JP2020015126A - Folding device for sliced meat - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a folding device for sliced meat which has high accuracy and increased efficiency, and with which even if a slice thickness changes, a folding posture of a sliced meat is not disturbed.SOLUTION: A folding device for sliced meat is provided with: a transfer tool 5 which scoops a sliced meat, which is cut out from a slicer 1 comprising slice thickness setting means and is received on a circumference of a rotary transfer body 4, from a rear face thereof, bears a substantially central part thereof on an end face, so makes the sliced meat as to straddle back and forth, reverses the sliced meat while double folding the same, fluctuates and transfers the sliced meat to a prescribed transfer position, and thereafter, departs to a position at which the tool gets out of the sliced meat; a conveyor 6 of which a reception surface is pushed up to the transfer position and receives the sliced meat; and a presser 14 which presses near a fold line of the sliced meat from above at the transfer position. In this folding device, a distance of the transfer tool or the presser with respect to the conveyor reception surface at the transfer position can be adjusted in association with setting of slice thickness.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 1

Description

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to an improvement of an apparatus for folding sliced meat, such as beef and pork, obtained by slicing sliced meat by a slicer and taking out the sliced meat continuously by a conveyor.

A conventional sliced meat folding apparatus related to the present invention is disclosed in Patent Document 1.
The sliced meat folding apparatus described in this document is the only sliced meat in its own country which has been commercialized by the applicant for more than 10 years with almost the same basic configuration and is still used in processing plants such as supermarkets. It is a folding device.
The configuration is that the sliced meat cut out from the slicer and received on the outer periphery of the rotary transfer body is scooped from the back surface, almost the center is supported on the end face, straddled back and forth, flipped while folding in two, A transfer tool that swings and transfers to a predetermined transfer position and then retreats to a position where it comes out of the sliced meat, a conveyor whose receiving surface is pushed up to the transfer position and receives the sliced meat, This is a slice meat folding apparatus provided with a pressing tool for pressing the vicinity of the folding line from above, which is the same as the present application in the basic configuration.

The slice thickness of the sliced meat changes depending on the use. For example, for shabu-shabu, the thickness is about 1 mm, and ordinary sliced meat is sliced to about 2 to 2.5 mm. If the distance between the conveyor surface and the transfer tool and pressing tool is constant, this difference in slice thickness is While affecting the disruption of meat folding operations, this document was not considered in this regard.
That is, since the sliced meat is soft raw meat and the transfer tool and the pressing tool are made of a wire, a slight change in thickness has been neglected because it is absorbed to some extent by the bending of the wire.

In the past, air cylinders, which are relatively inexpensive and easy to handle, are mainly used for drive equipment not only for folding but also for control. Has been satisfied with the automation of the product, and some disturbances in the posture and the limit of efficiency have been permitted.However, there are demands for products to be mounted on trays and to increase the processing efficiency to improve productivity. It is getting stronger gradually.
On the other hand, with respect to driving equipment, the technology related to servo motors and mechanical operating equipment capable of performing precise and reliable operations more efficiently than pneumatic equipment has been improved and spread, and cost reduction has been achieved.

JP 2003-48192 A

In view of the situation described above, the present invention provides a high-precision and efficient slice that does not disturb the folding posture of the sliced meat even if the slice thickness changes, while following the current basic configuration. It is intended to provide a meat folding device.

The present invention is cut out from a slicer provided with a slice thickness setting means, the sliced meat received on the outer periphery of the rotary transfer body, scooping from the back surface, straddling the front and back substantially supporting the center portion at the end face, A transfer tool that flips over while folding, swings to a predetermined transfer position, transfers and then retreats to a position where it comes out of the sliced meat,
A conveyor whose receiving surface is pushed up to the transfer position to receive sliced meat,
In a slice meat folding device provided with a pressing tool for pressing the vicinity of the fold line of the slice meat at the transfer position from above,
A slice meat folding apparatus characterized in that the distance between the conveyor and the transfer tool or the pressing tool at the transfer position with respect to the setting of the slice thickness can be adjusted.
The receiving surface of the conveyor swings a belt receiver that pushes up the conveyor,
The transfer tool swings around the lower end of the transfer tool,
The pressing device drives a mechanical linear motion mechanism that expands and contracts the pressing device,
The interval can be adjusted by controlling the rotation of each servomotor.
Further, it is preferable to adjust the interval by rotating a servo motor that pushes up the conveyor or a servo motor that drives the transfer tool and the pressing tool in conjunction with the slice thickness setting.

Even if the slice thickness is changed, the distance between the conveyor and the pressing tool with respect to the slice meat receiving surface of the conveyor can be maintained in an optimum state, so that the folding posture can be prevented from being disturbed.
In addition, since the driving motor such as the transfer tool and the pressing tool is a servo motor and the rotation of the motor is controlled, the interval can be accurately adjusted and the operation speed can be increased, so that the processing capacity can be increased.

