, and the outer skin material 3 is lowered from the opening 33. Inflated (bulged) in the direction. At this time, the pressure applied to the inner material 11 pushed out by the tension of the fabric of the outer skin material 3 increases, but the upper opening 3E of the outer skin material 3 is pushed out because it is sealed by the nozzle member 43 and the sealing member 47. The inner material 11 is prevented from leaking from the upper opening 3E.

  Further, as shown in FIG. 4, the support portion 15A starts to descend again at the A6 position, and the support portion 15A stops descending at a preset position at the A7 position. At this time, by lowering the support portion 15A so as to be separated from the placement member 34, the outer shell material 3 that is gradually expanded by the pressure of the inner material 11 pushed out from the inner material supply portion 13 and formed into a bowl shape is placed on the lower side. Therefore, the inner material 11 can be accommodated in the outer skin material 3. Moreover, since the bottom part 3B of the outer skin material 3 is supported so as to always contact the support part 15A, the food dough forming the bottom part 3B is suppressed from being locally thinly extended. Therefore, the bottom part of the outer skin material produced by pushing the central part of the outer skin material with the pushing means in a state where the peripheral edge portion of the outer skin material is held as in the prior art and the bottom part of the outer skin material is not supported at all. The problem of extending thinner than the part is solved.

  Then, the nozzle member 43 starts to rise after the A8 position where the extrusion of the inner material 11 is completed, and waits until the rise is stopped and the next outer skin material 3 is supplied at the raised end position. When the nozzle member 43 rises, compressed air is instantaneously injected as a gas from the air nozzle member 49 as a gas jetting means, and the inner material 11 staying in the vicinity of the extrusion port 45 of the nozzle member 43 is the extrusion port. 45 is discharged. Therefore, the variation of the extrusion amount of the inner material 11 due to the inner material 11 hanging indefinitely from the nozzle member 43 can be suppressed, and the variation of the weight of the encapsulated food 17 can be suppressed. In addition, the encapsulated food 17 and surrounding devices can be prevented from becoming dirty due to the inner material 11 dripping from the raised nozzle member 43.

  The closing operation of the shutter opening 39 as the sealing means is resumed from the A9 position where the raising of the nozzle member 43 is completed, the diameter of the shutter opening 39 is reduced, and the side surface 37B of the shutter piece 37 is the outer skin. The peripheral portion 3A of the material 3 is gathered to the center portion and sealed so as to wrap the inner material 11, and the encapsulated food 17 is formed. The reduced diameter of the shutter opening 39 is stopped at the A11 position before the shutter opening 39 is completely closed as shown in FIG. A part of the peripheral edge 3 </ b> A gathered together in the central part moves below the shutter piece 37, and the remaining part is formed as a protruding sealing part 17 </ b> A on the top of the encapsulated food 17. . This A11 position is referred to as a protruding sealing part forming position (see FIG. 5).

  The support portion 15A starts to descend from the A10 position after the closing operation of the shutter opening 39 is resumed, and is stopped substantially at the A11 position. The lowering of the support portion 15 </ b> A has an effect of guiding the fabric of the peripheral portion 3 </ b> A of the outer skin material 3 to the lower side of the shutter piece 37 with the diameter reduction of the shutter opening 39.

  Furthermore, the descent of the support portion 15A is resumed at the A12 position, and the encapsulated food 17 is lowered while being supported by the support portion 15A as shown in FIG. At the position A13, the lowering of the support portion 15A is stopped, and the shutter opening 39 resumes the closing operation and is completely closed.

  At the A14 position after the shutter opening 39 is completely closed, the support portion 15A starts to rise and is raised to substantially the same position as at the A12 position. As a result of this rise, the projection-like sealing portion 17A of the encapsulated food 17 supported by the support portion 15A is pressed against the plane formed by the lower surface of each shutter piece 37 as shown in FIG. Since the sealing portion 17A is squeezed so as to be buried and immersed in the upper portion of the encapsulated food 17, the protruding sealing portion 17A is surely formed flat without remaining on the encapsulated food 17. . Therefore, the surface of the encapsulated food 17 having no unnecessary unevenness is formed. Further, since the inner material 11 is encapsulated without leaking from the protruding sealing portion 17A of the encapsulated food 17, even if the upper portion of the encapsulated food 17 is pressed against the lower surface of the shutter piece 37 that is closed. The shutter piece 37 is not stained with the inner material 11.

