JP2009029603A - Ingredient supply device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an ingredient supply device having the function capable of disinfecting and cleaning by easily removing respective apparatus, capable of accurately supplying a fixed quantity of ingredients when supplying the ingredients to a dispenser, and having the function without causing an obstacle to supply of the ingredients by sticking a waterdrop to a supply part of the ingredients by steam and heat of miso soup. <P>SOLUTION: This ingredient supply device has a tank 2a storing the ingredients and a chute 3 supplying the ingredients to tableware from the tank 2a, and is characterized in that the tank 2a has a screw for supplying the ingredients to the chute 3 from the tank 2a in a lower part, and the chute 3 has a fan 11 for feeding the ingredients supplied from the tank 2a by an air flow. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2009,JPO&INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a material supply apparatus that is attached to a dispenser device that supplies liquid food materials such as miso soup and sushi soup, and that supplies a dry tool material processed by a method such as freeze drying.

As a supply device for soup-like foods such as miso soup using a dispenser, it has a slope part, supplies miso to the slope part from the miso tank, and supplies hot water to the slope part from the hot water supply nozzle to the supplied miso A funnel-shaped first mixture for mixing hot water and miso at the slope, and a perforated groove holding plate at the lower end of the first mixture, which remains unmixed in the first mixing unit Dispensers that have a second mixing section for holding the miso and are further mixed with hot water flowing from the first mixing section in the second mixing section are known. (See Patent Document 1)
Moreover, as a device that supplies not only liquid but also ingredients, the soup containing ingredients is stored in a pan, and the soup and ingredients are scooped with a ladle that is rotated by a link mechanism. There is also known a soup supply device containing ingredients so that soup and ingredients are stored in a ladle at a predetermined ratio and supplied to tableware. (See Patent Document 2)
In addition, as a device for feeding solid ingredients, chopped vegetables supplied to the lower hopper are put into a groove provided in the base plate by falling under their own weight, pushed into a vertical cavity with a pusher bar, and pushed down with a pusher bar. An input device for ingredients to be introduced into the inside is also known. (See Patent Document 3)
JP-A-10-33150 JP 2001-278391 A JP-A-5-260937

  The dispenser described in Patent Document 1 provides a device that efficiently mixes and stirs concentrated liquid with hot water and extracts it into a vessel. In this device, only the liquid is supplied. In addition, it is necessary to supply the ingredients manually.

  Moreover, since the soup supply apparatus described in Patent Document 2 needs to prepare a soup containing ingredients separately, it is not possible to reduce labor as a whole, and the apparatus is also large, so that it takes time to clean the container. Is also big. In addition, the amount of ingredients can be supplied with a certain degree of stability, but the shape, size, etc. of the ingredients are crushed by the passage of time, and the ingredients are crushed small by repeated stirring in the soup. There is a big difference in the contents of soup between the beginning and end of the supply of soup with ingredients. In addition, it can be used effectively for ingredients that are structurally heavier than the soup and sink into the bottom of the container. For example, when using a leek for miso soup, the leek floats on the soup (miso soup). In addition, when providing a dry texture like croutons used for corn soup, etc., or ingredients that need to be put in just before serving to customers, such as parsley, discoloration when heated for a long time There was a problem that it could not be used.

  Moreover, although the ingredient input apparatus described in patent document 3 can supply chopped vegetables uniformly, driving force, such as a motor which drives a leveling board with an air cylinder and a supply roller, is required. In addition, in large-scale manufacturing equipment such as the automatic octopus baking machine assumed for this device, the overall efficiency can be improved by commonly using the drive of many devices installed in parallel. As described above, when the device is used as a unit, a large number of drive sources are required, which is expensive.

  Based on these conventional technologies, diversification of the restaurant industry has led to an increasing demand for a dispenser that can maintain hygienic conditions at all times, is inexpensive, has few human resources, and can provide miso soup with fresh ingredients. ing.

  In order to meet this demand, in order to solve the above-mentioned problems of the prior art and to ensure the sanitary condition of the apparatus, each instrument can be easily removed and disinfected or cleaned. When supplying to the dispenser, a certain amount of ingredients can be accurately supplied, and water droplets adhere to the ingredient supply part due to steam and heat from miso soup, etc. It is required to provide an ingredient supply device having the above.

