JP2021003075A - Hopper moving mechanism of rice malt production apparatus - Google Patents

Abstract

To provide a hopper moving mechanism of a rice malt production apparatus which is easy to handle, and does not require securing an installing place outside rice malt production apparatus.SOLUTION: A hopper moving mechanism 30 of a rice malt production apparatus 1 stacks a material for producing rice malt on a belt 3 of an endless conveyor of the rice malt production apparatus installed inside a rice malt production chamber 10 and cultures Aspergillus oryzae. The mechanism comprises: a hopper body 31 into which the material for producing rice malt is input; movable means 33 movable together with the hopper body 31; and guiding means 34 into which the movable means 33 is guided. The hopper body 31 is movable between an input position on the belt 3 and a retreat position retreated from above the belt 3 when the movable means 33 is guided by the guiding means 34.SELECTED DRAWING: Figure 5

Description

The present invention relates to a hopper moving mechanism of a koji making device that puts a koji making raw material on a belt of an endless conveyor of a koji making device installed in a koji making room, particularly a completely airless koji making device.

As a conventional Jiuqu making device, the Jiuqu making device disclosed in FIG. 3 of Patent Document 1 houses an endless conveyor (net conveyor) in which a koji making raw material (culture raw material) is deposited in a koji making room (cultivation room). The endless conveyor is surrounded by a separating material to separate the atmosphere of the raw material for making Jiuqu and the atmosphere of the room for making Jiuqu.

In this koji-making device, while driving the endless conveyor, the koji-making raw material is charged onto the belt of the endless conveyor by using a hopper (not shown in Patent Document 1) which is a charging means. During koji making, the temperature and humidity in the koji making room are adjusted by an air conditioner to create a water vapor partial pressure difference inside and outside the separating material, and the amount of water vapor moving from the koji raw material atmosphere through the separating material to the koji making room is adjusted. By doing so, the amount of water vapor evaporating from the jiuqu raw material is controlled to adjust the product temperature of the jiuqu raw material. Then, in order to make the quality of the raw material for koji making uniform, the maintenance machine periodically runs in the longitudinal direction of the endless conveyor to stir and maintain the raw material for making koji.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 9-271380

In the above-mentioned koji making device, the hopper for charging the koji making raw material is attached to the device by the operator when it is used, in order to prevent interference with the maintenance machine running in the longitudinal direction of the endless conveyor. , When not in use, it was removed and placed outside the device. In addition to the fact that the hopper attachment / detachment work cannot be performed by a single worker, it was necessary to secure a place for the hopper.

An object of the present invention is to provide a hopper moving mechanism for a koji making device, which is easy to handle and does not require securing a storage place, in view of the above-mentioned problems of the input portion of the koji making raw material.

In order to achieve the above object, the hopper moving mechanism of the Jiuqu making device of the present invention is used to stack the Jiuqu raw materials on the belt of the endless conveyor of the Jiuqu making device installed in the Jiuqu making room to cultivate the Jiuqu bacteria. The hopper moving mechanism of the device includes a hopper main body into which the raw material for making jiuqu is charged, a movable means that can move integrally with the hopper main body, and a guiding means that guides the movable means. The hopper body is characterized in that it can be moved between a loading position on the belt and a retracting position retracted from the belt by being guided by the guiding means.

According to the hopper moving mechanism of the koji making device of the present invention, the hopper body is placed in the loading position and retracting position in a state where the hopper body is installed in the koji making device without attaching / detaching the hopper body to the koji making device. Since it can be switched to, it becomes easy to handle, and it is not necessary to secure a place for the hopper body outside the koji making device.

It is preferable that the height of the hopper body is lower in the retracted position than in the loading position. According to this configuration, due to the height difference between the loading position and the retracting position, when the hopper body is in the retracting position, the reverse movement of the hopper body to the loading position is restricted, and the maintenance machine comes into contact with the hopper body during maintenance. The danger of doing so can be prevented. Further, since the upper end position of the hopper body is lowered especially at the retracted position of the completely non-ventilated koji making device, it is possible to prevent the hopper body from interfering with the cloth-like separating material in the koji making process.

It is preferable to provide a stopper that restricts the movement of the hopper body at the loading position and the retracting position. According to this configuration, the hopper main body can be reliably stopped at the loading position and the retracting position.

It is preferable that the position of the hopper body is detected by a proximity sensor. According to this configuration, it is possible to detect that the hopper body is in the retracted position, so if the maintenance part does not run when the hopper body is not in the retracted position, there is a risk that the maintenance machine will come into contact with the hopper body during maintenance. Can be prevented.

The effect of the present invention is as described above, and it is possible to switch between the loading position and the retracting position of the hopper body while the hopper body is installed in the koji making device without performing the attachment / detachment work of the hopper body to the koji making device. Since it can be performed, it is easy to handle, and it is not necessary to secure a place for the hopper body outside the koji making device.

It is a schematic block diagram which showed the main part inside about the koji making apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and is the figure which showed the state at the time of putting the koji making raw material. An enlarged view of the vicinity of the hopper moving mechanism in a state where the hopper body of the koji making device according to the embodiment of the present invention is in the loading position. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vicinity of the hopper moving mechanism in a state where the hopper body of the koji making device according to the embodiment of the present invention is in the loading position. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. It is a schematic block diagram which showed the main part inside about the koji making apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention, and is the figure which showed the state at the time of the start of koji making. An enlarged view of the vicinity of the hopper moving mechanism in a state where the hopper body of the koji making device according to the embodiment of the present invention is in the retracted position. FIG. 3 is a plan view of the vicinity of the hopper moving mechanism in a state where the hopper body of the koji making device according to the embodiment of the present invention is in the retracted position.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. First, a schematic configuration of the Jiuqu making device 1 will be described with reference to FIG. FIG. 1 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal main part of the koji making device 1 according to the embodiment of the present invention, and shows a state at the time of adding the koji making raw material. In FIG. 1, the Jiuqu making device 1 is installed in a Jiuqu chamber 10 surrounded by a floor 6, a wall 7, and a ceiling 8. The endless conveyor 2 is surrounded by the wall surface of the housing 4. FIG. 1 is a simplified view for convenience of illustration, showing the inside of the Jiuqu chamber 10 and similarly showing the inside of the housing 4 (the same applies to FIG. 5). The main body of the Jiuqu making device 1 is supported by the legs 5 and is installed on the floor 6.

The endless conveyor 2 includes a belt 3, and a koji-making raw material is placed on the belt 3. The upper part of the housing 4 is open at the time of adding the raw material for making Jiuqu in FIG. 1, but as shown in FIG. 5, the open portion at the upper part is covered with the functional cloth-like separating material 9 at the time of making Jiuqu. It is broken to form an isolated space. The Jiuqu-making device 1 is a non-ventilated Jiuqu-making device, and the temperature and humidity in the Jiuqu-making chamber 10 are adjusted to control the amount of water evaporation of the Jiuqu-making raw material in the isolated space to perform Jiuqu-making.

FIG. 2 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the hopper moving mechanism 30 of the koji making device 1 shown in FIG. 1, and shows a state in which the hopper main body 31 is in the loading position. The charging position is a position when the koji-making raw material in the hopper main body 31 is charged toward the belt 3. FIG. 3 shows a plan view of the vicinity of the hopper moving mechanism 30 in a state where the hopper main body 31 is in the loading position. In FIG. 2, the hopper moving mechanism 30 is a guide means for guiding the hopper main body 31 into which the raw material for making jiuqu is charged, the pedestal 32 for supporting the hopper main body 31, the wheels 33 which are movable means fixed to the pedestal 32, and the wheels 33. It has a rail 34. The rail 34 is fixed to the frame 42 provided in the Jiuqu making device 1.