  Further, the lowering of the support portion 15A is started at the A15 position, and the lowering of the support portion 15A is performed at the A16 position where the transport surface 57A of the support portion 15A is at the same height as the transport surface of the subsequent carry-out conveyor 19. Stopped. The lowered position of the support portion 15A is referred to as a lowered end position. Then, the belt 57 of the support portion 15A is transported and driven, and the packaged food 17 supported by the belt 57 is transported in the transport direction R and is transferred to the carry-out conveyor 19 as shown in FIG.

  Thereafter, after the conveyance drive of the support portion 15A is stopped at the A17 position, the support portion 15A rises to the rising end position, which is the initial position indicated by the A18 position, and waits until the next enveloping is started. To do. Further, at the A16 position, the opening operation of the shutter piece 37 is started, and the shutter opening 39 is opened to the fully opened position which is the initial position. Further, the shutter housing 41 and the nozzle member 43 that support the shutter piece 37 are raised to the rising end position that is the initial position.

  And A19 position is an initial position of the process in which the outer shell material 3 to be conveyed next is molded, and the operation of each part from the A1 position to the A18 position described above is repeated, and the next encapsulated food 17 is molded. The By repeating this molding step, stable continuous production can be performed without stopping the operation of the food production apparatus.

  Next, the food manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 and 11. FIG. 11 is an explanatory diagram schematically illustrating the food manufacturing apparatus 1 and explaining the food manufacturing process in order of the left diagram, the center diagram, and the right diagram, (A) is a top diagram, and (B) is a front diagram. FIG. The food manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the second embodiment describes means for eliminating the protruding sealing portion 17 </ b> A formed on the top of the encapsulated food 17 by changing the shape of the shutter piece 37. is there. Note that components having the same functions as those of the first embodiment are denoted by the same reference numerals, and redundant description is omitted.

  The shutter piece 37 has an upper vertical portion 71, a lower inclined portion 73, and a lower vertical portion 75 formed on the side surface 37B. As shown in FIG. 10, the shutter opening 39 closes as indicated by the line G1 from the A9 position to the A17 position, and the support part 15A descends as indicated by the line G2 from the A10 position to the A16 position. The left diagram in FIG. 11 illustrates one state between the A6 position and the A7 position in FIG. The outer skin material 3 is sandwiched between the sealing member 47 serving as a fabric pressing member and the placing member 34 with the peripheral edge portion 3A, and the inner material 11 is supplied in a state where the upper opening 3E of the outer skin material 3 is sealed. The outer skin material 3 is expanded into a bowl shape by the pressure of the inner material 11 pushed out from the extrusion port 45 while being supported by the support portion 15A where the bottom portion 3B is lowered.

  The center diagram of FIG. 11 illustrates the state of the A12B position in FIG. 10, and is a state in which the upper vertical portions 71 at the distal end portion 37A of the shutter piece 37 are gathered at the center and the shutter opening 39 is closed. The outer skin material 3 to which the inner material 11 has been supplied is packaged in which the peripheral edge portion 3A is brought together in the center by the closing operation of the side surface 37B of the shutter piece 37 and sealed, and the protruding sealing portion 17A is formed on the upper portion. A foodstuff 17 is formed.

  The right view of FIG. 11 illustrates the state of the A13 position in FIG. 10, and the lower vertical portion 75 at the tip portion 37A of the shutter piece 37 is gathered at the center, and a plane is formed by the lower surface of each shutter piece 37. State. When the shutter piece 37 advances the closing operation from the A12B position to the A13 position, the substantially hexagonal pyramid-shaped space surrounded by the respective lower inclined portions 73 is gradually reduced, and the protruding sealing portion 17A is formed. It is guided below each shutter piece 37. Then, at the A13 position where the closing operation of the shutter piece 37 is completed, the sealing portion 17A is squeezed so as to be buried in and submerged in the upper portion of the encapsulated food 17, and the upper portion of the encapsulated food 17 is unnecessarily uneven. It can be molded into a clean surface.

  Next, a food manufacturing apparatus 1 according to a third embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 12 is an explanatory diagram schematically showing the food production apparatus 1 and explaining the steps for producing food in the order of (A) to (D). In the food manufacturing apparatus 1 according to the third embodiment of the present invention, the placement member 34 is disposed above the shutter piece 37, and the outer skin material 3 is disposed above the placement member with respect to the opening 33. A plurality of alignment members 81 for alignment are arranged.

  On the lower surface of the shutter piece 37, a concave portion 37C is formed from the front end portion 37A side. When the shutter opening 39 is closed as shown in FIG. 12C, the concave portion 37C forms a hemispherical concave portion on the lower surface of the assembled shutter piece 37.

  The alignment member 81 is interlocked and connected to a drive mechanism (not shown) that is separate from the shutter piece 37, and for example, the opening 83 surrounded by each alignment member 81 can be opened and closed by the same swinging operation as the shutter piece 37. Is provided.

  The cloth pressing member 47 as a sealing member is provided integrally with the nozzle member 43, and the outer diameter of the cloth pressing member 47 is smaller than the opening diameter of the opening 33. Further, although the cloth pressing member 47 can be provided in a bowl shape, in the third embodiment, the cloth pressing member 47 is formed by a tube member forming the nozzle member 43 and the cloth pressing part 47E is pressed by the nozzle member 43. A case is shown in which the outer diameter of the outlet 45 is provided as an inclined portion that gradually changes greatly upward. Even with such a fabric pressing member 47, it is possible to sandwich the peripheral edge portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 over the entire circumference between the fabric pressing portion 47E and the outer periphery of the opening 33.

  FIG. 12A shows the outer peripheral portion of the outer skin material 3 in which the diameter of the opening 83 formed by the alignment member 81 is started and the side surface 81B of the alignment member 81 is placed on the upper surface of the placement member 34. The closing operation is temporarily stopped at a position where the central portion 3D of the outer skin material 3 is slightly depressed downward from the opening 33 of the mounting member 34. By the closing operation, the outer skin material 3 and the opening 33 are aligned, and the peripheral edge 3 </ b> A of the outer skin material 3 is arranged substantially evenly around the opening 33. Further, the support portion 15A starts to descend from the rising end position as the diameter of the opening 83 decreases, and conveys the belt 57 through the bottom portion 3B of the outer skin material 3 slightly depressed downward from the opening 33. The descent is temporarily stopped while being supported by the surface 57A.

  FIG. 12B shows that the nozzle member 43 is lowered to a set position, and the periphery of the outer skin material 3 is between the fabric pressing portion 47E of the fabric pressing member 47 and the opening 33 of the placing member 34 described above. 3A is sandwiched, and then the inner material 11 is pushed out from the extrusion port 45 of the nozzle member 43 and is expanded downward. At this time, since the upper opening 3E of the outer skin material 3 is sealed by the nozzle member 43 provided with the fabric pressing portion 47E, the extruded inner material 11 is prevented from leaking from the upper opening 3E.

  Further, the support portion 15A starts to descend again in synchronism with the extrusion of the inner material 11, and stops at a preset position as the extrusion of the inner material 11 stops. At this time, since the bottom portion 3B of the outer skin material 3 is supported so as to be always in contact with the support portion 15A, the food dough forming the bottom portion 3B is restrained from being thinned locally.

  FIG. 12 (C) shows that the extrusion of the inner material into the outer skin material 3 has been completed, and the peripheral edge portion 3A of the outer skin material 3 has been contracted with the diameter of the shutter opening 39 due to the closing operation of the shutter piece 37. Shown in the center and sealed. The diameter of the shutter opening 39 is stopped at a position before closing, and a protruding sealing portion 17 is formed on the top of the food to be packaged 17. Thereafter, the support portion 15A is lowered, and the shutter opening 39 is closed.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 12 (D), the support portion 15A that supports the food to be encapsulated 17 is raised again, and the envelopment is formed in the hemispherical recess formed on the lower surface of the shutter piece 37 that has been closed. The protruding sealing part of the food 17 is pressed against it. The projection-like sealing portion 17A is crushed so as to be buried and immersed in the upper portion of the encapsulated food 17, and the upper portion of the encapsulated food 17 is pressed against the hemispherical recess to be embossed. .

  Thereafter, the support portion 15A descends to the descending end position, and conveys the encapsulated food 17 to the subsequent carry-out conveyor. When the food to be packaged 17 is, for example, a Chinese wharf or the like, the upper part of the food food 17 formed into a hemispherical shape is subjected to brazing using a known brazing apparatus or the like, and then steaming or the like. Heat treatment is performed.

