JP2018162068A - Heat treatment device for good - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a heat treatment device for goods which stably transfers goods like pouch containers through a water tank without giving surface damages.SOLUTION: A heating tank 20 stores hot water at predetermined temperature. A first conveyor 22 transfers pouch containers through the heating tank 20. A first holding conveyor 23, arranged above the first conveyor 22 and sandwiches and transfers pouch containers together with the first conveyor 22. Regulating members 40 contact with the upper surface of the first holding conveyor 23, and push the first holding conveyor 23 to the direction getting closer to the first conveyor 22.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 2

Description

  The present invention relates to an article heat treatment apparatus for heat-treating a lightweight article such as noodles in a pouch container or a bag-filled bowl.

  2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, an article heat treatment apparatus that performs heat treatment by transporting a lightweight article such as a pouch container through a water storage tank in which hot water is stored is known. For example, the article heat treatment apparatuses disclosed in Patent Documents 1 and 2 are configured such that a pouch container is accommodated in a bucket attached to a chain conveyor, and the bucket passes through the water storage tank by driving the chain conveyor. Thus, if a pouch container is accommodated in a bucket and it conveys in the water storage tank, even if the specific gravity of a pouch container is 1 or less lightweight, a pouch container can be stably conveyed in a water storage tank. However, in this configuration, it is necessary to match the operation of supplying the pouch container in the bucket with the conveying operation of the chain conveyor, and the control is complicated.

Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-29085 Japanese Patent Publication No.62-38224

  Therefore, the inventors tried to omit the bucket, and considered a configuration in which a sandwiching conveyor is provided above the transport chain for transporting the pouch container, and the pouch container is sandwiched and transported by the transport conveyor and the sandwiching conveyor. According to this, it is not necessary to control the timing which supplies a pouch container to a conveyance conveyor, and it can supply at random. Moreover, even if the specific gravity of the pouch container to be handled is 1 or less, the pouch container is sandwiched between the transport conveyor and the sandwiching conveyor, so that the pouch container can be transported stably even in water. However, there has been a problem that the surface of the pouch container sandwiched between the transport conveyor and the sandwiching conveyor is damaged by the transport conveyor or the sandwiching conveyor.

  An object of the present invention is to provide an article heat treatment apparatus in which the surface of an article such as a pouch container is not damaged and the article is stably conveyed in a water storage tank.

  An article heat treatment apparatus according to the present invention is provided above a storage tank in which hot water set to a predetermined temperature is stored, a transfer conveyor for transferring articles in the storage tank, and above the transfer conveyor, and holds the articles together with the transfer conveyor. The conveying conveyor, and a regulating member that abuts the upper surface of the clamping conveyor or the lower surface of the conveying conveyor and presses the conveying conveyor and the clamping conveyor toward each other, and the articles supplied to the conveying conveyor are conveyed It is characterized in that it is transported in the hot water of the water storage tank while being sandwiched between the conveyor and the sandwiching conveyor.

  It is preferable that at least one of the conveyance conveyor and the sandwiching conveyor is made of a resin having a specific gravity of 1 or less. Moreover, it is preferable that the regulating member is a plate having a rotating shaft on the upstream side in the transport direction, and abuts against the upper surface of the sandwich conveyor to press the sandwich conveyor toward the transport conveyor.

  ADVANTAGE OF THE INVENTION According to this invention, there is no possibility that the surface of articles | goods, such as a pouch container, may be damaged, and the effect that articles | goods are stably conveyed in a water storage tank is acquired.

It is a top view which shows the goods conveyance system provided with the goods heat processing apparatus which is one Embodiment of this invention. It is a side view showing a path riser. It is a top view which shows a control member. It is a side view which shows the structure of the upstream edge part of a supply apparatus and a heating tank.

The article heat treatment apparatus of the present invention will be described below with reference to the illustrated embodiments.
FIG. 1 shows an article conveyance system provided with an article heat treatment apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention, and articles conveyed by the article conveyance system are not shown in FIG. It is a filled flat pouch container P (see FIG. 4), and its specific gravity is 1 or less. In the first and second pouch filling and sealing devices 11 and 12, the contents are filled into the pouch container P and the opening of the pouch container P is sealed, and the supply conveyor 15 is fed by the first and second introduction conveyors 13 and 14. Is passed on. That is, in this example, two pouch filling sealing devices 11 and 12 are provided, but three or more pouch filling sealing devices may be provided.