In the present embodiment, a stopper 36 is provided as shown in FIG. 2 in order to reliably stop the hopper main body 31 at the loading position. The stopper 36 is formed of an upright member, and when the wheel 33 comes into contact with the stopper 36, the movement of the loading hopper 31 is restricted, and the hopper main body 31 stops at the loading position. The structure of the stopper 36 is not particularly limited as long as it can regulate the movement of the hopper body 31.

In FIGS. 2 and 3, the inside of the hopper main body 31 forms a hollow space 37 in which the upper and lower sides are open. In FIG. 2, when the koji making raw material is put into the hopper main body 31 (arrow b), the koji making raw material Drops onto the belt 3 through the hollow space 37 in the hopper body 31 (arrow d). During this fall, by advancing the belt 3 (arrow a) in FIG. 1, the koji-making raw materials charged on the belt 3 are sequentially conveyed, and the koji-making raw materials are conveyed over the entire longitudinal direction of the conveying surface of the belt 3. Is placed with a uniform layer thickness. Further, in FIG. 3, rails 34 are provided on both sides of the belt 3. The hopper main body 31 extends in the width direction of the belt 3, and the koji-making raw material is placed with a uniform layer thickness over substantially the entire width direction of the belt 3.

In FIG. 2, the hopper main body 31 is movable on the rail 34. FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line AA of FIG. 2, showing the engaged state of the wheel 33 and the rail 34. In FIG. 4, the wheel 33 is attached to the gantry 32 via the axle 38. One side of the wheel 33 is engaged with the rail 34, and the hopper body 31 moves forward while the wheel 33 rolls on the rail 34 in FIG.

The engagement structure between the wheel 33 and the rail 34 shown in FIG. 4 is an example, and the structure may be such that the movable means such as the wheel is guided by the guiding means such as the rail and the hopper main body 31 can move. For example, the structure may be such that the rail is engaged with the groove portion of the wheel, or the structure may be such that the grooved slide body is engaged with the rail without using the wheel. Further, in FIG. 2, the wheel 33, which is a movable means, is fixed to the gantry 32, but the movable means such as the wheel 33 may be movable integrally with the hopper main body 31, and the pedestal 32 is omitted and the movable means is hopper. It may have a structure directly attached to the main body 31.

Hereinafter, the koji making process after the addition of the koji making raw material will be described. When the input of the raw materials for making Jiuqu is completed, the making of Jiuqu is started. FIG. 5 is a schematic configuration diagram showing an internal main part of the Jiuqu making device 1 at the start of Jiuqu making. The hopper main body 31 is on the belt 3 at the time of throwing in FIG. 1, and the upper part of the housing 4 is open, but at the start of koji making in FIG. 5, the hopper main body 31 is in the retracted position retracted from the belt 3. In addition, the upper and lower parts of the housing 4 are covered with a functional cloth-like separating material 9 to form an isolated space. As described above, the temperature and humidity in the koji making chamber 10 are adjusted at the time of koji making to control the amount of water evaporation of the koji making raw material in the isolated space.

During the koji making, in order to make the quality of the koji making raw material uniform, the maintenance machine 21 stirs and cares the koji raw material while the maintenance portion 20 runs in the longitudinal direction of the belt 3 on a regular basis. FIG. 5 shows the time when the maintenance unit 20 starts maintenance. The maintenance unit 20 includes a maintenance machine 21 for stirring the raw material for making koji. The maintenance machine 21 is provided with, for example, a stirring rod 23 on a rotating shaft 22, and the stirring rod 23 rotates as the rotating shaft 22 rotates to stir the koji raw material.

At the time of maintenance, the maintenance unit 20 travels in the longitudinal direction of the belt 3 (arrow e) while the maintenance machine 21 rotates, and the koji-making raw material on the belt 3 is maintained. At this time, since the hopper main body 31 has moved to the retracted position, the maintenance machine 21 does not interfere with the hopper main body 31.

