JP3395121B2 - Mixed leaf pool in tea making machine - Google Patents

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

[Object of the Invention]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a device for automatically measuring, distributing, and supplying tea leaves, which have been subjected to a middle kneading process, to each kneader of a tea making and kneading machine in a tea making process, and particularly to a tea making and kneading machine. The present invention relates to a device for making the volume of tea leaves distributed and supplied to each kneading pot substantially the same.

[0002]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Conventionally, there is a tea-manufacturing and kneading machine distribution and supply device as a device for automatically measuring, distributing and supplying tea leaves that have undergone a middle kneading process to each kneading kettle of a tea-making and kneading machine. In this product, the tea leaves sent from the middle kneading machine are put into the measuring pool above each kneading machine of the tea making and kneading machine by a plurality of conveyors to make them stand by, and the tea leaves are sequentially supplied to the empty kneading machine. There is.

By the way, in such a tea-manufacturing and kneading machine distributing and supplying device, the tea leaves sent from the middle kneading machine are sent out after being separated into tea leaf leaves, stems, and powders.
Even if the weight of the tea leaves is accurately measured in the measuring pool, there is a problem that the volume of the tea leaves differs for each kneader of the tea making and kneading machine. That is, the volume of the tea leaves supplied is an important processing requirement in the tea making and kneading machine, for example, when the tea leaves have a large volume, the tea leaves are strongly pressed and the circulation is deteriorated and the shaping operation is not normally performed. On the other hand, if the tea leaves are less bulky, they tend to be rubbed insufficiently at the end of the process, resulting in a flat shape and rough skin.

[0004]

[Technical Items Attempted to Develop] The present invention has been made from such a background, and the tea leaves fed from the crumpling machine were separated into leaves, stems, and powders before they were weighed and distributed. This is an attempt to develop a joint leaf pool in a new tea making and kneading machine distributing and supplying device in which tea leaves are mixed and the respective volumes of tea leaves at the time of distribution are the same.

[0005]

[Constitution of the invention]

[Means for Achieving the Purpose] That is, in the tea-making machine kneading machine distributing / supplying device according to claim 1, the joint leaf pool automatically measures and distributes the tea leaves that have undergone the middle kneading process to each kneading kettle of the tea making and kneading machine. In the apparatus, a container-shaped main body, a low-speed conveyor provided on the lower portion of the main body for stacking the tea leaves that have undergone the middle kneading step in a stacked state, and a low-speed conveyor provided on the end side of the low-speed conveyor, It is characterized in that it has a jointing high-speed conveyor which is driven at a higher speed than the low-speed leaf conveyor and divides the stacked layers of tea leaves into substantially vertical directions at its end faces.

Further, in addition to the above requirements, the joint leaf pool in the tea-refining machine distributing / supplying device according to claim 2 is characterized in that the joint leaf low-speed conveyor is inclined upward toward the terminal end side where tea leaves are taken out. It consists of

Further, in addition to the above requirements, the joint leaf pool in the tea making and kneading machine dispenser / feeder according to claim 3 is capable of changing the speed of the joint leaf low speed conveyor and the joint leaf high speed conveyor, and has a predetermined distribution supply amount. It is characterized by being driven at a low speed in the vicinity.

Further, in addition to the above requirements, the joint leaf pool in the tea making and kneading machine distribution and supply device according to claim 4 is a drive motor for driving the joint leaf low speed conveyor and the joint leaf high speed conveyor when changing the speed. It is characterized in that the rotation speed of is changed by an inverter. The above objects are intended to be achieved by these inventions.

[0009]

The tea leaves kneaded by the tea making and kneading machine are separated into powder, stems, leaves and the like and sent out, and put into the joint leaf pool. At this time, the tea leaves are stacked on the low-speed conveyor of the combined leaf in the combined leaf pool, with layers of powder, stems, leaves, etc. separated. And when the tea leaves for one kettle of the tea making and kneading machine are loaded,
The slow-moving leaf conveyor conveys tea leaves toward the high-speed conveyor leaf. When reaching the end of the low speed conveyor, the tea leaves are taken out little by little onto the high speed conveyor so that they fall in the direction perpendicular to the stack. In this way, the tea leaves are taken out in a direction substantially perpendicular to the stacking, in other words, the stacked tea leaves A are taken out vertically, so that the separated tea leaves such as powder, stems and leaves are mixed. Then, the combined leaf high speed conveyor transfers tea leaves at a higher speed than the combined leaf low speed conveyor, and transfers the tea leaves to a weighing pool or the like.

When the drive motors for driving the low speed conveyor and the high speed conveyor are changed in speed by, for example, an inverter or the like, the low speed drive is performed near the set distribution supply amount. Then, the amount of tea leaves taken out from the high-speed conveyor is very small, and more accurate tea leaves can be measured.

[0011]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS The present invention will be specifically described below with reference to illustrated embodiments. In FIG. 1, reference numeral 2 is a tea making and kneading machine, and as an example, two units are connected to the front side and also to the rear side thereof.
As shown in the side view of FIG. 2, two tea making and kneading machines 2 are connected and provided. Further, to these tea making and kneading machines 2, a tea making and kneading machine distribution and supply device 1 equipped with a joint leaf pool 4 of the present invention for supplying tea leaves A for which the middle kneading process has been completed is attached.

The tea making and kneading machine distribution and supply device 1 will be specifically described below. As one example, the tea making and kneading machine distribution / supply device 1 is a machine frame F that supports the tea making and kneading machine 2 and the like, and a vertical direction that is provided in the end direction of the machine frame F and that transfers the tea leaves A that have undergone the middle kneading process to above the machine frame F. The bucket 3 is mixed with the leaf A ₁ , the stem A ₂ , the powder A ₃ and the separated tea leaves A fed from the vertical bucket 3, and the inventive joint leaf pool 4 and the joint leaf pool 4. A weighing pool 5 for measuring the tea leaves A and distributing the tea leaves A in a predetermined amount, and a take-out conveyor 6, a relay conveyor 7, and a feeding conveyor 8 for transferring the tea leaves A distributed in the measurement pool 5 in a predetermined amount. A conveyor and a supply pool 9 for supplying tea leaves A when tea leaves A are introduced from the introduction conveyor 8 and the tea leaves A are temporarily pooled and the kneading pot 2a of the tea making and kneading machine 2 is emptied. Of these, members other than the joint pool 4 of the present invention For it may take any appropriate configuration.

Each member will be described below. The machine frame F is a frame made of lightweight square steel or the like, and is arranged above the tea making and kneading machine 2 which is connected to the front and the rear. A vertical bucket 3 is provided at one end of the tea making and kneading machine 2. The vertical bucket 3 transfers the tea leaves A that have undergone the middle kneading process to almost the upper side of the tea making and kneading machine 2, and puts the tea leaves A from a charging chute 3a at the upper end into a joint leaf pool 4 described later. Incidentally, this vertical bucket 3 is generally included in a tea-milling machine distributing and supplying device, and is not different from a known one.

Next, the joint leaf pool 4 of the present invention will be described. The joint leaf pool 4 joins the tea leaves A sent from the vertical bucket 3. That is, the tea leaves A sent from the central kneading machine in the vertical bucket 3 are the leaves A ₁ and the stem A.
The portion _{2 and} the portion of powder A ₃ are separated and sent, so these are combined in this joint pool 4. Specifically, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the joint leaf pool 4 has a container-shaped main body 4A having an upper opening, and a low speed driven joint leaf low speed conveyor 11 is provided below the main body 4A. The tea leaves A sent from the vertical bucket 3 are stacked here. Further, below the end of the low speed conveyor 11 is provided a high speed conveyor 14 driven at high speed. A so-called scraping-back rotor 18 is rotatably provided above the end of the high-speed conveyor 14 so that the tea leaves A are put into the weighing pool 5 in a constant amount, and a chain 19 or the like is appropriately provided by the drive motor M2. It is rotationally driven via.

The driving structure of the low speed conveyor 11 and the high speed conveyor 14 will be described. As shown in FIG. 3, a large diameter sprocket 12a is provided at one end of the drive roller 12 of the low speed conveyor 11. Synthetic high speed conveyor 1
No. 4 drive roller 15 has a small diameter sprocket 1 at one end.
5a is provided. A drive motor M1 is provided on the side of the joint pool 4, and a sprocket 17 is provided on the rotary shaft. Chains 13 and 16 are wound between the sprocket 12a of the low speed conveyor 11 and the sprocket 17 of the drive motor M1, and between the sprocket 15a of the high speed conveyor 14 and the sprocket 17 of the drive motor M1, respectively. Has been done,
By driving the drive motor M1, the drive roller 12 of the low speed conveyor 11 and the drive roller 15 of the high speed conveyor 14 are driven. Incidentally, in this embodiment, as an example, the speed ratio between the low speed conveyor 11 and the high speed conveyor 14 is set by the diameters of the sprockets 12a and 15a so as to be about 1: 6. The ratio is an example, and may be appropriately changed depending on the capacity of the tea making and kneading machine. Further, an inverter is connected to the drive motor M1 so that the drive speeds of the low speed conveyor 11 and the high speed conveyor 14 can be changed.

Next, the weighing pool 5 will be described. The measuring pool 5 measures the tea leaves A input from the joint leaf pool 4 and distributes the tea leaves A into a predetermined amount. Specifically, as shown in FIG. 5, similarly to the joint leaf pool 4, it has a container-shaped main body 5A having an upper opening, and a measuring conveyor 20 is provided below the main body 5A. Further weighing conveyor 20
A scraping back rotor 21 is rotatably provided above the end of the above. In this embodiment, the weighing conveyor 2 is used as an example.
0 and the scraping back rotor 21 are driven by the same drive motor M3 via the chains 22 and 23. A load cell 24 is provided below the weighing pool 5, and the load cell 24 is connected to the control panel 10 so that the weight of the tea leaves A put in the weighing pool 5 can be electrically measured. There is. When distributing tea leaves A based only on the volume, load cell 2
It is not necessary to have a 4. Incidentally, the weighing pool 5 is made of transparent synthetic resin or glass so that the tea leaves A inside can be seen.

Next, the belt conveyors of the take-out conveyor 6, the relay conveyor 7 and the feeding conveyor 8 for transferring the tea leaves A distributed in a predetermined amount in the weighing pool 5 will be described. First, the take-out conveyor 6 has one end located below the loading side of the weighing pool 5 and the other end located above the center of the machine frame F, and transfers the tea leaves A distributed in a predetermined amount in the weighing pool 5. Next, the relay conveyor 7 is a belt conveyor that receives the tea leaves A transferred by the take-out conveyor 6 and distributes and transfers them to the front tea making and kneading machine 2 and the rear tea making and kneading machine 2 shown in the side view of FIG. And is suspended from the front machine frame F and the rear machine frame F. The relay conveyor 7 is configured so that it can be driven to rotate forward and backward. The feeding conveyor 8 is a belt conveyor that can roll on the upper surface of the machine frame F, receives the tea leaves A transferred by the relay conveyor 7, and feeds the tea leaves A into a supply pool 9 described later. The loading conveyor 8 is configured so as to be able to rotate in the forward and reverse directions. The configurations of the take-out conveyor 6, the relay conveyor 7, and the feeding conveyor 8 are not particularly different from those of the usual tea making and kneading machine distributing / supplying device, and therefore detailed description thereof will be omitted.

Next, the supply pool 9 will be described. The supply pool 9 is for temporarily pooling the tea leaves A fed from the feeding conveyor 8, and as shown in FIG. 1, can be hung on a machine frame F above each kneading kettle 2a of the tea making and kneading machine 2. It is provided in. This one has almost the same structure as the measuring pool provided above each kneading kettle 2a of the tea making and kneading machine in the conventional tea making and kneading machine distribution and supply device, but does not have a measuring structure such as a dividing cylinder. Specifically, FIG.
As shown in FIG.
And a scraping back rotor 9b and an outlet 9c are provided at the rear part thereof. Incidentally, the supply pool 9 is made of a transparent synthetic resin or glass so that the tea leaves A inside the supply pool 9 can be seen, and when a trouble occurs in the supply pool 9, it can be immediately found.

Reference numeral 10 is a control panel having a microcomputer therein, which is connected to the vertical bucket 3, joint pool 4, weighing pool 5, take-out conveyor 6, relay conveyor 7, input conveyor 8 and supply pool 9. And these are the relevant controls.

The above is the configuration of the tea-refining / kneading / dispensing / supplying apparatus 1 equipped with the joint leaf pool 4 of the present invention, and its operation mode will be described below. First, when the take-out signal of the tea leaves A is input to the control panel 10 from the tea making and kneading machine, the vertical bucket 3 is driven to transfer the tea leaves A upward, and the tea leaves A are thrown into the joint leaf pool 4 from the feeding chute 3a. The tea leaves A sent from the tea making and kneading machine are separated from the leaves A ₁ , the stem A ₂ , and the powder A ₃ , so that the tea leaves A put into the joint leaf pool 4 are stacked as shown in FIG. 7 (a). In this state, they are stacked on the slow-moving joint conveyor 11. While the tea leaves A are being fed, the low speed conveyor 11 is not driven, and after a predetermined time has elapsed,
Drive it.

When the predetermined time is up,
The tea leaves A stacked in the stacked state are the high-speed conveyor 1
Slowly moved to the 4th side. Then, when the tea leaves A piled up in the stacked state arrive at the end of the low speed conveyor 11 of the combined leaves, as shown in FIG.
As shown in (b), it is divided in a direction substantially vertical to the stack and dropped on the combined leaf high-speed conveyor 14. In other words, the tea leaves A piled up from above are taken out vertically and separated. The leaf A ₁ , the stem A ₂ , the powder A _{3 and the} like of the tea leaf A are mixed to obtain a joint leaf action. Further, the tea leaves A dropped to the combined leaf high-speed conveyor 14 are moved at a high speed and laid out to have a constant thickness by the scraping back rotor 18, and as shown in FIG. Be thrown into. In this embodiment, as an example, the low-speed conveyor 1
Since 1 has a slight upward slope toward the end side where tea leaves are taken out, when the high-speed conveyor 14 is stopped,
The tea leaf A is prevented from falling into the weighing pool 5 due to the inertial force, and the feeding accuracy is good. Further, the tea leaves A stacked on the high speed conveyor 14 are prevented from collapsing. Of course, this ascending slope may be made steeper and the tea leaves A may be scraped positively by contacting the end faces of the tea leaves A stacked on the low speed conveyor 11 with the high speed conveyor 14 for contacting leaves. Alternatively, on the contrary, it is also possible to eliminate the inclination and make it flat.

The driving speeds of the low speed conveyor 11 and the high speed conveyor 14 are changed in two stages, that is, a large amount extraction and a small amount extraction. Specifically, this speed change is performed by changing the rotation speed of a drive motor M1 that drives the low speed conveyor 11 and the high speed conveyor 14 by an inverter. For example, 90% of the tea leaves A that are put into the supply pool 9 are processed at high speed, and the last 10% are taken out at a low speed in small amounts. In this way, by extracting a small amount of tea leaves A near the end of addition at a low speed, a predetermined amount of tea leaves A can be introduced into the weighing pool 5 with extremely high accuracy. By the way, in the case of only the drive speed for the large amount extraction, a large amount of the tea leaves is detected during the time lag from the detection of the desired amount of the tea leaves A into the weighing pool 5 to the stop of the driving of the combined leaf pool 4. When A is thrown in, the measurement accuracy becomes very poor. On the other hand, when only a small amount of driving speed is used, the measurement accuracy is good, but the distribution to the supply pool 9 is slow and inefficient.

In the weighing pool 5, while the tea leaves A are being fed from the joint leaf pool 4, the weighing conveyor 20 is not driven so that the tea leaves A are pooled and the weight of the fed tea leaves A is reduced. It is measured by the load cell 24.

When the input amount of the tea leaves A reaches a predetermined amount, the measuring conveyor 20 is driven to drop the tea leaves A on the take-out conveyor 6. The take-out conveyor 6 drops the tea leaves A onto the relay conveyor 7. Relay conveyor 7 is supply pool 9
It is driven so as to transfer the tea leaves A to the front side or the back side in accordance with an empty signal or a predetermined program, and the tea leaves A are placed on either the front side or the back side of the feeding conveyor 8.
Drop.

Then, the feeding conveyor 8 moves so that its end portion is located on the empty supply pool 9, and then drives the belt to feed the tea leaves A into the supply pool 9. The supply pool 9 may sequentially supply tea leaves A into the kneading kettle 2a when a signal indicating that the kneading kettle 2a of the tea making and kneading machine 2 is empty is input, but in this embodiment, one tea making machine is used as an example. Rubbing machine 2
Wait until all of the kneading kettles 2a are empty, and at the same time,
supply to a.

The tea making and kneading machine distribution and supply device 1 distributes the tea leaves A sent from the tea making and kneading machine to each kneading kettle 2a of the tea making and kneading machine 2 as described above.
The distribution based on the volume and weight of the tea leaf A according to 0 will be described in detail. First, the distribution based on the volume of the tea leaves A will be described. The control panel 10 controls the distribution of the tea leaves A from the combined leaf pool 4 to the weighing pool 5 at the same speed and at the same time for each distribution tea leaf A. This is done by controlling the leaf pool 4. That is, the tea leaves A fed from the combined leaf high-speed conveyor 14 have a constant thickness as described above, and have a constant vertical cross-sectional area as shown in FIG. 7C, so that the tea leaves A at the same speed and at the same time. Is added to the tea leaves A of the same volume.

Next, the distribution based on the weight of the tea leaves A will be described. The control panel 10 controls the drive of the combined leaf pool 4 based on the detection signal of the load cell 24 provided in the lower portion of the weighing pool 5. Done.

By the way, if the method of distributing the tea leaves A based on both the volume and the weight is adopted, it is difficult to match both of them with the set value. Therefore, the control panel 10 calculates so that the tea leaves A are charged so that the volume and the weight thereof are closest to the set values, and the tea leaves A from the joint leaf pool 4 to the weighing pool 5 are calculated.
Control the input of. As an example of a specific control, when one of the volume and the weight reaches a predetermined value, for example, the feeding of the tea leaves A from the joint leaf pool 4 to the weighing pool 5 is stopped once. And, for example, the volume reaches a certain amount,
If the weight has not reached, as an example, the control panel 10 calculates what percentage of the set value the present value of the weight corresponds to. For example, if the set value is 10 kg and the current value is 9 kg, 90% is set. The volume is calculated in seconds. For example, if 50 seconds is 100%, 40 seconds is 80%. Then, the high speed conveyor 1 of the joint leaf pool 4 is put into the weighing pool 5 from the joint leaf pool 4 so that the total volume and weight percentages become 200%.
4 drive time is calculated and based on this calculated value
When is driven, a desired amount can be put into the weighing pool 5. Of course, fuzzy control using fuzzy inference may be used to drive and control the joint leaf pool 4. For example, if the volume is just right and the weight is very small, add tea leaves a little. , Etc., make some control rules in the if-then form, find the degree to which the actual volume and weight conditions fit the if-part of each rule, and then adjust the degree of It is possible to control.

[0029]

Other Embodiments Another embodiment of volume-based distribution will be described. <Other Embodiment 1> That is, FIG. 8 shows an embodiment in which the distribution based on the volume is performed by estimating the volume by image processing using a video camera or the like. A CCD camera 30 is provided on the side surface of the weighing pool 5.
An image processing system 31 is connected to the D camera 30, and this image processing system 31 is connected to the control panel 10. With such a configuration, the image information taken from the CCD camera 30 into the image processing system 31 is binarized, and the area of this binarized image portion is calculated. Since the shape of the weighing pool 5 is constant, if the calculated area values are the same, the volumes are also estimated to be substantially the same.

<Other Embodiment 2> Further, for the volumetric distribution based on the volume, a measuring pool having a known volume corresponding to the height of the introduced tea leaves A is used, and the tea leaves A are introduced into the pool. This can be performed by measuring the height at which the tea leaves A are put in by a non-contact type or a contact type sensor.

<Other Embodiment 2 (1)> A concrete embodiment will be described below. As shown in FIG. 9, a height measuring device comprising a plurality of photoelectric switches for the transparent main body 5A of the weighing pool 5 is shown. 40 is provided so as to be sandwiched by facing from the side. The height measuring device 40 is movable laterally by a slide mechanism 50. Explaining the height measuring device 40, the projector 4 of the photoelectric switch is arranged in the height direction.
A light projecting unit 41 provided with a plurality of 1a and a light receiving unit 42 provided with a plurality of photodetectors 42a of photoelectric switches in the height direction are connected by a connection bar 43. The slide mechanism 50 will be described. The bearing block 5 fixed to the height measuring device 40 is provided.
1, a guide rail 52 into which the bearing block 51 is fitted, a chain 53 fixedly connected to the height measuring device 40, a drive sprocket 54 and a driven sprocket 55 around which the chain 53 is wound. , And a drive motor M4 for driving the drive sprocket 54.

With the above-described structure, when measuring the volume of the tea leaves A put into the main body 5A of the weighing pool 5, the height measuring device 40 is reciprocated by the slide mechanism 50. Then, the photoelectric switch at the height portion where the tea leaf A exists is shielded from light. The position of the uppermost photoelectric switch among the light-shielded photoelectric switches is the height of the tea leaf A, and the height of the tea leaf A at a plurality of positions is measured at regular intervals by moving this sideways. , Sequentially transmitted to the control panel 10. Also, the distance traveled by the height measuring device 40 within the fixed time is calculated, and the calculated distance is used for each of the measured tea leaves A.
The area of each block is obtained by multiplying the height of. Then, the areas of the respective blocks are summed, and this is multiplied by the length in the depth direction to calculate the volume of the tea leaves A put into the main body 5A of the weighing pool 5.

Further, for example, in FIG. 9, in order to correct the error in the volume of the tea leaf A due to the inclination of the tea leaf A in the depth direction, the height in the depth direction is also measured and the volume of the tea leaf A is corrected to a more actual value. May be. In the above embodiment, the tea leaves A were detected by the counter-transmission type photoelectric switch. However, a recursive reflection type photoelectric switch, one of which is a reflection plate or a reflection seal, or a diffuse reflection type photoelectric switch, which detects reflected light of an object, is used. An appropriate non-contact sensor such as a switch that can detect the presence or absence of the tea leaf A can be applied.

<Other Embodiment 2 (2)> Further, in the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the measuring pool 5 is located at a position facing above the main body 5A,
This is an embodiment in which a non-contact type distance sensor 61 is provided and the volume of the tea leaf A is calculated by measuring the height of the tea leaf A. An ultrasonic sensor or other diffuse reflection type proximity switch or the like is used as the distance sensor 61, which is appropriately moved by a slide mechanism to scan the entire tea leaf upper surface, and the distance sensor 61 causes the tea leaf upper surface to move. The distance data (h ₁ ) up to is transmitted to the control panel 10. And from the distance data up tea leaves bottom (h ₀₎ from the distance sensor 61 which has been previously stored in the control board 10, the distance data from the distance sensor 61 measured by the distance sensor 61 to the tea leaves top (h ₁₎ Subtract. The calculated value is the height (h) of the tea leaf A. Since the width of the measuring pool 5 is constant, the volume of the tea leaf A is calculated from the calculated height of the tea leaf A. As for the shape of the weighing pool 5, if the cross-sectional area is constant at any height as shown in FIG. 11A and FIG. 11B, the calculation of the volume in the control panel 10 becomes easier. In this embodiment, a contact type sensor is used as the distance sensor 61 as an example.

<Other Embodiment 2 (3)> FIG. 12 shows an embodiment in which the main body 5A of the weighing pool 5 is rotated by the rotary drive mechanism 70 so that the upper surface of the tea leaves A to be fed is always kept flat.
As the shape of the main body 5A of the weighing pool 5, in addition to the cylindrical shape as shown in FIG. 12, an appropriate shape can be applied as long as the cross section such as a conical shape is substantially circular. Also, the bottom lid 25 is
The upper surface is provided with a protrusion-shaped scraping 25a, and is hingedly connected to the main body 5A so as to be openable and closable. On the other hand, on the lower surface of the bottom lid 25, the opening / closing arm 6 is centered.
One end of 2 is rotatably connected to the air cylinder 6
The bottom lid 25 is opened and closed by moving the opening / closing arm 62 by 3. Explaining the rotary drive mechanism 70, as an example, a drive ring 71 fixedly provided on the peripheral surface of the weighing pool 5, a rotary body 72 engaged with the drive ring 71, and the rotary body 72.
It is composed of a drive motor M5 that rotationally drives the central shaft 73 of the drive shaft via a chain 74 and the like, and an inverter 75 connected to the drive motor M5. The drive ring 71 and the rotating body 72 may be formed of rubber or the like and may be driven by frictional force, or may be driven by meshing between a rack and a pinion, and the drive transmission can be performed with an appropriate configuration. Further, a charging speed changing switch 76 to which a photoelectric sensor is applied is provided facing the upper surface of the weighing pool 5, and a closing stop switch 77 to which a photoelectric sensor is applied is further provided above this, and these are respectively provided on the control panel 10. It is connected to the.

When the apparatus of this embodiment having the above-mentioned mechanism is used, the main body 5A of the weighing pool 5 is rotated by the rotary drive mechanism 70 and the tea leaves A are introduced into the main body 5A. Is pooled while the top surface is leveled flat. Further, in this way, the upper surface of the tea leaf A is flattened and the density is made uniform as a whole.
There is no difference in volume caused by differences in the charging speed or the charging angle. The rotation speed of the main body 5A of the weighing pool 5 is
Inverter 7 so that the upper surface of tea leaf A is effectively flat
Although the speed is adjusted by 5, the drive motor M5 may be a drive motor capable of rotating in the normal and reverse directions so that the rotation direction is not limited to one direction but may be rotated in the normal and reverse directions as appropriate. When the tea leaves A are loaded to the height position of the dosing speed changing switch 76, the tea leaf detection signal of the dosing speed changing switch 76 is transmitted to the control panel 10. Then, the control panel 10 drives and controls the joint pool 4 so that the charging speed becomes slow. Further, when the tea leaves A are thrown up to the height position of the closing stop switch 77, the tea leaf detection signal of the closing stop switch 77 is transmitted to the control panel 10, and the control panel 10 stops the introduction of the tea leaves A from the combined leaf pool 4. Let Then, the rotation of the measuring pool 5 is stopped, and the air cylinder 63 moves the connecting arm downward to open the bottom lid 25. The tea leaf A is scraped off onto the take-out conveyor 6 while contacting the scraping off 25a of the bottom lid 25. As the closing stop switch 77, the distance sensor 61 as described in the other embodiment 2 (2) may be used to measure the height of the tea leaf A from above the main body 5A.

<Other Embodiment 3> As the distribution based on the volume and the weight, the height and the weight corresponding to the volume of the distributed tea leaves A to be put into the weighing pool 5 are preset in the control panel 10. It can be performed by measuring the time to the set height and the time to the set weight. That is, if the volume of the distributed tea leaves A is set in the control panel 10, the height and weight of the distributed tea leaves A corresponding to the volume are selected from the previously input data, and the addition of the combined leaf pool 4 corresponding to this data is performed. If the required time is selected or calculated and the joint board pool 4 is driven and controlled by the control panel 10 so as to be driven for the required time, the tea leaf A can be distributed to a desired volume.

[0038]

EFFECTS OF THE INVENTION According to the combined leaf pool in the tea making and kneading machine distributing and supplying apparatus according to claim ₁ , the separated tea leaves A such as the leaves A ₁ , the stems A ₂ and the powders A ₃ sent from the tea making and kneading machine are separated.
However, since they are stacked in a stacked state and taken out in a direction substantially perpendicular to this stacked state, there is no difference in volume between the distributed tea leaves A after weighing. Therefore, there is no difference in the processing for each kneading kettle 2a of the tea making and kneading machine 2, and proper kneading is performed in each kneading kettle 2a. Further, since it is configured such that two belt conveyors are connected, it can be manufactured at low cost as a combination machine.

Further, according to the combined leaf pool in the tea making and kneading machine distribution and supply device according to the second aspect, the combined leaf low speed conveyor 11
Is inclined upward toward the end side where the tea leaves A are taken out, so that the tea leaves A stacked on the combined leaf high speed conveyor 14 are prevented from collapsing. Further, even if the combined leaf high-speed conveyor 14 is stopped, the tea leaf A does not drop into the weighing pool 5 due to the inertial force, and the supply accuracy is improved. Further, an effect of positively scraping by contacting the tea leaves A loaded on the low speed conveyor 11 is also produced.

Further, according to the combined leaf pool in the tea making and kneading machine distributing and supplying apparatus according to the third aspect, since the driving is performed at a low speed in the vicinity of the set distribution and supply amount, the measurement error is unlikely to occur, and the tea leaves A are extremely accurately Can be distributed.
Further, compared with the case where the high-speed drive and the low-speed drive are switched by one conveyor to take out the tea leaves A, a stable trace amount can be taken out.

Further, according to the tea-making pool in the tea making and kneading machine distributing and supplying apparatus according to the fourth aspect, it is possible to smoothly change the driving speed of the low-speed conveyor 11 and the high-speed conveyor 14 by using the inverter. You can do it.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment in which a tea making and kneading machine distribution / supply device having a joint leaf pool of the present invention is attached to a tea making and kneading machine.