  The present invention solves the above-described problem, and is a material supply device including a tank in which the material is stored and a chute for supplying the material from the tank to tableware or the like, and the tank is provided in the lower part. It has a screw which supplies material to a chute from a tank, and the above-mentioned chute has a fan which feeds ingredients supplied from a tank with an air current.

  Further, the screw is characterized in that one end of the screw is engaged with a rotary connecting shaft that is detachably fitted to a connecting portion connected to a motor.

  Further, the fan is provided at an end portion of a branch passage that branches off from the chute material inlet side and opens toward the chute outlet side.

  In addition, a filter is provided on the outlet side of the chute for discharging the supply air and dropping the ingredients downward.

  The chute outlet side has openings that open to the lower surface and the upper surface, the lower surface opening is for dropping ingredients, and the upper surface opening is for steam discharge.

  Further, a plurality of tanks for storing different ingredients are provided above the chute, and the ingredients are supplied to the chute via a screw.

  In addition, a screw having a different pitch according to the size of the material is provided in each tank.

  The ingredient supply device of the present invention can be easily installed in an existing dispenser by integrating the tank and the chute as one unit with the main body. In addition, the ingredients are not supplied directly from the tank to the dispenser, but are supplied via a chute, so the ingredients stored in the tank are not exposed to steam from below and the freshness is maintained for a long time. Can be maintained. In addition, the screw is engaged with a rotary connecting shaft that fits into a connecting portion connected to a motor, and is engaged without using a fixing means such as a bolt, so that the tank can be removed or assembled during cleaning. Becomes easy. Moreover, since a screw can be easily changed according to the magnitude | size of an ingredient, an ingredient can be supplied correctly. In addition, since a fan is provided on the material inlet side of the chute and a filter for discharging air is provided on the outlet side, and the material is fed by the air flow, the material can be supplied at high speed.

  Also, since the opening for dropping the ingredients and the opening for steam release are provided on the exit side of the chute, steam and the like released from the container and the like are prevented from diffusing into the chute and the chute is prevented from getting wet by the steam. It becomes possible to feed the ingredients smoothly.

  In addition, a plurality of tanks that store different ingredients above the chute are arranged side by side, and screws with different pitches are arranged according to the ingredient size, so that ingredients can be fed simultaneously and smoothly. A feeding device can be provided.

  An embodiment of the ingredient supply device of the present invention will be described. FIG. 1A is a front view of an ingredient supply device attached to a dispenser, FIG. 1B is a side view, FIG. 2 is a side view showing an attachment state of the ingredient supply device and a motor, and FIG. FIG. 4 is a front sectional view showing an ingredient supply unit of the present embodiment, FIG. 5 (a) is a plan view showing an embodiment in which a plurality of ingredient supply devices are installed, and FIG. 5 (b). Is a side view.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the ingredient supply device of the present invention has a tank part 2 attached to the dispenser main body 1 for storing the ingredient, and a tank part 2 up to a container 15 on which the ingredient is placed on the table of the dispenser 1. It is comprised from 3 units | sets of the chute | shoot part 3 to which it moves from, and the main-body part 4 which fixes these integrally.

  The tank part 2 is composed of a tank 2a for storing the ingredients and a screw element 6 provided on the delivery side below the tank 2a for delivering the ingredients to the chute part 3.

  The tank 2a is made of a resin having transparency as a whole or having a transparent capacity confirmation window so that an operator can confirm the internal capacity. As a means of confirming the internal volume, in addition to visually confirming the inside of the tank from a transparent part, a warning lamp is turned on when the material is reduced using a sensor. It can also be set as the structure which has a means which an operator can know from the outside.

  The tank 2a has a lid 12a at the top, and the material can be supplied into the tank 2a by removing the lid 12a. The lid 12a is connected to the tank 2a by a hinge 12b and has a structure that opens and closes around the hinge 12b. However, the lid 12a may be removable. In any case, any structure may be used as long as the material can be charged in the state where the tank 2a is attached to the main body 4 or in a state where it is separated from the main body 4.

