JP3425536B2 - Coating 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 coating apparatus for forming a coating layer on the surface of a center which is a core of chewing gum, bean confectionery, hard candy, etc.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, some chewing gums and the like have a surface coated with a sugar coating layer. To form such a sugar coating layer, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 45-2956
The device of the publication (pan coating device) has been used. In this apparatus, first, a large number of so-called centers, which are cores of gum, are put into a coating tank. When this coating tank is rotated, the whole center flows into the tank in a half-moon shape due to the scraping action, and in the surface layer, the center slides down from the upper end to the lower end. The center that has slid down in this way is pushed into the inside of the bottom surface, then rises along the peripheral wall of the coating tank, appears on the surface layer, and slides down toward the lower end again. When the syrup is dropped in the course of this flow, a coating layer (sugar coating layer) of crystals of the syrup is formed on the peripheral surface on the center surface due to the rolling action at the time of sliding down, whereby a desired chewing gum can be obtained.

However, in this structure, there is no relative sliding speed difference between the centers adjacent to each other in the circumferential direction while the centers slide down the fluidized bed, and therefore the centers tend to adhere to each other due to the viscosity of the syrup. Further, in the fluidized bed, when a center sliding down from the upper portion collides with a lower center, it is known that the impact at the time of the collision causes defects such as chipping or cracking in a part of the coating layer. As a countermeasure against this, it is conceivable to reduce the number of rotations of the coating tank, but if this is done, the circulation time of the center becomes long and the processing efficiency is reduced. Further, since it becomes difficult to uniformly supply the syrup to the entire surface of the fluidized bed, skill is required for the syrup application work and the reduction of the rotation speed is not a good idea.

An apparatus disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 60-255135 is known as a means for solving the above problems of the pan coating apparatus. This one has a horizontal rotary plate that can rotate at high speed in a cylindrical container. When the horizontal rotary plate is rotated at a high speed after the center is put into the container, the center group causes a swirl (spiral flow) in the container, and a fluidized bed is formed on the surface layer. In this case, there is an advantage that the machining efficiency is high because the circulation speed of the center is high. In addition, the movement of the center in the container is that after moving along the fluidized bed, it is pushed into the bottom part and moves to the outer peripheral side along the gradient of the horizontal rotary plate, and further rises the side wall of the container to resurface the surface layer. It appears that the center appears as a string of beads and circulates, unlike the case of pan coating, so the impact of a collision is high, despite the fact that the center moves at a high speed. Since it was hard to receive, the problem of missing the coating layer was small. Furthermore, since the stirring action in the container is strengthened by the spiral flow, even if the syrup is sprayed only at one place, the syrup will spread evenly over the entire center group.
There is also an advantage that no skill is required for the work. in this way,
The thing of the type that provides a rotating plate in a fixed cylindrical container,
It has many advantages as a coating device.

[0005]

However, even in the above case, when the syrup is applied, the flow condition of the entire center is weakened due to the high viscosity of the syrup. At this time, the center as a whole slips on the tank wall, and it is difficult for the rotational force to be transmitted, and the center simply moves along the inner wall of the container (sideslip phenomenon). As a result, the stirring action is weakened, causing problems such as the syrup not being evenly distributed and the coating process taking a long time. As a countermeasure against this, the above-mentioned one is provided with a protruding portion (raised slope) for transmitting the rotational force, but there is a concern that this may collide with the center. Further, when such a protrusion is provided, there is a problem that the syrup adheres to and accumulates on the skirt portion of the protrusion, specifically, the back side of the protrusion, that is, the portion that is a shadow for the flow of the center. It was Of course, it seems effective to increase the rotation speed of the rotating plate, but if the speed is excessively increased, the above-mentioned beaded state will be broken and the behavior of each center will become violent. This could not be an effective countermeasure as well, since the chips would be chipped.

The present invention has been developed in view of such conventional problems, and an object thereof is to provide a coating apparatus capable of efficiently obtaining a processed product of excellent quality. is there.

