JP2016021882A - Citrus fruit peeling device, and peeling method for citrus fruit - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a peeling device and a peeling method capable of efficiently peeling a citrus fruit having a thick skin, without raising the citrus fruit to a high temperature.SOLUTION: An air supply machine 3 pierces a needle nozzle 32b into a citrus fruit 10 having a thick skin 10a, and feeds air of a predetermined pressure for a predetermined time while its leading end being set to face the albedo portion 10c. Skin peeling means 6 peels the skin 10a of the citrus fruit 10 which is fed with air at an albedo portion 10c, from a fruit pulp 10b.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to a peeling apparatus and a peeling method for peeling citrus fruits having a thick epidermis.

  Conventionally, citrus fruits have to be peeled when producing canned foods, etc., and the skin after peeling is not discarded as it is, but it is processed into processed foods such as marmalade and orange peel. It corresponds to the diversification of food.

  By the way, among citrus fruits, citrus fruits such as summer citrus, yam and grapefruit have a thick and hard epidermis, and it is very troublesome for an operator to peel the skin manually.

  In order to avoid this, for example, it is conceivable to efficiently peel citrus fruits with a thick epidermis using a peeling apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 1. The peeling apparatus of Patent Document 1 includes a tank that can accommodate a large number of citrus fruits in an internal space, and the tank is provided with a pressurizing unit that pressurizes the inside of the tank and a decompressing unit that depressurizes the inside of the tank. . Then, in a state where a large amount of citrus fruit is contained in the tank, high temperature steam is supplied into the tank by the pressurizing unit, and after the pressure in the tank reaches a predetermined value, the pressure in the tank is depressurized by the decompression unit. On the other hand, the skin of citrus fruits is softened so that the skin can be easily peeled off from the pulp.

Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-23758

  However, when skinning is performed with a skinning apparatus such as Patent Document 1, nutrients such as vitamin N contained in citrus fruits disappear due to high-temperature steam, so the commercial value of processed food obtained from the skin after skinning is also present. It will go down.

  The present invention has been made in view of such points, and an object of the present invention is to provide a peeling apparatus and a peeling method that can efficiently peel citrus fruits having a thick epidermis without increasing the temperature. It is in.

  In order to achieve the above object, the present invention is characterized in that the skinning method is devised using the fact that the epidermis of citrus fruits is thick and difficult to tear.

  That is, in the first invention, the needle nozzle having a sharp tip, having a thick epidermis, stabs the needle nozzle into a citrus fruit, and the tip faces the albedo portion of the citrus fruit. Air supply means for supplying the air for a predetermined time, and skin peeling means for peeling the skin of the citrus fruit supplied with air to the albedo portion from the pulp.

  In a second invention, in the first invention, the skin peeling means comprises a rotating means for supporting and rotating the citrus fruit in a posture in which a central axis thereof coincides with a rotation axis, and a rotation direction by the rotating means. It has a blade portion extending in a tangential direction of the citrus fruit surface intersecting, and the blade portion is pressed against the citrus fruit surface and moved along the citrus fruit surface by the rotation operation of the citrus fruit by the rotating means. It is characterized by comprising a skin cutting means for cutting out a part of the skin into a strip shape and obtaining a pulp exfoliation region.

  The present invention is also directed to a method for peeling citrus fruits, and the following solution has been taken.

  That is, in the third invention, air supply means having a sharp-pointed needle nozzle is prepared, the needle nozzle is stabbed into a citrus fruit having a thick epidermis, and the tip thereof is exposed to the albedo portion of the citrus fruit, The air supply means supplies air having a predetermined pressure from the tip of the needle nozzle to the albedo portion for a predetermined time, and then peels the skin of the citrus fruit from the pulp.

  In 1st and 3rd invention, when air is supplied to the albedo part of a citrus fruit, air fills between the skin and pulp of a citrus fruit, a citrus fruit swells, and a fiber is torn in many areas | areas of an albedo part. . Therefore, it becomes easy to peel the epidermis from the pulp of the citrus fruit, and it is possible to efficiently peel the citrus fruit as described in Patent Document 1 without increasing the temperature. In addition, since the burden of the skinning work performed manually by the operator is reduced, it is possible to prevent the operator from hurting his finger during the work and the operator from being injured by the skinning tool. Can be done safely.

  In the second aspect of the invention, part of the citrus fruit peeling operation is automatically performed, so that the manual operation of the operator in the peeling operation is reduced, and the peeling operation can be performed efficiently.