It is a side view which shows the principal part of the folding apparatus of the sliced meat which concerns on this invention. It is a side view of the slicer in which the folding device of the sliced meat of the present invention was carried out. FIG. 3 is a plan view of FIG. 2.

The basic configuration of the sliced meat folding apparatus according to the present invention shown in FIG. 1 is a well-known technique as described in Patent Document 1, and will be briefly described.
It is provided with a caul plate 2 which receives the tip of the meat sent out from the meat box 1 moving up and down and moves in the meat sending direction to adjust the slice thickness. When the meat 1 is moved upward, the tip of the meat sent out from the meat box 1 is sliced, and the sliced meat is received on the outer periphery of the rotary transfer body 4 and scooped from the back surface of the sliced meat transferred to the downstream side. A transfer tool 5 is provided which is supported on the end face and straddled back and forth, and is turned while being folded in two, and swings and transfers to the transfer position at the start end of the downstream conveyor 6.

In this transfer tool 5, a horizontal bar in which a large number of thin rods are implanted in a comb shape is directly mounted on the servo motor A, and by rotating the rotation axis of the servo motor A, the sliced meat is removed from the rotary transfer body 4. It is reciprocated between the scooping position and the transfer position of the conveyor 6.
When the transfer tool 5 is swung to the transfer position, the relative position of the transfer tool 5 with respect to the other conveyor can be changed by controlling the rotation angle of the rotation shaft of the servo motor A.
In addition, the servo motor A is configured such that the transfer tool 5 receives the sliced meat from the rotary transfer body 4 by means of a crank mechanism 8 in which a slider 7 supporting the servo motor A is provided at the end of the rotary shaft of another servo motor B. After being transferred to the transfer position 6, the transfer tool 5 is withdrawn and the transfer tool 5 is extracted from the sliced meat.
Conventionally, as this sliding means, an air cylinder with a guide has been used as shown in Patent Document 1. However, the operation is unstable, the stop position may be disturbed, and the sliding speed is limited. As described above, the stop position and the speed can be finely adjusted by controlling the rotation of the servomotor as the mechanical slide means and the drive source, so that the folding operation can be performed accurately and without disturbance efficiently.

The transport conveyor 6, which receives the sliced meat in a state of being folded into two from the transfer tool 5, includes a flat belt wound around a plurality of pulleys 8, 8, including a drive pulley directly mounted on the servomotor C. 9 and is extended so that the received sliced meat can be carried out of the machine.

The start end of the transport conveyor 6 can be pushed up from the transfer tool 5 to a predetermined transfer position where the sliced meat is placed. The receiving surface of the sliced meat of the transport conveyor at the transfer position is formed and supported by rollers 11a and 11b supported by a receiving member 11 on the rear side along the lower surface of the transfer tool 5.
The receiving member 11 is pivotally supported by a supporting shaft of the starting end pulley so as to be able to swing around the axis of the starting end pulley 8 of the conveyor 6, and has an arm and a rod 12 extending downward from the receiving member 11. Is connected to the arm 13 attached to the rotation axis of the servo motor D via the axis, and the rotation axis of the servo motor D is swung to push up the receiving surface of the sliced meat on the flat belt 9 in accordance with an instruction from the control means, thereby slicing. Receiving the meat, returning, the servo motor C rotates and sends it out of the machine.
Regarding the pushing-up operation of the receiving surface of the conveyor 6, by controlling the rotation angle of the rotation shaft of the servo motor D, the swing amount of the receiving member 11 is adjusted, and the distance between the receiving surface of the conveyor 6 and the transfer device 5 is adjusted. Is adjustable.

On the other hand, if the sliced meat transferred by the transfer tool 5 reaches the receiving surface, which is the transfer position of the sliced meat on the transport conveyor 6, to the position above the transfer tool 5, the vicinity of the folding line of the sliced meat is pressed from above. A pressing tool 14 is provided.
The pressing tool 14 is formed of a wire in a portion that is in contact with the sliced meat, but supports a support rod that supports the wire, so that the wire expands and contracts to the pressed state of the sliced meat and to a retreat position away from the swing range of the transfer tool 5. A mechanical linear motion mechanism 15 using a free ball screw or the like is provided. A servo motor E is used to drive the linear motion mechanism 15, and by rotating the servo motor E, the interval between the sliced meat of the pressing tool 14 made of a wire can be adjusted.
It should be noted that the linear motion mechanism 15 also conventionally uses an air cylinder with a guide as in the case of the above-mentioned slide means.

Next, the means for adjusting the slice thickness will be described with reference to FIG. 2, but the basic configuration is also a known technique and is implemented.
The caul plate 2 for determining the slice thickness is supported by the gantry 16 integrally with the folding-related members including the rotary transfer body 4 and the conveyor 6. The gantry 16 is swingably supported by a machine base 18 via a parallel link 17 and is moved by a mechanical linear motion mechanism 19 driven by a servo motor F. By moving the gantry 16 in the meat feeding direction of the meat box 1 by the linear motion mechanism 19, the abutment plate 2 is moved in the meat feeding direction to adjust the slice thickness.