FIG. 2 is a schematic right side view of the above.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged front view showing a joint pool and a weighing pool of the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a perspective view showing the joint leaf pool of the present invention.

FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a weighing pool.

FIG. 6 is a right side view showing a configuration of a supply pool.

7A and 7B are a schematic front view and a side view showing a state in which tea leaves are fractionated and transferred in a joint leaf pool of the present invention, and taken out with a constant vertical cross-sectional area.

FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing an example in which the area of tea leaves in a weighing pool is measured by a video camera and the volume of tea leaves is calculated by image processing.

FIG. 9 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which a height measuring device having a plurality of photoelectric sensors provided in the height direction is provided at a position facing the side of the main body of the weighing pool, and the height of the introduced tea leaves is measured. .

FIG. 10 is a front view showing an embodiment in which a non-contact type distance sensor is provided at a position facing the upper part of the main body of the weighing pool, and the height of the introduced tea leaves is measured.

FIG. 11: A distance sensor is provided at a position facing the upper part of the main body of the weighing pool, and the height of the introduced tea leaves is measured, and the shape of the weighing pool is formed to have a constant cross-sectional area at any height. It is a perspective view which shows two types of Examples.

FIG. 12 is a perspective view showing an embodiment in which the main body of the weighing pool having a circular cross section is rotatably held by a rotary drive mechanism and the height of the tea leaves introduced is measured.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 Tea Maker Rubbing Machine Distribution Supply Device 2 Tea Maker Rubbing Machine 2a Rubbing Pot 3 Vertical Bucket 3a Input Chute 4 Joint Leaf Pool 4A Main Body 5 Measuring Pool 5A Main Body 6 Extraction Conveyor 7 Relay Conveyor 9 Input Pool 9 Supply Pool 9a Supply Conveyor 9b Raking Back Rotor 9c Take-out port 10 Control board 11 Low velocity conveyor 12 Drive roller 12a Sprocket 13 Chain 14 High velocity conveyor 15 Drive roller 15a Sprocket 16 Chain 17 Sprocket 18 Squatting rotor 19 Chain 20 Measuring conveyor 21 Squatting rotor 22 Chain 23 Chain 24 Load cell 25 Bottom lid 25a Scraping 26 Hinge 30 CCD camera 31 Image processing system 40 Height measuring device 41 Light emitting unit 41a Light emitting device 42 Light receiving unit 42a Light receiving device 43 Connection bar 50 Sliding mechanism 51 Bearin Block 52 Guide rail 53 Chain 54 Drive sprocket 55 Driven sprocket 61 Distance sensor 62 Opening / closing arm 63 Air cylinder 70 Rotation drive mechanism 71 Drive ring 72 Rotating body 73 Center shaft 74 Chain 75 Inverter 76 Closing speed change switch 77 Closing stop switch A Brown leaf A ₁ leaf A ₂ stem A ₃ powder F machine frame M1 drive motor M2 drive motor M3 drive motor M4 drive motor M5 drive motor

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A device for automatically measuring, distributing, and supplying tea leaves that have undergone a middle kneading process to each kneading kettle of a tea making and kneading machine,
A container-shaped main body, a low-speed conveyor which is provided in the lower part of the main body and stacks the tea leaves that have been subjected to the middle kneading process in a stacked state, and a low-speed conveyor that is provided at the end side of the low-speed conveyor. A joint leaf pool in a tea making and kneading machine distribution and supply device, characterized in that it has a joint leaf high speed conveyor which is driven at a higher speed to divide the stacked layers of tea leaves into substantially vertical directions at their end faces. . 2. The combined leaf pool in the tea brewing machine distribution and supply device according to claim 1, wherein the combined leaf low speed conveyor is inclined upward toward a terminal end side where tea leaves are taken out. 3. The tea making device according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the low speed of the combined leaf conveyor and the high speed conveyor of combined leaf are changeable in speed and driven at a low speed in the vicinity of a predetermined distribution and supply amount. Joint leaf pool in the kneading machine distribution and supply device. 4. The changing of the speed is performed by changing the rotational speed of a drive motor for driving the low speed conveyor and the high speed conveyor for combining leaves by an inverter. A tea leaf pool in the tea making and kneading machine distribution and supply device described in 3.