[0007]

In order to achieve the above object, the invention of claim 1 is a fixed tank formed so as to open upward, and a fixed tank rotatably arranged on the bottom surface of the fixed tank. It is equipped with a coating tank consisting of a rotary tank having an upslope toward the outer peripheral side and having a bottom surface continuing to the fixed tank, and a large number of centers put in this coating tank are spirally flowed on the surface of the center. A coating device for coating a coating layer, wherein the bottom surface of the rotary tank is provided with a plurality of divided areas formed by a plane discontinuous with the surface formed by the peripheral area along the circumferential direction without forming protrusions. It is characterized by being distributed as.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect of the present invention, the demarcation region is continuously provided on the bottom surface of the rotary tank along the circumferential direction, and the boundary line between adjacent demarcation regions rotates. It is characterized by being arranged along the radial direction of the tank. According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the first aspect, the fractionation region is arranged between first regions arranged at appropriate angles and each first region, and has a smaller area than the first region. Two
And a region. Claim 4
The invention according to any one of claims 1 to 3 is characterized in that the fixed tank is formed in a planar polygonal shape.

[0009]

According to the invention of claim 1, when the rotary tank is rotated while a large number of centers are put in the coating tank, the centers spirally flow in the tank. That is, the center moves to the outer peripheral side on the bottom surface of the rotary tank, rises along the side surface of the fixed tank, and then slides down the surface layer to the central portion. In this process, the center is coated with the coating material added in the coating tank. When a highly viscous coating substance is added, slippage tends to occur between the center and the surface of the coating tank, but at the boundary of the fractionation region, it becomes discontinuous with the peripheral region. Therefore, the slip of the center can be suppressed and the kinetic energy can be efficiently transmitted. Therefore, even if a highly viscous coating material is added, the center can maintain a spiral flow state, and a good coating condition can be obtained. Moreover, the center of the rotary tank is
Since there is no protrusion for transmitting the rotating force,
In the part of the projection that is a shadow for the flow of the center
No coating material sticking, thus hygiene
Is also excellent in cleaning.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, the bottom surface of the rotary tank has a polygonal shape by each of the fractionation areas, and the ridge line (boundary line) portion thereof regulates the center slip. According to the invention of claim 3, the boundary portion becomes smoother than in the case where the first regions are directly adjacent to each other as compared with the case where the second region is interposed therebetween. Therefore, the flow condition of the center can be changed by adopting such a configuration as needed. According to the invention of claim 4, slippage of the center can be suppressed even on the wall surface of the fixed tank.

[0011]

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Embodiments of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a front view of a coating apparatus according to the present embodiment. In the figure, reference numeral 1 is a bottomed cylindrical coating tank 1, and a pair of left and right support shafts 2 project from both sides thereof. Support boxes 3A and 3B are arranged on both sides of the coating tank 1, and a support shaft 2 is rotatably supported by bearings (not shown) provided in the support boxes 3A and 3B. A tilting motor (not shown) is fixed in the support box 3A, and this motor is supported by the support shaft 2 via a transmission mechanism (not shown).
The coating tank 1 can be tilted about the support shaft 2 by a predetermined angle (about 100 °) so that the object to be coated or the product after coating is easily taken out. . A control panel 11 for controlling the drive of the coating tank 1 is mounted on the front surface of the support box 3A.

On the other hand, above the center of the coating tank 1, one end of a duct 4 for sending dry air to the product being coated is arranged, and the other end is connected to a heat source (not shown). When the coating tank 1 tilts, as shown in FIG.
It is possible to evacuate to the outside. The coating tank 1 is composed of a fixed tank 5 and a rotary tank 6 rotatably mounted on the bottom surface of the fixed tank 5.

The fixed tank 5 is made of stainless steel and is formed in a substantially cylindrical shape that opens upward. More specifically, it is formed by a bottom portion 5A having a shallow dish shape and a main body portion 5B attached to the outer peripheral edge of the bottom portion 5A by bolting. A flange edge 5C for connecting to the bottom surface portion 5A is projected along the entire circumference at the lower edge of the main body portion 5B. Further, the predetermined height range on the upper side of this is a tapered surface 5D which is formed in an expanded shape as it goes upward, and the height range on the upper side to the opening edge is
The vertical portion 5E is formed vertically.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6, the vertical portion 5E is formed to have a regular dodecagonal shape in plan view.
More specifically, the vertical portion 5E has a bent edge 12 formed along the height direction at a portion corresponding to the apex of a regular dodecagon.
Its lower edge is connected to the top of the tapered surface 5D. Further, the flat surface 19 of the vertical portion 5E and the tapered surface 5D are connected to each other at the ridgeline where they intersect.