  The supply conveyor 15 is continuously driven and conveys a large number of randomly placed pouch containers P to a supply device 16 provided at a downstream end (left end in FIG. 1) at a constant speed. On the supply conveyor 15, the space | interval between each pouch container P is irregular, and the several pouch container P may overlap. The pouch container P is delivered to the path trizer 17 by the supply device 16, and the path trizer 17 is heat-treated while the pouch container P is being conveyed, as will be described later. The heat-treated pouch container P is transferred to the discharge conveyor 18 provided at the downstream end (upper side in FIG. 1) of the path riser 17 and is transported to the next step.

  The configuration of the path trizer 17 will be described with reference to FIG. The path riser 17 has a heating tank (storage tank) 20 in which hot water having a relatively high temperature (for example, 85 ° C.) is stored, and a cooling tank 21 in which hot water having a relatively low temperature (for example, 30 ° C.) is stored. The heating tank 20 is located on the supply conveyor 15 side, and the pouch container P is supplied from the supply conveyor 15. The supply device 16 is provided above the supply conveyor 15 and is driven by a drive motor 29 to scrape the pouch container P on the supply conveyor 15 into the heating tank 20.

  In the heating tank 20, the pouch container P is transported in the hot water while being sandwiched between the first transport conveyor 22 and the first sandwiching conveyor 23 provided above the first transport conveyor 22 and heated. The Then, the pouch container P is transferred to the cooling tank 21 and is transported in the hot water while being sandwiched between the second transport conveyor 24 and the second sandwiching conveyor 25 and cooled. The pouch container P is immersed in the heating tank 20 for about 15 minutes, immersed in the cooling tank 21 for about 5 minutes, and transferred from the cooling tank 21 to the discharge conveyor 18. The transport speed by the first transport conveyor 22 and the sandwiching conveyor 23 and the transport speed by the second transport conveyor 24 and the sandwiching conveyor 25 are substantially the same, and the length of the heating tank 20 in the transport direction is longer than that of the cooling tank 21. Is formed.

  A hot water supply device (not shown) is connected to the heating tank 20 to supply hot water at a predetermined temperature (for example, about 85 ° C.). Further, the heating tank 20 is provided with a water level sensor (not shown), and the hot water supply device is controlled according to the fluctuation of the water level, so that the water level is kept constant. A plurality of watering nozzles 26 for heating are disposed above the heating tank 20 along the conveying direction of the conveying conveyor 22 and the sandwiching conveyor 23. The watering nozzle 26 for heating is supplied with hot water in the heating tank 20 by a pump (not shown) and sprays water into the heating tank 20. An overflow drain port (not shown) is formed in the heating tank 20, and excess water is discarded through the overflow drain port. Similarly, a hot water supply device (not shown) is connected to the cooling tank 21 to supply hot water at a predetermined temperature (for example, about 30 ° C.). Further, the water level in the cooling tank 21 is kept constant by controlling the hot water supply device in accordance with the detection value of a water level sensor (not shown). Above the cooling tank 21, a plurality of cooling water spray nozzles 27 are arranged along the conveying direction of the conveying conveyor 24 and the sandwiching conveyor 25, and the hot water in the cooling tank 21 supplied by a pump (not shown) is used as a cooling tank. Sprinkle water on 21. Excess water in the cooling tank 21 is discarded through the overflow drain.

  The first conveyor 22 includes a drive sprocket 30 provided above the cooling tank 21, a driven sprocket 31 provided in the heating tank 20 at the upstream end, and a downstream end of the heating tank 20. Is hung around a driven sprocket 32 and a tensioner pulley 33. The drive sprocket 30 is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 34. The 1st conveyance conveyor 22 is a chain conveyor which consists of a resin chain made from a polypropylene. This resin chain has heat resistance to a temperature of 85 ° C., and its specific gravity is 1 or less and about 0.90. In addition to polypropylene, polyethylene can also be used.

  The first clamping conveyor 23 is provided on the downstream side of the heating tank 20 and above the watering nozzle 26 for heating, and on the upstream side of the heating tank 20 and on the upstream side of the heating watering nozzle 26. It is hung around a driven sprocket 36 provided above and a driven sprocket 37 provided on the downstream side of the heating tank 20 and in the vicinity of the water surface of the heating tank 20. Further, in the vicinity of the supply device 16, the first clamping conveyor 23 is engaged with the guide 65 (FIG. 4). The drive sprocket 35 is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 38. The first clamping conveyor 23 is also a chain conveyor made of a polypropylene resin chain, like the first transport conveyor 22, but may be made of polyethylene.