It is a front view of the peeling apparatus for citrus fruits which concerns on embodiment of this invention. FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 immediately after starting a skinning operation. It is FIG. 1 equivalent view which shows the state in the middle of the skinning operation | work. FIG. 2 is a view corresponding to FIG. 1 just before the end of the skinning operation.

  Hereinafter, embodiments of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. The following description of the preferred embodiment is merely exemplary in nature.

  1 to 4 show a citrus fruit peeling apparatus 1 according to an embodiment of the present invention. The peeling apparatus 1 performs a skinning operation of the epidermis 10a in the citrus fruit 10, and a rotating jig 2 (rotating means) for supporting the citrus fruit 10 is disposed at the center thereof.

  In addition, the said citrus fruit 10 is intended for the thick skins 10a such as summer citrus, yam, buntan, white citrus, grapefruit, etc., and a pulp 10b composed of a plurality of small bags and an albedo portion 10c covering the pulp 10b. The skin 10a covers the albedo portion 10c.

  The rotating jig 2 includes a box-shaped base 20, and a drive motor 21 having a rotational axis oriented in the vertical direction is provided inside the base 20.

  A rotary shaft 22 that extends straight upward from the base 20 is attached to the output shaft of the drive motor 21, and a disc-shaped rotary table on which the citrus fruit 10 can be placed at the upper end of the rotary shaft 22. 23 is rotatably attached to the rotating shaft 22.

  Above the rotary table 23, a disk-like pressing plate 24 is provided so as to be opposed to the rotating table 23 so as to be able to advance and retreat. The pressing plate 24 coincides with the rotational axis of the rotary shaft 22. It can rotate around the axis of rotation.

  Then, the citrus fruit 10 is placed on the rotary table 23 in such a posture that the central axis thereof coincides with the rotational axis of the rotary shaft 22, and the pressing plate 24 is moved forward (lowered) with the rotary table 23. By sandwiching and rotating the drive motor 21 in this state (direction X1 in FIG. 1), the citrus fruit 10 is rotated around the rotation axis oriented in the vertical direction.

  An air supply machine 3 (air supply means) capable of supplying compressed air is disposed on one side upper part of the rotating jig 2.

  The air supply unit 3 includes a supply unit body 31 that compresses air and an air discharge unit 32 that discharges compressed air, and the supply unit 31 and the air discharge unit 32 include the supply unit. An air pipe 33 serving as a passage for sending the air compressed by the machine main body 31 to the air discharge unit 32 is routed.

  The air discharge section 32 includes a cylindrical nozzle body 32a and a sharp needle nozzle 32b protruding from the center of one end of the nozzle body 32a in the direction of the cylinder center line. The needle nozzle 32b side of the nozzle body 32a is The flexible resin member 32c is attached so as to surround the proximal end portion of the needle nozzle 32b.

  The air discharge section 32 is brought into contact with and separated from the citrus fruit 10 supported by the rotating jig 2 at an angle of 45 ° by a slide mechanism (not shown). In addition, the direction which the said air discharge part 32 contacts / separates with respect to the citrus fruit 10 may not be 45 degrees diagonally.

  Then, as shown in FIG. 2, the air supply unit 3 brings the air discharge part 32 close to the citrus fruit 10 and makes the needle nozzle 32 b face to the upper half area of the skin 10 a in the citrus fruit 10. Piercing the resin member 32c into contact with the skin 10a and causing the tip of the needle nozzle 32b to face the albedo portion 10c, and supplying air of a predetermined pressure set in advance from the feeder main body 31 in this state It is supposed to be. When the needle nozzle 32b is pierced into the skin 10a, the flexible resin member 32c comes into contact with the skin 10a, so that the air supplied to the albedo portion 10c is less likely to leak through the hole made by the needle nozzle 32b. ing.

  On the other side of the rotating jig 2, a skin cutting machine 4 (skin cutting means) for cutting the skin 10a of the citrus fruit 10 supported by the rotating jig 2 is disposed.

  The skin cutting machine 4 includes a fluid pressure cylinder 41 in which a piston rod 41a expands and contracts horizontally toward the rotating jig 2, and a cutter 42 having a rectangular frame shape at the front end of the piston rod 41a. Is fixed.

  The rotating jig 2 side of the cutter 42 has a blade portion 42a extending in the vertical direction (the tangential direction of the citrus fruit 10 intersecting the rotating direction of the rotating jig 2).

  And as shown in FIG. 3, while extending the said piston rod 41a and pressing the blade part 42a of the said cutter 42 against the citrus fruit 10 surface supported by the said rotation jig 2, the said citrus fruit by the said rotation jig 2 is used. 10 is rotated along the surface of the citrus fruit 10 to cut out a part of the epidermis 10a (substantially central portion in the vertical direction) into a strip shape to obtain a pulp exfoliation region R1.

  On one side of the rotating jig 2 and below the air supply unit 3, an albedo cutting machine 5 (albedo cutting means) is in the vertical direction (the citrus fruit 10 intersecting with the rotating direction of the rotating jig 2). A pair is provided apart in the tangential direction of the surface), and the skin peeling means 6 of the present invention is constituted by the rotating jig 2, the skin cutting machine 4 and the albedo cutting machine 5.

  The albedo cutting machine 5 located on the upper side includes a cutting machine main body 51 containing a drive mechanism (not shown) and the like, and an insertion plate 52 that is substantially L-shaped in a side view, and the insertion plate 52 is shown in FIG. As shown in FIG. 4, the lens rotates clockwise (Y1 direction) when viewed from the front.

  Then, the albedo cutting machine 5 rotates the insertion plate 52 clockwise to strip the pulp on the albedo portion 10c between the upper skin 10a and the pulp 10b separated by the pulp stripping region R1. While inserting from the exit area R1, the alvedo portion 10c is cut by moving between the pulp 10b and the epidermis 10a by the rotational movement of the citrus fruit 10 by the rotating jig 2, and the epidermis 10a of the citrus fruit 10 is pulped. It is made to peel from 10b.

  The albedo cutting machine 5 located on the lower side rotates the insertion plate 52 counterclockwise (Y2 direction) when viewed from the front, and separates the lower skin 10a separated from the flesh stripping region R1. It has the same structure as the albedo cutting machine 5 located on the upper side, except that it is inserted into the albedo portion 10c between the flesh and the pulp 10b from the pulp exfoliation region R1.

  Next, the peeling operation | work of the citrus fruit 10 using the said peeling apparatus 1 is demonstrated.

  First, the pressing plate 24 of the rotary jig 2 is retracted (raised) with respect to the rotary table 23, and the citrus fruit 10 is placed on the rotary table 23 in a posture in which the central axis coincides with the rotational axis. The pressing plate 24 is moved forward (lowered) with respect to the rotary table 23, and the citrus fruit 10 is held between the pressing plate 24 and the rotary table 23.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 2, a slide mechanism (not shown) of the air supply machine 3 is operated to bring the air discharge part 32 closer to the citrus fruit 10 supported by the rotating jig 2, and the needle nozzle 32 b is moved to the above. The upper half area of the skin 10a is pierced in a plane, the resin member 32c is brought into contact with the skin 10a, and the tip of the needle nozzle 32b is made to face the albedo portion 10c.

  Then, after the air compressed by the feeder main body 31 is supplied to the albedo portion 10c from the tip of the needle nozzle 32b at a predetermined pressure for a predetermined time, a slide mechanism (not shown) is operated to support the citrus fruit 10 supported by the rotating jig 2. The air discharge part 32 is spaced upward by 45 ° obliquely.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 3, the piston rod 41 a of the skin cutting machine 4 is extended to press the blade part 42 a of the cutter 42 against the surface of the citrus fruit 10 supported by the rotating jig 2, and the rotating jig 2 rotation shafts 22 are rotated in the X1 direction. Then, the cutter 42 is moved along the surface of the citrus fruit 10 by the rotation operation of the citrus fruit 10 by the rotating jig 2, and a part of the skin 10a is cut out in a strip shape to obtain a pulp exfoliation region R1.

  When the annular pulp exfoliation region R <b> 1 is formed on the citrus fruit 10, the piston rod 41 a of the skin cutting machine 4 is contracted to move the cutter 42 away from the citrus fruit 10.

  Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 4, the insertion plates 52 of the two albedo cutting machines 5 are simultaneously rotated and inserted into the albedo portions 10c that are divided into upper and lower portions with the pulp exfoliation region R1 as a boundary. Then, each insertion plate 52 moves between the pulp 10b and the skin 10a by the rotation operation of the citrus fruit 10 by the rotating jig 2, cuts the albedo portion 10c, and peels the skin 10a from the pulp 10b.

  Thereafter, the insertion plates 52 of both the albedo cutting machines 5 are rotated to move away from the citrus fruit 10 and the rotation of the rotating shaft 22 of the rotating jig 2 is stopped.

  Then, after the pressing plate 24 is retracted from the rotary table 23, the operator takes out the citrus fruit 10 from the rotary jig 2, and completely separates the skin 10a and the pulp 10b manually.

  As mentioned above, according to embodiment of this invention, when air is supplied to the albedo part 10c of the citrus fruit 10, air fills between the skin 10a and the pulp 10b of the citrus fruit 10, and the citrus fruit 10 swells, and the albedo part Fibers tear in many areas of 10c. Therefore, it becomes easy to peel the epidermis 10a from the pulp 10b of the citrus fruit 10, and can peel efficiently without raising the citrus fruit 10 like patent document 1 at high temperature. In addition, since the burden of the skinning work performed manually by the operator is reduced, it is possible to prevent the operator from hurting his finger during the work and the operator from being injured by the skinning tool. Can be done safely.

  Moreover, since part of the skinning work of the citrus fruit 10 is automatically performed, the manual work of the operator in the skinning work is reduced, and the skinning work can be performed efficiently.

  Furthermore, since a pair of albedo cutting machine 5 cuts the albedo part 10c at the same time, the amount of the epidermis 10a to be peeled from the citrus fruit 10 at a time increases more than the case where the single albedo cutting machine 5 cuts the albedo part 10c. The skinning work can be performed well.

  In addition, in embodiment of this invention, after supplying air to the albedo part 10c of the citrus fruit 10 with the air supply machine 3, the skinning operation | work is performed using the skin cutting machine 4 and the albedo cutting machine 5, but air After supplying air to the albedo portion 10c of the citrus fruit 10 with the supply machine 3, the skin peeling operation may be performed only with the skin cutting machine 4 or without using both the skin cutting machine 4 and the albedo cutting machine 5. Even if the skin 10a is peeled from the pulp 10b by hand, the skin 10a can be easily separated from the pulp 10b with a small force.

  In addition, the pair of albedo cutting machines 5 simultaneously cuts the albedo portion 10c divided vertically from the pulp exfoliation region R1, but cuts the albedo portion 10c divided vertically from the flesh exfoliation region R1. May be structured in order.

  Furthermore, in the embodiment of the present invention, the needle nozzle 32b is pierced perpendicularly to the skin 10a, but may be pierced obliquely to the skin 10a. If it does so, the area | region of the needle nozzle 32b located in the outer skin 10a will increase, and the air supplied to the albedo part 10c will become more difficult to leak through the hole opened by the needle nozzle 32b.

  The present invention is suitable for a peeling apparatus and a peeling method for peeling citrus fruits having a thick epidermis.

1 Peeling device for citrus fruits 2 Rotating jig (rotating means)
3 Air supply machine (air supply means)
4 Skin cutting machine (skin cutting means)
5 Albedo cutting machine (Albedo cutting means)
6 Skin peeling means 10 Citrus fruit 10a Skin 10b Pulp 10c Albedo part 32b Needle nozzle 42a Blade part 52 Insertion plate R1 Pulp peeling area

Claims (3)

Air that has a sharp-pointed needle nozzle and supplies a predetermined pressure of air for a predetermined time with the needle nozzle pierced into a citrus fruit with a thick epidermis and the tip facing the albedo portion of the citrus fruit Supply means;
A skin peeling apparatus for citrus fruit, comprising: a skin peeling means for peeling the skin of the citrus fruit, in which air is supplied to the albedo portion, from the pulp. In the peeling apparatus for citrus fruits according to claim 1,
The skin peeling means is a rotating means for supporting and rotating the citrus fruit in a posture in which the central axis coincides with the rotation axis;
The citrus fruit surface has a blade portion extending in a tangential direction of the citrus fruit surface intersecting the rotation direction by the rotation means, and the blade portion is pressed against the citrus fruit surface and the citrus fruit is rotated by the rotation means. And a skin cutting means for cutting out a part of the skin into a strip shape to obtain a pulp stripping region.   Air supply means having a sharp-pointed needle nozzle is prepared, and the needle nozzle is stabbed into a citrus fruit with a thick epidermis so that the tip faces the albedo portion of the citrus fruit, and then the tip of the needle nozzle by the air supply means A method for skinning citrus fruits, wherein air of a predetermined pressure set in advance is supplied to the albedo portion for a predetermined time, and then the skin of the citrus fruits is peeled from the pulp.

Images