Further, a drain hole 7 for discharging the residue generated by the coating work is opened in a part of the bottom surface portion 5A, and a valve 8 which can be opened and closed by a lever is attached to the drain hole 7. A hose (not shown) leading to the air source 28 is connected to the valve 8 prior to the coating operation. By doing so, air can be jetted into the coating tank 1 from the outer peripheral edge of the rotary tank 6 to prevent the product from drying or the residue from falling to the bottom. Further, a rotating shaft 9 is rotatably supported in a vertical direction at the center of the bottom surface portion 5A, and the rotating shaft 9 is connected to a rotating tank 6 described below. A drive motor 10 is connected to the lower end of the rotary shaft 9 to enable the rotary tank 6 to rotate at high speed.

The rotary tank 6 is coaxially arranged below the main body 5B of the fixed tank 5 and has an appropriate space in the height direction with the bottom surface 5A. The rotary tank 6 is also made of stainless steel like the fixed tank 5, and its outer peripheral edge and the fixed tank 5 are
A minute gap for allowing the rotation of the rotary tank 6 is held between the taper surface 5D and the taper surface 5D. The rotary tank 6 is detachably attached to the rotary shaft 9. That is, the screw shaft 1 for connection is attached to the shaft end of the rotary shaft 9.
3 are erected. On the other hand, a disk-shaped connecting disk 15 having a pair of grips 14 is arranged at the center of the rotary tank 6, and a hole 15A for penetrating the screw shaft 13 is formed at the center thereof. And the connecting disk 15
A lock nut 16 having a substantially T-shape is tightened on the screw shaft 13 protruding upward, so that the rotational force from the rotary shaft 9 can be transmitted to the rotary tank 6 side. Therefore, conversely, by loosening and removing the lock nut 16, the rotation tank 6 is disconnected from the rotation shaft 9, and can be removed from the fixed tank 5 by lifting it via the handle 14.

Further, in order to cover up the connecting portion with the rotating shaft 9, the center pole 1 is provided at the center of the rotating tank 6.
7 are arranged. The center pole 17 is formed in a substantially conical shape by using a synthetic resin material in order to reduce the collision with the gum center G, and the insertion shaft 24 is attached to the center portion inside by hanging by insert molding. In addition, it can be inserted into the sleeve 25 embedded in the top of the lock nut 16. However, it is inserted with a frictional force that does not come off accidentally. In addition, a protrusion 18 is formed on the top of the center pole 17 for the extraction operation. Further, the slope of the center pole 17 is set to about 45 ° in this embodiment. The slope of the center pole 17 receives the dry air from the duct 4 and reflects it there to play a role of applying the dry air to the surface layer of the gum center G group that is spirally flowing. For the angle range of the slope,
About 30 ° to 60 ° is effective. If the angle is less than 30 °, the loss when the dry air flowing along the protrusion 18 of the center pole 17 moves to the slope becomes too large,
It hinders the smooth flow of dry air. On the other hand, if it is larger than 60 °, the height of the center pole 17 becomes high, and the loss when the dry air flowing along the slope of the center pole 17 moves to the bottom surface of the rotary tank 6 becomes large. It has been confirmed by experiments.

Next, the bottom shape of the rotary tub 6 will be described with reference to FIGS. 8 and 9. A flat ring-shaped base 20 is formed in the center of the rotary tub 6, and the base 20 has the center. It is covered by the pole 17. A fitting hole 20A is formed in the center of the base portion 20, and a bolt hole 20B is provided in the peripheral portion of the base portion 20 so as to be closed by the connecting disc 15 and fastened to the connecting disc 15 with a bolt. Also, the base 20
In the above, a total of eight cleaning holes 21 are formed on the outer peripheral side of the portion fastened to the connecting disk 15. At the time of maintenance, the cleaning holes 21 are exposed by removing the center pole 17, so that the residue remaining on the bottom surface of the rotary tank 6 can be dropped through the cleaning holes 21 to the bottom surface portion 5A of the fixed tank 5. .