  The food production apparatus 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention is generally as described above, but is not limited thereto, and various modifications can be made within the scope of the claims. In the above description, the outer skin material 3 has been described as a substantially disk-shaped food dough. However, the outer skin material 3 is not limited to a circular shape, and may be, for example, a hexagonal shape corresponding to the shape of the shutter opening 39 of the shutter portion 9. Often, it is also possible to use a piece of food dough that has been die-cut from a strip-shaped food dough.

  Further, the mounting member 34 provided in the mounting portion 7 on which the outer skin material 3 is mounted has been described as a plate-like member. For example, a shutter mechanism similar to the shutter piece 37 of the shutter portion 9 is used, and a shutter opening portion is used. An opening corresponding to 39 can be used as the opening 33 of the mounting member 34, and the opening 33 can be provided to be able to expand and contract by opening and closing the shutter piece.

  Moreover, the shutter piece used for the shutter part 9 and the mounting part 7 is not restricted to the rockable member supported by the rotating shaft 35 as described above, but by rotating the rotating shaft in one direction. A shutter mechanism that expands and contracts the shutter opening 39 or a shutter mechanism described in FIGS. 27 and 28 of Patent Document 1 may be used. Furthermore, the number of the shutter pieces 37 is not limited to six, and the shutter opening / closing portion 39 can be formed if the number is three or more. Further, the sealing member for sealing the outer skin material is not limited to the shutter 9 and may have a configuration capable of sealing the peripheral edge portion 3 </ b> A of the outer skin material 3. For example, the enclosing gate described in FIG. 6 and FIG. 7 of Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 7-18299 or the aperture piece described in FIG. 4 of Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-150905 may be used. In addition, it is preferable that a sealing member has a lower surface which can planarize the sealing part on the processus | protrusion of foreskin food.

  Moreover, although the cloth pressing part 47E of the sealing member 47 as the cloth pressing member has been described as a substantially conical shape having a concave curved surface, the cloth pressing part 47E may be changed according to the shape of the opening 33 provided in the mounting portion 7. For example, in the case of a substantially hexagonal shape in which the opening 33 is formed by six shutter pieces that slide relative to each other, a substantially hexagonal pyramid shape having a concave curved surface may be used.

Further, the configuration of the sealing member 47 is configured to include an annular pressing portion protruding downward at the periphery, and the peripheral portion of the outer skin material 3 is pressed against the upper surface of the mounting member 34 by the pressing portion, A configuration in which the peripheral edge portion of the outer skin material 3 is formed thin is also possible.

  In addition, the ascending / descending operation of the shutter unit 9, the support unit 15A, and the inner material supply unit 13 with respect to the mounting unit 7 may be an operation that approaches and separates relatively, for example, the mounting unit 7 with respect to the support unit 15A. A lifting / lowering drive unit may be interlocked and connected to the mounting unit 7 so as to approach and separate.

  That is, in the above-described embodiment, the configuration in which the shutter portion 9 as the sealing means, the nozzle member 43, and the lifting support means 15 move up and down with respect to the mounting member 34 has been described. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described configuration, and for example, a configuration in which the nozzle member 43 is fixed at a predetermined position is also possible. In this case, the shutter portion 9, the mounting member 34, and the lifting support means 15 are moved up and down relative to the nozzle member 43, and the lifting support means 15 is moved up and down relative to the mounting member 34. What is necessary is just to make it the structure which moves.

  As already understood, in the four constituent elements of the mounting member 34, the shutter portion 9, the nozzle member 43, and the lifting support means 15, when the desired constituent elements are fixed, the other three elements are relatively moved up and down. What is necessary is just to make it the structure which moves. Furthermore, depending on the case, it is also possible to make the four components relatively move up and down.