FIG. 6 is an enlarged view of the vicinity of the hopper moving mechanism 30 of the koji making device 10 shown in FIG. 5, and shows a state in which the hopper main body 31 is in the retracted position. FIG. 7 is a plan view of the vicinity of the hopper moving mechanism 30 in a state where the hopper main body 31 is in the retracted position. In FIGS. 6 and 7, the hopper main body 31 that was in the insertion position for convenience is shown by a two-dot chain line. When the hopper main body 31 is retracted from the state of FIG. 2 (arrow c), the hopper main body 31 moves to the retracted position as shown in FIGS. 5 and 6. Specifically, when the operator pushes the hopper main body 31, the hopper main body 31 retracts while the wheels 33 roll on the rail 34 as described above. Further, the wheel 33 may be driven by a motor or the like to be automatically retracted. In order to return the hopper body 31 to the loading position shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the operator may push the hopper body 31 in the opposite direction (arrow f in FIG. 6) to move the hopper body 31 forward.

In FIG. 7, the sensor support 40 is fixed to the frame 42, and the proximity sensor 41 is attached to the sensor support 40. This makes it possible to detect that the hopper main body 31 is in the retracted position. If the maintenance unit 20 does not run when the hopper body 31 is not in the retracted position, it is possible to prevent the maintenance machine 21 from coming into contact with the hopper body 31 during maintenance. The detection by the proximity sensor 41 may substantially detect the position of the hopper body 31, may directly detect the position of the hopper body 31, or detect the position of the gantry 32 to determine the position of the hopper body 31. Good. Further, the sensor 41 may detect that the hopper main body 31 is in the insertion position instead of the retracted position, so that the maintenance portion 20 does not travel.

In FIG. 2, the rail 34 is formed with an inclined portion 39, and the height of the rail 34 is lower at the retracted position than at the loading position of the hopper main body 31. Due to this height difference, when the hopper main body 31 is in the retracted position, the reverse movement of the hopper main body 31 to the loading position is restricted. As a result, it is possible to prevent the danger that the maintenance machine 21 comes into contact with the hopper main body 31 during maintenance. Further, since the upper end position of the hopper main body 31 is lowered particularly at the retracted position with respect to the completely non-ventilated koji making device, it is possible to prevent the hopper main body 31 from interfering with the cloth-like separating material 9 (see FIG. 5) in the koji making process. be able to.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the hopper main body 31 is placed in the loading position and retracted in the state where the hopper main body 31 is installed in the koji making device 1 without performing the attachment / detachment work of the hopper main body 31 to the koji making device. Since the position can be switched, the handling becomes easy, and it is not necessary to secure a place for the hopper main body 31 outside the koji making device.

1 Jiuqu making device 2 Endless conveyor 3 Belt 4 Housing 10 Jiuqu room 21 Maintenance machine 30 Hopper moving mechanism 31 Hopper body 32 Stand 33 Wheels (movable means)
34 rail (guidance means)
35, 36 Stopper 41 Proximity sensor

Claims (4)

It is a hopper moving mechanism of a koji making device that is installed in a koji making room and cultivates aspergillus by laminating koji making raw materials on the belt of an endless conveyor.
The hopper body into which the raw material for making Jiuqu is put, and
A movable means that can be moved integrally with the hopper body,
It is provided with a guiding means for guiding the movable means.
The hopper body is movable between a loading position on the belt and a retracting position retracted from the belt when the movable means is guided by the guiding means. The hopper movement mechanism of the device. The hopper moving mechanism of the koji making device according to claim 1, wherein the height of the hopper body is lower in the retracted position than in the loading position. The hopper moving mechanism of the koji making device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising a stopper that regulates the movement of the hopper body at the loading position and the retracting position. The hopper moving mechanism of the koji making device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, wherein the position of the hopper body is detected by a proximity sensor.

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