Further, an outer frame 22 is continuously provided on the outer peripheral edge of the base portion 20 along the entire circumference, and is formed in a taper shape so as to expand upward. Further, between the outer peripheral edge of the outer frame 22 and the wall surface of the fixed tank 5, a minute gap as described above is held along the circumferential direction. On the other hand, in the base 20,
On the outer peripheral side of the portion where each of the cleaning holes 21 is formed, an inner frame 23 is continuously provided while holding a space closed around the entire circumference between the outer frame 22 and the outer frame 22. That is, in this embodiment, the rotary tank 6 has a double structure.

In the inner frame 23, first and second fractionation regions 26 and 27, which form a plurality of discontinuous surfaces, are alternately arranged at intervals of 60 ° along the circumferential direction. First and second
Both of the fractionation regions 26 and 27 are formed by planes, of which the first fractionation region 26 has a substantially fan shape and has a base portion 2.
It is arranged with a predetermined inclination angle (in this embodiment) with respect to 0. The outer peripheral edge of the first demarcation area 26 is formed in an arc shape, and the outer peripheral edge is in contact with all edges along the taper of the inner surface of the outer frame 22. On the other hand, the first fraction area 22
The inner peripheral edge of 6 is constituted by a straight line and is in close contact with the base portion 20. Further, a second fractionation region 27 having an area smaller than that of the first fractionation region 26 is interposed between the adjacent first fractionation regions 26. The second demarcation area 27 is formed in a triangular shape having vertexes at the points where the outer peripheral edges of the adjoining first demarcation areas 26 are in contact with each other and the opposite ends on the inner circumferential side. In addition, as described above, each second fraction area 2
7 is also configured by a plane, and the first fraction area 26 and the second fraction area 27 have a relationship in which the surfaces formed by them intersect, that is, a discontinuous arrangement relationship. The outer peripheral surface of the rotary tank 6 surrounds the inner frame 23 so that the surface of the outer frame 22 is exposed. The exposed part and the fixed tank 5 are exposed.
The surface of the gum center G is smoothly connected, and the flow of the gum center G is not hindered.

Next, the function and effect of the present embodiment configured as described above will be specifically described. First, a predetermined amount of gum center G is charged in a state where the entire coating tank 1 is tilted about the support shaft 2 and is tilted (it may be charged without tilting). Then, the coating tank 1 is returned to the horizontal posture. Under that, drive motor 1
When 0 is rotated, the rotating tank 6 rotates at a high speed via the rotating shaft 9, so that the gum center G inside thereof starts to move to the outer peripheral side under the action of centrifugal force, and is moved into the coating tank 1. A spiral flow (vortex motion) is generated. In the meantime, an appropriate amount of gum syrup is supplied from above.

Here, looking at the flow condition of the gum center G in detail, the gum center G receives the force of moving toward the outer peripheral side due to the centrifugal force received from the rotary tank 6. Therefore, the gum center G moves along the slopes of the first and second fractionation regions 26 and 27 which are the surface of the inner frame 23 of the rotary tank 6. At this time, the preceding gum center G receives the push-up force from the succeeding gum center G and ascends the tapered surface 5D of the fixed tank 5, and is further pushed up to the vertical portion 5E. After rising to such a height, the fluid flows down toward the center pole 17, and then the above-described flow is repeated, and the circulation is repeated with stirring motion.

When the gum syrup is supplied, the viscosity of the gum syrup makes it difficult for the rotational force from the rotary tank 6 to be transmitted to each gum center G, that is, the gum center easily slips on the wall surface of the coating tank 1. As a result, the flow condition of the gum center G group as a whole is weakened.
However, in this embodiment, the gum center G forms a discontinuous surface while the gum center G moves on the surface of the rotary tank 6, and the first and second fractionation regions 26, 2 are formed.
7 moves, so that when moving on the fractionation area, both areas 26, 27 flow though they flow along these planes.
When the gum center G hits the wall surface of the entry destination area after passing through the boundary line of No. 2, the rotational force of the rotary tank 6 is effectively transmitted every time the passing area changes. . Further, even after moving to the fixed tank 5, the vertical portion 5E is formed in a regular dodecagon in the fixed tank 5 to form a plurality of discontinuous surfaces, so that the slip phenomenon of the gum center G is alleviated.

Thus, in the coating tank 1,
The gum center group G produces a good spiral flow. Therefore, the gum syrup dropped in the coating tank 1 is spread by the gum center G that is in a vortex motion, and is evenly distributed over the entire gum center G. While the gum center G moves from the upper part of the fixed tank 5 toward the center pole 17, a desired sugar coating layer is formed on the gum center G. Even while moving on the surface, the gum center G is in a state of almost rosary connection,
The impact when sliding down is small, and therefore, defects such as chipping and cracking do not occur in the sugar coating layer.

After the gum center G is coated as described above, the dry air is fed into the coating tank 1 from the duct 4 while the rotation of the rotary tank 6 is continued. For this dry air, a hose connected to a heat source (not shown) may be connected to the valve 8 so that the dry air is jetted into the tank through the gap between the fixed tank 5 and the rotary tank 6,
Moreover, the method of using these together may be used. In any case, since the internal gum center G continues to have a good spiral flow, the drying air can be spread over the entire gum center G, and thus the drying process can be completed in a short time. Furthermore, according to the coating tank 1, the gum center G after coating has a high flow velocity, and the friction between the gum centers G increases accordingly, so that the generated friction heat accelerates the drying of the syrup. The action is also obtained.

When the above drying process is completed, the supply of dry air is stopped, the duct 4 is evacuated to the outside, and then the coating tank 1 is tilted to discharge the product inside. In addition,
Depending on the product, the coating may be repeated after the drying process. Further, if the coating operation is repeated, fine powder or syrup residue from the gum center G will accumulate on the bottom surface portion 5A through the minute gap between the rotary tank 6 and the fixed tank 5. It is not preferable. In such a case, when the protrusion 18 of the center pole 17 is pulled, the insertion shaft 24 is pulled out from the sleeve 25 of the lock nut 16, so that the entire center pole 17 is separated from the stepped surface 6A of the rotary tank 6 and removed. . As a result, the rotary tank 6 is exposed at the periphery of the connecting disk 15,
After that, the lock nut 16 is loosened and removed from the screw shaft 13. After that, if the rotary tank 6 is lifted via both handles 14, the rotary tank 6 can be taken out from the fixed tank 5. Then, after washing with water, the residue accumulated on the bottom surface 5A is discharged from the drain hole 7. Then, when the cleaning is completed, if the assembly is performed in the reverse order of the above, it is ready for another work.

By the way, in this embodiment, as means for transmitting the rotational force to the gum center G, a plurality of discontinuous fractionation regions 26, 27 and the flat surface 19 of the fixed tank 5 are set, and these flat surfaces are joined to each other. We adopted the method of connecting and configuring. As described above, it is possible to provide a protrusion on the inner wall of the tank to transmit the rotational force, but if this is done, it will be in the shadowed portion of the flow, that is, on the downstream side surface of the gum center G in the protrusion. Causes a problem that syrup adheres and cleaning takes time, but like this embodiment,
In the case where the flat surfaces are connected to each other to form the discontinuous surface, such a shadowed portion does not occur, and thus the phenomenon of syrup adhesion is unlikely to occur. Further, unlike the projection, there is no problem of cracking or chipping of the coating tank 1 due to the collision. Further, it is conceivable that the inner frame 23 is not provided with the second demarcation region 27 and only the first demarcation region 26 is continuously arranged. However, in such an arrangement, the connecting angle between these planes is suddenly increased. It was found by an experiment that the gum center G itself adheres to the boundary portion. However, by interposing the second fractionation region 27, the angle formed by the planes of the first fractionation region 26 can be made smaller, and the phenomenon of gum center G sticking is eliminated.