  The screw element 6 provided at the lower part of the tank 2a is engaged with a rotary connecting shaft 9 that is concavo-convexly engaged with the fitting portion 8a of the connecting portion 8 of the motor 7 attached to the main body portion 4, and from the motor 7 to the screw 6a. Power is transmitted. In the present embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, there is no mechanical element such as a screw for fixing between the driving side and the driven side of the motor 7, and the concave and convex fitting is performed by aligning the positions of the rotary connecting shaft 9 and the connecting portion 8. Accordingly, the tank unit 2 can be attached and detached from the main body unit 4 with one touch without using a tool or the like.

  In addition, when the tank 2a is attached to the main body portion 4, the tank 2a can be easily and accurately attached by matching the tank 2a with the attachment guide 10 of the main body portion 4.

  A specific example of attachment of the tank 2a is shown in FIG. First, as shown in (a), the concave and convex portions of the rotary connecting shaft 9 and the connecting portion 8 are aligned, fitted as shown in (b), and the tank 2a is lowered according to the mounting guide 10 (c The installation is completed as shown in FIG.

  The screw element 6 includes a screw 6 a for contacting the material and feeding the material to the chute 3, and a rotary connecting shaft 9 for connecting the screw 6 a and the motor 7.

  The rotary connecting shaft 9 has a groove 9a for locking the end of the screw 6a at the end, and the opposite end has a convex shape so as to be fitted with the fitting portion 8a of the connecting portion 8 of the motor 7. Yes. The end of the screw 6a is attached to a groove 9a provided in the rotary connecting shaft 9, but since it is not fixed, it can be easily removed from the rotary connecting shaft 9. This facilitates the attachment / detachment of the rotary connecting shaft 9 and the connecting portion 8 from the tank 2a. The fitting structure between the rotary connecting shaft 9 and the connecting portion 8 is not limited to the above structure.

  Even in the above-described fitting structure, the screw 6a is pressed against the rotary connecting shaft 9 by the reaction force generated when the ingredients are sent out to the chute 3, so that the screw 6a does not fall off the rotating connecting shaft 9.

  The screw 6a may have a spring shape as shown in FIG. 2 or a spiral blade shape, but in any case, the screw 6a having an optimum shape according to the type and state of the material to be used is adopted.

  In addition, since the screw 6a and the rotary connecting shaft 9 are parts that are in direct contact with food, the structure can be easily disassembled and cleaned from the viewpoint of hygiene management. Moreover, since the screw 6a supplies the thing which mixed the ingredients with different magnitude | sizes, such as an age, a leek, and tofu, as an ingredient, the capability to be able to convey a big thing is calculated | required. Compared with the spring-shaped screw and the spiral blade-shaped screw, the spring-shaped screw has no shaft in the center, so that a space for conveying larger objects relative to the size of the screw is taken, and the spiral-shaped screw Since the apparatus can be made smaller than the case where the screw is used, a spring-like screw is preferable.

  The chute part 3 is composed of a cylindrical chute 3a for sending ingredients from the apparatus to a vessel 15 placed on the table of the dispenser 1, and a filter 3b attached to the tip of the chute. As described in the description of the screw element 6 above, the chute 3a and the filter 3b, which are parts that are in direct contact with food, have a structure that can be easily disassembled and cleaned from the viewpoint of hygiene management. It can be easily attached and detached without preparing a tool or the like separately.

  The inlet side of the chute 3a has a shape that completely covers the ingredient outlet of the tank 2a, and since light and large areas such as leeks and parsley, ingredients that are easily blown away by the wind do not leak to the dispenser 1 through the chute 3a. It is configured to be able to send to the set container.

  A fan 11 is installed at the end portion of the passage 3d branched from the passage 3c on the chute 3a inlet side for reliably feeding the material 13 supplied from the tank 2a to the outlet side 3e of the chute portion 3. Yes.

