JP3035806B2 - Tea leaf steaming equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a tea leaf steaming apparatus capable of steaming while stirring and scattering tea leaves throughout the steaming process.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Steaming tea leaves takes about 30 seconds to 3 minutes.
Steaming devices manufactured by machine makers have different steaming times, but the vendor purchases a steaming device that is set to a steaming time that is judged to be preferable based on its own judgment from the type of tea leaves and desired flavor, and tea leaves Manufacturing. As an example of the steaming device, a rotating shaft having a plurality of stirring stays radially provided inside a horizontal drum, and tea leaves supplied from one end of the drum are steamed and steamed at the other end of the drum. Known are those that are moved. When steaming tea leaves using the above-described steaming device, it is preferable that all the tea leaves come into good contact with the steam. Therefore, the state in which the tea leaves are scattered and disturbed throughout the drum can be steamed well.

[0003]

However, when about 20 to 30 seconds have passed since the start of steaming tea leaves, the protective film on the surface of the tea leaves was destroyed, the tissue was changed, the fibers became soft, and the surface was adhered to the surface with oil and grease. And the adhesiveness becomes higher as time elapses. As described above, since the stickiness of the tea leaves changes during the steaming process, it has been impossible to set the tea leaves to scatter and dance by the rotation of the drum throughout the steaming process. For example, even if the set rotation speed is such that tea leaves can be scattered at the beginning of steaming, for example, during the time when the stickiness becomes high or at the end of steaming, in addition to the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the drum, the adhesive force due to the stickiness (adhesion Force) acts, the tea leaves rotate while remaining attached to the inner peripheral surface of the drum, and the tea leaves adhere to each other to form small lumps, so that the tea leaves are not sufficiently exposed to the steaming atmosphere. . In addition, the product may cause uneven steaming, or may take in acne and fat to leave a shib taste.

[0004]

DISCLOSURE OF THE INVENTION The present invention has been proposed in view of the above, and has a rotating shaft having a plurality of stirring stays provided in a substantially radial manner inside a horizontal drum, and a rotating shaft provided from one end of the drum. In a tea leaf steaming device which was moved to the other end of the drum while steaming the supplied tea leaves with steam,
The tip of some stirring stays has elasticity and the inner surface of the drum
The drum is formed by connecting a plurality of independently rotating drum units, and the drum unit positioned on the front side in the moving direction of the tea leaves is rotated at a higher speed than the drum unit positioned on the rear side. The present invention relates to a tea leaf steaming apparatus characterized by the above.

[0005]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be described below with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings.

The tea leaf steaming apparatus of the present invention comprises a plurality of stirring stays 31 arranged substantially radially inside a horizontal drum 2 detachably mounted on a steaming apparatus main body 1 as shown in FIG. The rotating shaft 3 provided is provided, and the tea leaves supplied from one end (leaf feeder 4) of the drum 2 are moved to the other end (delivery port 5) of the drum 2 while steaming with steam.

The steaming apparatus main body 1 in the illustrated embodiment is a long frame, and has therein a steaming chamber 11 for passing steam and a steaming chamber 12 for sending out tea leaves. A leaf feeding machine 4 having a configuration including a pair of opposing elastic rollers is provided. The steamer chamber 11 is located in front of the length of the steaming device main body 1 in the longitudinal direction, and allows steam of a constant temperature and a constant humidity to be introduced from a steam generator (not shown) through a steam inlet 111. 2 to form a steaming atmosphere. Further, the steamer chamber 12 is provided with the steamer chamber 11.
The tea leaves are sent out from the outlet 5 for the next step. Further, a discharge unit 121 is provided at the bottom of the steamer chamber 12.
To discharge to the outside any acne or tar that has been generated or dropped during the cooking, or chips or branches of tea leaves.

A drum 2 provided in the steaming apparatus main body 1
Has a configuration in which a plurality of drum units 2a, 2b, and 2c, each of which is substantially cylindrical and has a small air gap through which steam can enter and exit, are connected to each other and rotate independently.
For convenience, the first drum unit 2a and the second drum unit 2 are sequentially arranged from the front side (leaf feeder 4 side) in the moving direction of the tea leaves.
b, the third drum unit 2c. In the illustrated embodiment, each of the drum units 2a, 2b, and 2c has a metal mesh material adhered to an inner surface of a punched metal provided with a plurality of holes in a steel or stainless steel cylindrical material, and a ring-shaped support is provided on the outer periphery of the front end. The gear 21 was manufactured integrally. A drive gear 22 to which rotational force is transmitted by a drive mechanism (not shown) is meshed with the receiving gear 21. Further, the first drum unit 2a and the second drum unit 2b, and the second drum unit 2b and the third drum unit 2c were connected via bearings 23, respectively. Therefore, each of the drum units 2a, 2b, 2c can be independently rotated at a desired rotation speed by controlling the driving mechanism.