It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed roughly the raising / lowering support part with which the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention was equipped. It is operation | movement explanatory drawing which shows an example of a time-dependent change of operation | movement of each part by the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus which concerns on the 1st Embodiment of this invention. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process of shape | molding the shutter piece with which the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus which concerns on the 2nd Embodiment of this invention was equipped, and a foodstuff. It is explanatory drawing which showed schematically the process which shape | molds the foodstuff manufacturing apparatus and foodstuff which concern on the 3rd Embodiment of this invention.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food manufacturing apparatus 3 Outer material 3A Peripheral part 3B Bottom part 5 Transfer conveyor part (outer material transfer means)
7 Placement part 9 Shutter part (sealing means)
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 11 Inner material 15 Elevation support means 15A Support part 17 Covered food 33 Opening part 34 (mounting member 34) Mounting part 37 Shutter piece 39 Shutter opening part 43 Nozzle member 47 Sealing member 61 Control motor

Claims (10)

A method for producing encapsulated food in which an inner material is wrapped with an outer skin material,
(A) a step of positioning a flat outer skin material so as to cover the opening on the mounting member having the opening;
(B) A nozzle member which is provided with an inner material discharge port for discharging an inner material at a lower end portion and which can be moved up and down relatively with respect to the mounting member is lowered, and is disposed on the peripheral surface of the nozzle member. A step of pressing the outer skin material against the mounting member by an annular sealing member provided;
(C) When the inner material is discharged from the nozzle member to expand the outer skin material to the lower side of the opening, the elevating and lowering is provided below the mounting member so as to be vertically movable with respect to the mounting member. A step of supporting the bottom of the outer skin material by a support means;
(D) After the discharge of the inner material is finished and the nozzle member is relatively raised, the peripheral portion of the outer skin material is gathered together at the central portion, and the gathered portion is sealed by a sealing means;
A method for producing encapsulated food, comprising the steps of:   The method for producing a packaged food according to claim 1, further comprising a step of pressing and crushing the sealed portion sealed by the sealing means against the packaged food. .   3. The method of manufacturing a packaged food product according to claim 2, wherein the crushing of the sealing portion is performed by moving the elevating support means up and down relative to the sealing means to seal the sealing portion. A method for producing encapsulated food, characterized in that the method is performed by pressing the means.   In the manufacturing method of the encapsulated food according to claim 1, 2, or 3, when the outer skin material is expanded downward, the elevating support means always keeps contacting the bottom portion of the outer skin material and relatively gradually. A method for producing encapsulated food, which is lowered.   In the manufacturing method of the covering food in any one of Claims 1-4, gas is ejected from the gas ejection means with which the nozzle member was equipped at the time of completion | finish of discharge of the inner material from the said nozzle member to the said outer skin material. A method for producing an encapsulated food product, wherein the inner material in the inner material discharge port of the nozzle member is ejected into the outer skin material.   An encapsulated food production apparatus for producing encapsulated food that encloses an inner material with an outer skin material, wherein the apparatus is flattened on a mounting member having an opening and the mounting member so as to cover the opening An outer shell material transfer means for transferring the outer shell material, and an inner material discharge port for discharging the inner material to the outer shell material transferred onto the placing member at the lower end portion and at a position above the opening A nozzle member that is relatively movable up and down, and an annular sealing member that is provided around the nozzle member to press the outer skin material against the mounting member when the nozzle member is relatively lowered. Elevating support means provided to be movable up and down in order to always support the bottom of the outer skin material when discharging the inner material from the nozzle member and expanding the outer skin material to the lower side of the opening, Discharge of the inner material is finished and the nozzle member is relatively raised When or rise, gathered the periphery of the outer skin material in the central portion, the jumble portion envelope food manufacturing apparatus characterized by comprising a sealing means, the for sealing a.   7. The encapsulated food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, wherein the sealing means formed on the encapsulated food is pressed against the sealing means in a closed state to be crushed, and the opening and closing operation of the sealing means and the packaging are performed. An encapsulated food manufacturing apparatus comprising control means for controlling the relative vertical movement of the elevating support means that supports the food.   The enveloped food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6 or 7, wherein a gas ejection means for ejecting the inner material in the inner material discharge port of the nozzle member at the end of the ejection of the inner material from the nozzle member is the nozzle member. An encapsulated food manufacturing apparatus characterized by comprising:   The enveloped food manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6, 7 or 8, wherein when the inner material is discharged from the nozzle member to expand the outer skin material downward, the elevating support means is connected to a bottom portion of the outer skin material. An encapsulated food manufacturing apparatus characterized in that it is configured to always keep contact and descend.   The encapsulated food manufacturing apparatus according to any one of claims 6 to 9, wherein the sealing means aligns the center of the opening provided in the mounting member with the center of the skin material. An encapsulated food manufacturing apparatus comprising two functions: a function and a sealing function for sealing a gathering portion of the outer skin material.

Images