The configuration of the folding apparatus for sliced meat has been described above. However, in this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 3, the meat is sliced and folded in two rows in parallel, and each of the meat slices is folded symmetrically. The components are operated synchronously.
As for the pressing tool 14, a single linear motion mechanism 15 is disposed at the center in the left and right direction, and the portion of the pressing tool 14 that is in contact with the slice meat is symmetrically extended from the telescopic axis of the linear motion mechanism 15 so that the right and left slices are simultaneously sliced. Since the meat is pressed, there is no deviation between the left and right operations, and synchronization can be reliably performed.

The relationship between the setting of the slice thickness and the folding operation of the folding device, which is also the gist of the present application, in the sliced meat folding device configured as described above will be described.

In the above-described folding apparatus, the change in the slice thickness affects only when the sliced meat that has been folded in half by the transfer tool 5 is transferred to the transfer position of the transfer conveyor 6 and the receiving surface of the transfer conveyor 6 and the transfer tool. If the slice thickness is reduced while keeping the interval constant, the pressing by the transfer tool 5 against the receiving surface is weakened, and the transfer tool 5 is pulled out when dislodged and the folding posture is disturbed. . Conversely, if the thickness is too thick, the pressing becomes tight, and when the sliced meat is stacked in a cascade, it does not have a soft feeling and impairs the appearance.

On the receiving surface of the conveyor 6, when the interval between the leading end of the pressing tool 14 that presses the vicinity of the folding line of the slice meat from above and the receiving surface of the conveyor 6 is constant, When the thickness is reduced, the pressing force is weakened, and the folding becomes insufficient. In addition, when the transfer tool 5 is pulled out while the pressing tool 5 is pressing the sliced meat, the transfer tool 5 is pulled out due to insufficient pressing and disturbs the posture. Conversely, if the thickness of the slice increases, the pressing force increases, so that a trace of the pressing remains and the appearance is impaired, and the sliced meat adheres to the tip of the pressing tool 5 and is brought back to disturb the posture.

As described above, when the relative position of the transfer tool 5 or the pressing tool 14 with respect to the receiving surface of the transport conveyor 6 at the transfer position is constant and the slice thickness changes, the above-described problem occurs.
Therefore, in the present invention, the servomotor D for swinging the belt receiver 11 that pushes up the receiving surface of the conveyor 6, the servomotor A for swinging about the lower end of the transfer tool 5, and the pressing tool 5 The rotation angle and the number of rotations of each of the servo motors E that drive the mechanical linear motion mechanism 15 are controlled in relation to the setting of the slice thickness so that an appropriate interval corresponding to the slice thickness can be obtained. I have.

Such control may be performed manually. However, if a desired slice thickness is input, the distance between the receiving surface of the conveyor 6 and the transfer tool 5 and the pressing tool 14 is adjusted appropriately in accordance with the slice thickness. Automatic control may be performed so as to achieve the same.

In the present application, as described above, the drive unit that operates each mechanism from the setting of the thickness of the sliced meat to the folding device including the transport conveyor has a mechanical configuration instead of the conventional pneumatic equipment, and all employ a servo motor. Therefore, the operation of each part is performed more accurately than in the past, and the work accuracy and processing capacity are improved.

4 Rotary transfer body 5 Transfer tool 6 Conveyor 9 Flat belt 14 Pressing tool

Claims (3)

The sliced meat cut out from the slicer equipped with the slice thickness setting means and received at the outer periphery of the rotary transfer body is scooped from the back surface, the center portion is supported at the end face, straddled back and forth, and folded in two. A transfer tool that is turned over and rocked to a predetermined transfer position and transferred, and then retreats to a position where it comes out of the sliced meat,
A conveyor whose receiving surface is pushed up to the transfer position to receive sliced meat,
In a slice meat folding device provided with a pressing tool for pressing the vicinity of the fold line of the slice meat at the transfer position from above,
An apparatus for folding sliced meat, wherein an interval between a transfer tool and a pressing tool with respect to a receiving surface of a conveyor at a transfer position can be adjusted in relation to setting of a slice thickness. The receiving surface of the conveyor swings the belt receiver that pushes up the conveyor,
The transfer tool swings around the lower end of the transfer tool,
The pressing device drives a mechanical linear motion mechanism that expands and contracts the pressing device,
2. The slice meat folding apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the interval can be adjusted by controlling the rotation of each servomotor. 3. The interval is adjusted by rotating a servo motor that pushes up a conveyor or a servo motor that drives a transfer tool and a pressing tool in conjunction with a slice thickness setting. 2. The apparatus for folding sliced meat according to claim 1.

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