As described above, according to the present embodiment, the rotational force can be well transmitted to the center by the discontinuous plane provided in the coating tank, and thus a good spiral flow condition can be created. Then, by creating a good spiral flow condition, the gum center is well agitated, and the rotation speed of the tank is higher than in the pan coating method, so that the coating time can be shortened. Further, since the gum centers circulate in a bead-like shape and circulate, the impacts due to the collisions between the centers are small even though they are moving at high speed, and there is no problem of quality deterioration such as chipping or cracking of the coating layer. Further, since the syrup is evenly spread over the entire gum center by the good stirring action, no skill is required for the syrup application work, and automation can be achieved. Furthermore, since no protrusion for transmitting the rotational force is provided in the tank, syrup does not adhere to this portion, which is excellent in hygiene and cleaning.

Further, depending on the product, powdering may be carried out. In such a case as well, since the flow speed of the gum center is high, the powder can be quickly rolled into the center, and It rarely dances in the air,
It also contributes to the maintenance of the work environment.

The present invention can be modified in various ways,
The following modifications are also included in the technical scope of the present invention. The device of the present invention can be applied not only to gum coating but also to coating of candy, sweets, chocolate, tablets and other foods, pharmaceuticals, feeds and the like. Further, the object to be coated is not limited to a rectangular object, but a spherical object or an indefinite object can be coated while ensuring each sphericity and original shape. In the case of the spherical shape, the work time can be expected to be further shortened because the spherical shape easily flows on the side wall surface of the fixed tank 5. In the present embodiment, the fractional areas in the rotary tank are continuously arranged in the circumferential direction, but they may be arranged at regular intervals, and as in the present embodiment, they are not necessarily arranged continuously by different fractional areas. Alternatively, they may be continuously arranged by one type of fractionation area. In the present embodiment, the fixed tank has a dodecagonal shape, but depending on the object to be coated, only the fractional region of the rotary tank is sufficient, and in that case, the fixed tank may have a simple cylindrical shape.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of the entire coating apparatus.

FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.

FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same.

FIG. 4 is a sectional view of the coating tank.

FIG. 5 is an enlarged sectional view showing the central portion of the coating tank.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing a half of a fixed tank.

[FIG. 7] Similarly, a front sectional view

FIG. 8 is a plan view showing a half of the rotary tank.

FIG. 9 is a half sectional view of the same.

10 is a sectional view taken along line AA of FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Coating tank 5: Fixed tank 6 ... Rotating tank 19 ... Plane 26 ... First fraction area 27 ... Second fraction area

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page       (56) References Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 10-192687 (JP, A)                 JP 58-197297 (JP, A)                 JP-A-60-255135 (JP, A)                 Japanese Patent Sho 60-25502 (JP, B2)                 Japanese Patent Publication Sho 46-22544 (JP, B1)                 Actual public Sho 45-2956 (JP, Y1)                 Registered utility model 4159 (JP, Z2)

Claims (4)

(57) [Claims] 1. A fixed tank which is formed so as to open upward, and a bottom surface which is rotatably arranged on the bottom surface of the fixed tank and which has an upward slope toward the outer peripheral side and continues to the fixed tank. A coating apparatus comprising a coating tank consisting of a rotating tank, and coating a coating layer on the surface of the center while spirally flowing a large number of centers put in the coating tank, wherein the bottom surface of the rotating tank is: A plurality of divided areas formed by planes discontinuous with the surface formed by the peripheral area form protrusions.
The coating device is characterized in that it is arranged along the circumferential direction without . 2. The bottom surface of the rotary tank is such that the fractionation regions are continuously provided along the circumferential direction, and the boundary line between adjacent fractionation regions is arranged along the radial direction of the rotary bath. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the coating apparatus is a coating apparatus. 3. The fractionation area is composed of first areas arranged at appropriate angles and second areas arranged between the first areas and having a smaller area than the first areas. The coating apparatus according to claim 1. 4. The coating apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the fixed tank is formed in a planar polygonal shape.