[0009] As mentioned above, after the tea leaves have been steamed,
After about 30 seconds, the tackiness is developed and the tackiness gradually increases. Therefore, the driving mechanism is configured to rotate the second drum unit 2b from the third drum unit 2c and the first drum unit 2a from the second drum unit 2b at a high speed. Control. The reason will be described below.

The upper part of FIG. 3 shows the movement of the tea leaves during the steaming time of 0 to 30 seconds. The stickiness has just developed and is low, and has little effect on the behavior of the tea leaves. That is, almost only the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the drum (first drum unit 2a) acts on the tea leaves. In this case, at a low speed of 40 RPM, the centrifugal force acting is very weak, so that the tea leaves do not rise to the upper portion and fall immediately under their own weight. 50R.P.
At medium-speed rotation of M., the tea leaves rise further to the upper part due to the somewhat strong centrifugal force, but this is not enough. 70R.
In the high-speed rotation of PM, the tea leaves rise to the vicinity of the top along the inner peripheral surface of the drum unit 2a due to the strong centrifugal force, and scatter in the air, and fall in a turbulent manner, so that good steaming is achieved. Done. As is clear from the above-described observation of the behavior, the rotation speed of the first drum unit 2a may be set to 70 RPM.

The middle part of FIG. 3 shows the movement of the tea leaves when the steaming time is about one minute, and the stickiness gradually increases, which affects the behavior of the tea leaves. That is, the centrifugal force due to the rotation of the drum (second drum unit 2b) and the adhesive force due to the adhesiveness act on the tea leaves. In this case, at a low speed of 40 RPM, the acting centrifugal force is extremely weak, but the tea leaves adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the second drum unit 2b due to the adhesive force and rise relatively to the upper part, but this is not sufficient. At a medium rotation speed of 50 RPM, most tea leaves rise to near the uppermost part due to a slightly strong centrifugal force in addition to the adhesive force, and scatter in the air and fall down in a turbulent manner. However, the second drum unit 2b
There are very few tea leaves that rotate integrally while remaining attached to the inner peripheral surface of the tea leaves. At a high rotation speed of 60 RPM, much stronger centrifugal force acts in addition to the adhesive force, so that many tea leaves rotate integrally while remaining attached to the inner peripheral surface of the second drum unit 2b. As is clear from the observation of the behavior described above, the rotation speed of the second drum unit 2b may be set to 50 RPM.

The lower part of FIG. 3 shows the movement of the tea leaves having a steaming time of 2 minutes or more. The stickiness is the highest and has a great influence on the behavior of the tea leaves. In this case, at a low speed of 40 RPM, the centrifugal force acting is extremely weak, but the tea leaves adhere to the inner peripheral surface of the third drum unit 2c due to the high adhesive force and rise to the uppermost portion, and scatter in the air and disturb. Fall like so. However, there are very few tea leaves that rotate integrally while being attached to the inner peripheral surface of the third drum unit 2c. At a medium speed rotation of 50 R.PM, a little strong centrifugal force acts in addition to the adhesive force, so that many tea leaves rotate integrally while remaining attached to the inner peripheral surface of the third drum unit 2c. At a high rotation speed of 60 RPM, a strong centrifugal force acts in addition to the adhesive force, so that most of the tea leaves rotate integrally with the third drum unit 2c remaining attached to the inner peripheral surface. As is clear from the observation of the behavior described above, the rotation speed of the third drum unit 2c may be set to 40 RPM.

Therefore, in FIG.
The rotation speeds of a, 2b, and 2c are 70 R.P.
M., 50 R.PM, and 40 R.PM are selected. Generally, in the first time period in which the steaming time is 0 to 30 seconds, the first drum unit 2a is rotated at a high speed of about 50 to 80 R.
In the second time zone, about 1 minute after the time zone has passed, 40-60 R.P.
It is desirable that the motor be rotated at a medium speed of about M. and then be rotated at a low speed of 40 RPM or less in a third time period after the elapse of the second time period. However, the rotation speed is not limited. After all, the figure shows that by rotating the front side at a higher speed than the rear side, the tea leaves can be set to scatter and dance throughout the steaming process.