  Both the first conveyor 22 and the first sandwiching conveyor 23 have a specific gravity of 1 or less and are likely to float in heated water. Therefore, in the vicinity of the water surface where the first conveying conveyor 22 and the first sandwiching conveyor 23 are close to each other, a regulating member 40 is provided above the first sandwiching conveyor 23 in order to prevent the first sandwiching conveyor 23 from being lifted. Is provided. The regulating member 40 is a plate made of stainless steel, and a plurality (six in FIG. 2) are provided so as to cover almost the entire area of the heating tank 20. The regulating member 40 is supported so as to swing in the vertical direction by a rotating shaft 41 extending in the horizontal direction, and presses the first sandwiching conveyor 23 toward the first transport conveyor 22 by its own weight.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the restricting member 40 is a plate having a rectangular shape when viewed from above. Both ends of the rotating shaft 41 are attached to the side wall 50 of the heating tank 20, and a pair of arms 51 are swingably provided on the rotating shaft 41. The connecting shaft 52 provided at the tip of the arm 51 is rotatably connected to the upstream end portion (that is, the end portion on the supply device 16 side) of the regulating member 40. Since the arm 51 is rotatable around the rotation shaft 41, the restricting member 40 can move up and down. Therefore, the regulating member 40 is displaced according to the shape of the pouch container P passing between the first conveying conveyor 22 and the second sandwiching conveyor 23, and presses the pouch container P downward by its own weight to heat the heating tank 20. To prevent the water from floating.

  Refer to FIG. 2 again. The second conveyor 24 includes a drive sprocket 40 provided in the vicinity of the discharge conveyor 18, a driven sprocket 41 provided in the cooling tank 21 at the upstream end, and a downstream end of the cooling tank 21. Is hung around a driven sprocket 42 and a tensioner pulley 43. The drive sprocket 40 is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 44. The 2nd conveyance conveyor 24 is a chain conveyor which consists of a resin chain made from polyacetal. The heat resistance of this resin chain is inferior to that of polypropylene, but the specific gravity is about 1.4 and does not float in water. Therefore, no restriction member is provided on the upper side of the second clamping conveyor 25.

  The second clamping conveyor 25 is a drive sprocket 45 provided on the downstream side of the cooling tank 21 and above the watering nozzle 27 for cooling, and the upstream side of the cooling tank 21 and on the upstream side of the watering nozzle 27 for cooling. It is hung around a driven sprocket 46 provided above and a driven sprocket 47 provided on the downstream side of the cooling tank 21 and in the vicinity of the water surface of the cooling tank 21. Further, the second clamping conveyor 25 is engaged with a guide (not shown) at the upstream end of the cooling tank 21. The drive sprocket 45 is connected to the output shaft of the drive motor 48. Similarly to the second transport conveyor 24, the second sandwiching conveyor 25 is a chain conveyor made of a resin chain made of polyacetal.

  FIG. 4 shows the configuration of the upstream end portions of the supply device 16 and the heating tank 20. The supply device 16 is configured by attaching a pusher 63 to a belt 62 wound around a pair of pulleys 60 and 61. The pusher 63 is a plate and projects perpendicularly to the outer surface of the belt 62. The belt 63 is rotated around the pulleys 60 and 61 by the drive motor 29 (FIG. 2), so that the pusher 63 moves in a direction crossing the supply conveyor 15. A chute 64 that is inclined toward the first transport conveyor 22 in the heating tank 20 is provided at the edge of the supply conveyor 15 on the heating tank 20 side. That is, the pouch container P extruded from the supply conveyor 15 by the pusher 63 slides on the chute 64 and is guided to the first transport conveyor 22.

  Above the chute 64, a guide 65 that engages with the inner surface of the first clamping conveyor 23 is provided. As a whole, the guide 65 is a flat plate-like member extending in a substantially vertical direction with respect to the chute 64, and the lower portion of the guide 65 is curved so as to be parallel to the chute 64 as it approaches the tip. It extends toward.

  The first transfer conveyor 22 is supported by the transfer rail 66 so as to move in the horizontal direction in the heating tank 20. The upper surface of the first transport conveyor 22, that is, the surface on the first sandwiching conveyor 23 side is not supported by the transport rail 66, and directly faces the first sandwiching conveyor 23. Accordingly, the first transport conveyor 22 is likely to be displaced toward the first sandwiching conveyor 23 by buoyancy, but the displacement is regulated when the regulating member 40 abuts against and presses the upper surface of the first sandwiching conveyor 23. .

  Next, the operation of this embodiment will be described. The supply device 16 moves on the supply conveyor 15 and throws the pouch container P onto the first transport conveyor 22 every time the supply conveyor 15 moves by a predetermined distance. The number of pouch containers P supplied to the first transfer conveyor 22 by one supply operation of the supply device 16 is indefinite, and all the pouch containers P on the supply conveyor 15 immediately below the supply device 16 are pushed by the pusher 63. Is transferred to the conveyor 22. When the pouch containers P are overlapped on the supply conveyor 15, the pouch containers P are discharged from the supply conveyor 15 while being overlapped.

  When the pouch container P is discharged from the supply conveyor 15 and delivered to the first transport conveyor 22, it slides down on the chute 64, but the first sandwiching conveyor 23 is guided by the guide 65 and turns to the chute 64 as it rotates. Since the pouch container P gradually approaches, the pouch container P is supplied onto the first transport conveyor 22 while being sandwiched between the chute 64 and the first sandwiching conveyor 23. The pouch container P is filled at a high temperature in the pouch filling and sealing devices 11 and 12, supplied to the path riser 17 at a temperature of 50 to 60 ° C., and sandwiched between the conveyor 22 and the sandwiching conveyor 23 in the heating tank 20. It is conveyed and heated in the state. In this transport operation, the pouch container P is prevented from floating on the water surface by the regulating member 40 and is always immersed in warm water.

  The pouch container P that has been heat-treated in the heating tank 20 is released from the first sandwiching conveyor 23 at the downstream end of the heating tank 20 and is carried onto the water surface by the first conveying conveyor 22. And the pouch container P is thrown into the cooling tank 21 from the downstream end of the first transport conveyor 22, and is delivered onto the second transport conveyor 24. In the cooling tank 21, the pouch container P is transported while being sandwiched between the second transport conveyor 24 and the second sandwiching conveyor 25, and is cooled to about 30 ° C. by the cooling water in the cooling tank 21. Then, the pouch container P is released from the second sandwiching conveyor 25, carried onto the water surface by the second transport conveyor 24, and delivered to the discharge conveyor 18.

  As described above, in the present embodiment, the first transport conveyor 22 and the first sandwiching conveyor 23 for transporting the pouch container P in the heating tank 20 are formed of resin such as polypropylene and transported in the cooling tank 21. Therefore, since the second conveyor 24 and the second sandwiching conveyor 25 for molding are made of resin such as polyacetal, the pouch container P can be transported without damaging the surface. Further, the first transport conveyor 22 and the first sandwiching conveyor 23 used in the heating tank 20 are made of polypropylene having excellent heat resistance and have a specific gravity of 1 or less. 1 is pressed downward through the nipping conveyor 23, so that the pouch container P, the first transport conveyor 22, and the first nipping conveyor 23 are lifted from the hot water even if the pouch container P is light in weight with a specific gravity of 1 or less. There is nothing, and it is immersed in warm water stably and heated reliably.

  The article to be handled may have a specific gravity of 1 or more. Even if the specific gravity is 1 or more, if the inside of the water storage tank is to be transported, the transporting operation of the article becomes unstable due to the influence of the buoyancy of hot water, etc. In the present embodiment, the regulating member 40 and the first clamping By the action of the conveyor 23, the inside of the water storage tank can be stably conveyed.

  Moreover, although the said embodiment is comprised so that the 1st clamping conveyor 23 may be pressed in the direction which approaches the 1st conveyance conveyor 22 in the heating tank 20, this invention is not limited to this structure. That is, the inner surface side (upper surface) of the first sandwiching conveyor 23 is supported by the transport rail, the regulating member abuts on the lower surface of the first transport conveyor 22, and the first transport conveyor 22 becomes the first sandwiching conveyor 23. You may comprise so that it may press to the direction to approach. In this case, it is preferable that the article to be heat-treated has a specific gravity smaller than 1 and easily floats on water.

20 Heating tank (storage tank)
22 1st conveyance conveyor 23 1st clamping conveyor 40 Control member

Claims (3)

A storage tank in which hot water set to a predetermined temperature is stored;
A transport conveyor for transporting articles in the storage tank;
A sandwiching conveyor provided above the transporting conveyor for sandwiching and transporting the article together with the transporting conveyor;
A regulating member that abuts the upper surface of the sandwiching conveyor or the lower surface of the transporting conveyor and presses the transporting conveyor and the sandwiching conveyor in a direction approaching each other;
The article heat treatment apparatus, wherein the article supplied to the conveyor is conveyed in the hot water of the water storage tank while being nipped between the conveyor and the nipping conveyor.   2. The article heat treatment apparatus according to claim 1, wherein at least one of the conveying conveyor and the sandwiching conveyor is made of a resin having a specific gravity of 1 or less.   The said restriction member is a plate which has a rotating shaft in the upstream of a conveyance direction, and contact | abuts the upper surface of the said clamping conveyor, and presses the said clamping conveyor to the said conveyance conveyor side, The Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned. Equipment heat treatment equipment.

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