  The main body 4 has a structure for attaching the tank 2, the screw element 6, and the chute 3 to the dispenser 1 as described above, and also a motor 7 for rotating the screw 6 a and a fan for blowing air to the chute 3 a. 11, an air duct, an electric control component for operating the motor 7 and the fan 11 are installed in the dispenser 1.

  As a means for attaching the main body 4 to the dispenser 1, as shown in FIG. 1, it may be fixed to the dispenser 1 with a mounting bracket 5, and there are various means for attaching to the dispenser such as manufacturing and installing a leg part. Can be adopted.

  Next, an actual work procedure will be described.

  The tank 2a is taken out from the main body 4 and the tool material 13 is put into the tank and then attached to the main body 4 again. As described above, since this work can be performed with the tank attached to the main body 4, the tank 2 a is attached to the main body 4 when the material is lost during use of the apparatus. It is only necessary to open the lid 12a and put the ingredients. As long as the ingredients to be fed into the tank 2a are dried and kept granular, it is not limited to using only one kind of ingredient, and a plurality of kinds can be introduced and supplied simultaneously.

  When using a plurality of ingredients at the same time, it is necessary to mix them in a uniform state in advance. In addition, when a plurality of ingredients have different shapes and sizes, or when objects having different specific gravities are included, a rotary blade for the purpose of stirring the ingredients is installed in the tank 2a.

  As shown in FIG. 1, the container 15 is placed on the dispenser 1, and an operation switch for supplying soup from the dispenser 1 is pushed. At this time, the apparatus is operated in conjunction with the switch of the dispenser.

  When the operation switch is turned on, the motor 7 installed in the main body 4 is rotated, the power is transmitted to the screw 6a through the connecting portion 8 and the rotating connecting shaft 9, and the screw 6a is rotated and the components inside the tank 2a are rotated. The material 13 is sent out to the chute part 3. Since the supply amount of the ingredient 13 is proportional to the number of rotations of the screw, the quantity of the ingredient sent out can be adjusted by controlling the rotation speed or the revolution time of the motor 7.

  The conveyance of the ingredient 13 will be described with reference to FIG. The ingredient 13 pushed out into the chute 3 by the screw 6a falls freely in the direction of arrow A due to gravity. After that, the wind generated by the fan 11 is carried in the chute 3a in the direction of arrow B. The material 13 falls in the direction of arrow C by the filter 3b installed at the end of the chute 3a, but the wind goes out of the chute 3a.

  The shape of the filter 3b at the chute outlet is not particularly limited as long as it is a structure that can separate the wind and the ingredients 13 such as a net or a slit-like plate.

  At the outlet portion of the chute 3a, openings 14a and 14b are provided on the lower surface and the upper surface of the cylindrical chute 3a. The opening 14a on the lower surface is a hole through which ingredients are passed, and the opening 14b on the upper surface is an escape hole for steam, so that the steam that comes out when the soup is supplied to the bowl 15 escapes upward as it is, Steam from the vessel 15 does not flow through the chute 3a to the tank 2a storing the ingredients. Further, the wind generated by the fan 11 for feeding the ingredients 13 prevents steam from flowing toward the tank 2a, and prevents water droplets from adhering to the vicinity of the chute 3a outlet and the filter 3b due to steam.

  The blowing of the fan 11 starts in conjunction with the operation switch of the dispenser 1 and continues blowing for about 5 seconds after the dispenser 1 finishes discharging the soup and the ingredients. By controlling in this way, by taking out the container 15 in which the soup made during this time is taken out, steam rising from the soup after pouring flows through the chute 3a to the tank 2a, and the ingredients in the tank 2a. It can prevent the material from getting wet. The blowing time can be set to an appropriate time according to the actual use situation. In some cases, the fan 11 may be continuously rotated without being stopped. In addition, for example, when supplying a cold liquid such as tapping, steam does not rise from the outlet side of the chute 3a, so that the fan 11 can be stopped at the same time as the material 13 is sent out.

  FIG. 5 shows an embodiment in which a plurality of tanks are arranged side by side.

  As shown in FIG. 1 and FIG. 2, when there is only one tank, the ingredients are not necessarily mixed evenly when the ingredients to be supplied are a mixture of a plurality of types. When the case of miso soup is exemplified, there is a problem that variations in the ingredients to be supplied occur, such as the absence of raising and the amount of leek being large.

  Therefore, a plurality of tanks 2a to 2c and screws 6a to 6c are arranged as shown in FIG. 5 (three are arranged in FIG. 5), and the pitch and rotation speed of each screw are adjusted as appropriate to suit each material. Thus, it is possible to stably supply ingredients having different sizes.

  In the tank 2a, the tank 2b, and the tank 2c, materials having different sizes are stored, and the material 13 is supplied to the chute by the screw 6a, the screw 6b, and the screw 6c having a pitch suitable for the material.

  In this way, by supplying the ingredients to be supplied separately to the plurality of tanks, the supply amount of the ingredients can be changed according to the preference by one supply. For example, the tank 2a can store green onions as ingredients, the tank 2b can store dried tofu, and the tank 2c can store uplifts, and the operation switches can be provided with selection switches of “large onion” and “small onion” as appropriate. For example, when “large onion” is selected, the rotation time of the screw 6a is set longer than usual. When “less onion” is selected, the rotation time of the screw 6a is set longer than usual. The supply amount can be adjusted by setting it to be shorter.

  It is also possible to provide switches for “more”, “less”, and “none” for all ingredients and set them for each ingredient. However, since the operation becomes complicated when many switches are arranged, it is preferable to change the switches depending on the installation location and the user. For example, if you are an employee at an employee cafeteria, it is not inconvenient to increase the number of switches. However, if you use it in a buffet-style restaurant, you can easily operate with fewer switches and fewer options. It is appropriately selected so that it can be done.

  Further, in this embodiment, the example in which the largest material is arranged on the right side of FIG. 5 has been described, but the inclination of the chute so that the weight of the material is heavy and does not remain in the middle of the chute. The angle is appropriately changed, such as increasing the angle or increasing the fan air volume.

  With the configuration as described above, the tank can be easily attached and removed, and cleaning can be easily performed, and the supply of a plurality of ingredients can also be selected from whether or not to supply each ingredient. It is possible to respond to adjustment.

  In addition, the material used in the material supply apparatus of the present invention is preferably a drying material, but is not necessarily limited to the drying material.

(A) is a front view of the ingredient supply apparatus attached to the dispenser. (B) is a side view. The side view which shows the attachment state of an ingredient supply apparatus and a motor. FIG. Front sectional drawing which shows the ingredient supply part of this Embodiment. (A) is a front view which shows the form which installed multiple material supply apparatuses. (B) is a side view.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Dispenser 2 Tank part 3 Chute part 3a Chute 3b Filter 3c Passage 3d Passage 4 Main-body part 5 Mounting bracket 6 Screw element 6a Screw 7 Motor 8 Connection part 9 Rotation connection shaft 9a Groove 10 Installation guide 11 Fan 12a Cover 12b Hinge 13 Equipment 14a opening 14b opening 15 container

Claims (7)

  An ingredient supply device comprising a tank for storing ingredients and a chute for supplying the ingredients from the tank to tableware and the like, the tank having a screw for supplying the ingredients from the tank to the chute at the bottom. The chute has a fan that feeds the ingredients supplied from the tank by an air flow.   The material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the screw is engaged with a rotary connecting shaft that is detachably fitted to a connecting portion connected to a motor at one end.   The material supply device according to claim 1, wherein the fan is provided at an end portion of a branch passage branched from the material inlet side of the chute and opened toward the outlet side of the chute. .   The material supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, further comprising a filter that discharges the supply air and drops the material downward on the outlet side of the chute.   5. The chute outlet side has an opening that opens to a lower surface and an upper surface, the lower surface opening is for dropping ingredients, and the upper surface opening is for steam discharge. Ingredient supply device described in 1.   The equipment supply device according to any one of claims 1 to 5, wherein a plurality of tanks storing different ingredients are provided above the chute, and the ingredients are supplied to the chute via a screw.   7. The ingredient supply device according to claim 6, wherein screws having different pitches are arranged in each tank according to the ingredient size.

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