A steaming device main body 1 is provided inside the drum 2.
A long rotating shaft 3 penetrating in the length direction of the drum 2 is provided below the axis of the drum 2, and a plurality of stirring stays are provided on the outer periphery of the rotating shaft 3 so as to extend substantially radially. 3
1 is provided. Further, at the tip of a part of the stirring stays 31, a rubbing hand piece 32 which is flexible and is close to the inner surface of the drum 2 is provided. Since the massaging hand piece 32 is made of an elastic material such as a natural or synthetic rubber, silicon rubber, or a stainless steel thin plate and extends substantially perpendicular to the stirring stay 32, the tea leaves are rubbed against the inner surface of the drum 2 while being pressed. It can be rubbed in a sliding state and twisted.
Further, an elastic member 33 having elasticity and being in contact with the inner surface of the drum 2 is provided at the tip of a part of the stirring stays 31. The elastic material 33 is in the shape of a blade or a brush and is always in contact (contact) with the lowermost portion of the inner peripheral surface of the drum 2, so that the tea leaves are scattered so as to be scraped up and the front and back surfaces of the tea leaves are sufficiently steamed. Can be exposed.

In addition, a cleaning tool 6 in the form of a roll brush is attached so as to be in contact with the outer peripheral surface of the drum 2 so as to remove acne, dirt, twigs, leaf debris, etc., which close the minute gap of the drum 2. . Alternatively, as shown in the illustrated embodiment, an inner cleaning tool 7 in the form of a roll brush abutting on the inner peripheral surface of the drum 2
0, a blade-shaped inner cleaning tool 71 may be provided.

Since the tea leaf steaming apparatus of the present invention has the above-described configuration, each of the drum units 2a, 2b, and 2c can be independently rotated at a desired rotation speed (a high speed on the front side and a low speed on the rear side). The tea leaves can be steamed while being stirred and scattered throughout the steaming process. Therefore, the tea leaves are sufficiently exposed to the steaming atmosphere, and are provided for beverages rich in aroma, color, and taste. In addition, in the illustrated embodiment, since the kneading hand piece 32 is provided on the stirring stay 31, the tea leaves can be rubbed in a sliding state in which the tea leaves are rubbed while being pressed against the inner surface of the drum 2, so that the tea leaves can be kneaded so that the tea leaves are more excellent in taste. Served for beverages. Further, since the elastic member 33 is provided at the tip of the stirring stay 31, the tea leaves can be scattered so as to be scraped up. For example, as shown in the description of FIG. 3, in the second and third time zones, some tea leaves slightly rotate while remaining attached to the inner peripheral surface of the drum 2.
Since the elastic material 33 forcibly scrapes up these tea leaves,
The front and back of the tea leaves can be more sufficiently exposed to the steaming atmosphere. In addition, since the cleaning tool 6 and the inner cleaning tools 70 and 71 are provided, twigs and leaf debris do not block the fine gaps of the drum 2 and do not impede the passage of steam. It can be performed.

As described above, the present invention has been described based on the embodiments. However, the present invention is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and can be implemented in any manner unless the configuration described in the claims is changed. be able to.

[0018]

As described above, in the tea leaf steaming apparatus of the present invention, the front side of the plurality of drum units which can be independently rotated is rotated at a higher speed than the rear side. In the time zone at the end of steaming as well as the time zone in the early stage, steaming can be performed while stirring so that the tea leaves are scattered and disturbed. Therefore, the tea leaves are sufficiently exposed to the steaming atmosphere on the front and back, so that the tea leaves are provided for beverages rich in aroma, color, and taste. In addition, the tip of some stirring stays
Since an elastic material is provided at the end to contact the inner surface of the drum,
Slightly on the inner surface of the low-speed drum
Even when rotating with the tea leaves attached, these tea leaves
The elastic material forcibly lifts up the tea leaf surface.
The back can be sufficiently exposed to a steaming atmosphere.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a partially cutaway side view showing a steaming apparatus according to one embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a configuration of a drum used in the steaming device of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view showing a behavior of tea leaves corresponding to a rotation speed of each drum unit in the steaming apparatus of FIG.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of a drum in the steaming device of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Steamer main body 2 Drum 2a First drum unit 2b Second drum unit 2c Third drum unit 3 Rotating shaft 31 Stirring stay

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A rotating shaft having a plurality of stirring stays provided substantially radially inside a horizontal drum, and tea leaves supplied from one end of the drum are moved to the other end of the drum while being steamed with steam. In the tea leaf steaming device
The tip of some stirring stays has elasticity and the inner surface of the drum
The drum is formed by connecting a plurality of independently rotating drum units, and the drum unit positioned on the front side in the moving direction of the tea leaves is rotated at a higher speed than the drum unit positioned on the rear side. An apparatus for steaming tea leaves, characterized in that: