JP3983225B2 - Dough splitting machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a dividing device for dividing dough such as bread and confectionery into a predetermined amount.

  The dividing machine used in the bakery and confectionery field includes a hopper, a cylinder for receiving the dough (kneaded powder) through the lower opening of the hopper, a knife (blocking plate) for blocking between the hopper and the cylinder, and a dough for the cylinder. A split block having a plunger that pushes out from the end, and a pocket that is set at the end of the cylinder and receives the fabric pushed out by the plunger, the dough receiving position where the pocket aligns with the end of the cylinder, and received in the pocket A dividing block movable between the dough discharging positions for discharging the dough.

When filling the pocket with dough, advance the knife to close the lower opening of the hopper and advance the plunger, but when the dough is filled into the pocket of the split block, the plunger will move to the split block. There is a constant spacing between them so that they do not touch, so a certain amount of dough remains in that spacing.
Therefore, in the next dividing step, the remaining fabric is again pressurized by the plunger together with the newly introduced fabric, and depending on the amount of the remaining fabric, the plunger is repeatedly pressed. The quality of the fabric will be reduced.

Various attempts have been made to solve this problem. For example, the remaining amount of the fabric at the time when the fabric is pushed out by the plunger is detected, and based on this, the amount of the next fabric supply is minimized. A method to make it is proposed. (For example, Patent Document 1)
JP-A-10-295251

However, in the proposed method, the problem that the dough remains and is subjected to two or more pressurizations has not been sufficiently solved.
In the present invention, in view of the above points, the fabric is supplied from the hopper to the cylinder, but the fabric that is not finally filled into the pockets of the divided blocks should not be subjected to a large pressure as much as possible. Thus, the above problem is to be solved.

That is, the present invention
A hopper,
A cylinder having a side opening connected to the lower opening of the hopper and receiving the dough (kneaded powder) through the lower opening and the side opening;
A plunger set in the cylinder so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the cylinder;
A split block having a pocket set in contact with the open end of the cylinder and receiving a fabric extruded from the open end by the plunger, wherein the pocket is aligned with the open end of the cylinder; and A divided block movable between discharge positions for discharging the fabric received in the pocket,
A knife for opening and closing the lower opening of the hopper with respect to the space in the cylinder between the plunger and the divided block;
The plunger is positioned so that the front end surface of the plunger is in the vicinity of the opening end of the cylinder so that the dough filled in the pocket of the divided block has a predetermined pressure, and the plunger is retracted from the push-out completion position. Plunger driving means for driving between the dough sucking completion position,
A first position where the knife closes the lower opening of the hopper with respect to the inner space of the cylinder when the plunger is driven to the dough push-out completion position; And a knife driving means for driving the knife between a second position for opening the lower opening with respect to the internal space of the cylinder.
In this dough splitting machine, when the plunger is driven to the dough extrusion completion position, the knife does not completely close the lower opening of the hopper, so many parts of the dough that is not filled into the pockets of the split block The dough is returned to the hopper without being subjected to the required pressure required to fill the pocket, and thus the above-described deterioration of the dough quality in the prior art can be largely eliminated.

The knife driving means has spring urging means for urging the knife in a direction to close the lower opening against the pressure of the dough around the knife, and is in the extrusion completion position. A knife can be displaced in the direction opposite to the direction of closing the lower opening by the pressure of the fabric against the spring means to be in the first position.
By doing so, the position of the knife in the axial direction is determined by the relationship between the pressure of the fabric around the knife and the spring force by the spring means, and therefore the opening of the lower opening Since the degree of pressure changes accordingly, it is possible to avoid a sudden increase in pressure of the dough in the cylinder.

The knife is pushed by the spring means according to the negative pressure generated between the plunger tip and the divided block when the plunger moves from the dough pushing completion position to the dough suction completion position, and the lower opening Can be closed.
By doing in this way, the said negative pressure can be made more than fixed, and when the knife is retracted, the cloth in the hopper can be sucked into the cylinder under this negative pressure.

It is preferable that the knife and the plunger are advanced to the first position and the dough pushing-out completion position, respectively, in a state where the tip of the knife is slightly forward from the tip of the plunger.
By doing in this way, by the time a knife reaches the said 1st position, much dough which is not filled in a pocket can be returned to a hopper, without pressing too much.
The knife driving means is
A first link portion driven in the axial direction of the cylinder by a drive motor;
A second link portion coaxial with the first link portion and movable in the axial direction with respect to the first link portion, and connected to the knife,
The spring means comprises a connecting link set between the first and second link portions and adapted to bias the second link portion away from the first link portion in its axial direction;
The knife between the second position spaced from the split block in the axial direction of the cylinder and the first position moved from the second position toward the split block in the coaxial line direction; It can be made to drive.

Hereinafter, an embodiment of a dough divider 10 according to the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.
1 to 4 show the steps of the cloth dividing operation of the cloth dividing machine 10 according to the present invention.
1 shows a state in which the plunger 12 described below is in a fabric suction completion position, FIG. 3 shows a state in which the plunger 12 is in a fabric extrusion completion position, and FIG. 2 shows the plunger 12 from the fabric suction completion position in FIG. FIG. 4 shows a state where the plunger 12 is approaching the dough extrusion completion position of FIG. 3, and FIG. 4 shows a state where the plunger 12 starts to move from the dough extrusion completion position of FIG. 3 to the dough suction completion position of FIG.

First, the configuration of the dough dividing machine 10 will be described.
As shown in the figure, the dough dividing machine 10 is slidable in the axial direction of the cylinder 16 within the cylinder 16 and the cylinder 16 that receives the dough (kneaded powder) through the lower opening 14-1 of the hopper 14. And a split block 18 having a pocket 18-1 which is set so as to contact the open end 16-1 of the cylinder 16 and receives the fabric pushed out from the open end 16-1 by the plunger 12. A receiving position (FIGS. 1 and 2) in which the pocket 18-1 is aligned with the open end 16-1 of the cylinder 16, and an extrusion for discharging the dough received in the pocket 18-1. The divided block 18 movable between the completion positions (FIG. 3) and the lower opening 14-1 between the hopper 14 and the cylinder 16 are applied from the outside. The knife or blocking plate 20 inserted in the direction of closing the lower opening 14-1 of the hopper 14 in the axial direction of the cylinder 16 and displaceable in the same direction, and the plunger 12, the tip surface of the plunger 12 is the above-mentioned Plunger driving means 22 that is driven between a dough extrusion completion position in the vicinity of the opening end 16-1 of the cylinder 16 and a dough suction completion position (FIG. 1) retreated from the push completion position, and the knife 20 The first position (FIGS. 2 and 3) in which the knife 20 substantially closes the lower opening of the hopper 14 when the plunger 12 is driven to the dough extrusion completion position (here, “substantially close”) As shown in the figure, the lower opening is closed to such an extent that an opening is left so that the cloth in the cylinder can be returned into the hopper). When the serial dough suction completion position, has a knife drive means 24 for the knife 20 is driven, and a second position (FIG. 1) to open the lower opening 14-1, a.

  The knife driving means 24 has a spring urging means for urging the knife 20 in the direction of closing the lower opening 14-1 against the pressure of the fabric around the knife 20. The position of the knife 20 at the extrusion completion position can be displaced by the pressure of the dough. Specifically, the knife 20 is connected between the driving device and the knife 20, and the first position (FIGS. 2 and 3) and the second position (FIG. 1) by a connecting link 28 that moves the knife 20 back and forth. The link 28 is coaxial with the first link portion 28-1 on the drive device side and the first link portion, and is connected to the first link portion. A coil spring which is set so as to surround the second link portion 28-2 set so as to be movable in the axial direction, and the first and second link portions, and acts in a direction to separate the second link portion from the first link portion. 28-3, and the knife 20 that has been brought to the first position (FIGS. 2 and 3) by the connecting link 28 is pressed in the direction of the connecting link 28 by the pressure of the fabric surrounding the knife 20 The same pressure and the coil spring 28-3 The balance between the spring force, so that the position is determined. FIG. 5 shows details of the link mechanism that connects the knife 20 and the driving device (motor). As described above, the connecting link 28 includes the first link 28-1 on the driving device side, It is coaxial between the first link portion and the cylindrical second link portion 28-2 which is coaxial with the first link portion and is set to be movable in the axial direction with respect to the first link portion. And the coil spring 28-3 acting in the direction of separating the second link portion 28-2 from the first link portion 28-1.

Next, the operation of the dough divider 10 according to the present invention will be described.
FIG. 1 shows a state in which the plunger 12 is in the dough suction completion position and the dough in the hopper 14 is sucked and filled into the cylinder 16. From this state, the plunger 12 is driven toward the dough extrusion completion position shown in FIG. 3. At this time, the knife 20 is moved slightly faster than the plunger 12.

  When the plunger 12 and the knife 20 are advanced in this state, the lower opening 14-1 of the hopper 14 is gradually closed, and the tip surface of the plunger 12 and the pocket 18-1 of the dividing block 18 are closed. The intermediate fabric is filled into the pocket 18-1, and a part thereof is returned to the hopper 14 through the lower opening 14-1.

  When the knife 20 reaches the first position shown in FIG. 2, the advancement of the knife 20 by the connecting link 28 is stopped. In this position, when the plunger 12 is further advanced, the space formed by the distal end surface of the plunger 12, the inner wall surface of the cylinder 16, the pocket 18-1 of the divided block 18, and the distal end of the knife 20 is gradually reduced. The pressure applied to increases gradually. The coil spring 28-3 urges the knife 20 forward with a constant spring force, and when the pressure of the cloth becomes equal to or greater than the same spring force, the knife 20 is pushed back backward against the coil spring 28-3. On the other hand, the piston 30 slidably inserted into the pocket 18-1 is moved rearward, and when moved by a predetermined distance, the piston 30 engages with a stopper set at a predetermined position behind the piston. And then stopped. When the plunger 12 continues to advance in this state, the dough reaches a predetermined pressure and the advancement of the plunger 12 is stopped (FIG. 3). Until this state is reached, most of the dough more than the amount to be filled in the pocket 18-1 is returned into the hopper 14 through the lower opening 14-1 of the hopper 14.

  When the filling of the pocket 18-1 is achieved, the dividing block 18 is displaced to the lower dough extrusion (FIG. 3) position, in which the piston 30 is pushed forward by a pusher (not shown) and the pocket 18- The fabric in 1 is discharged to the outside and scraped off by the swing flicker 32.

  On the other hand, when the plunger 12 starts to be retracted in this state, the fabric in the space formed between the distal end surface of the plunger 12 and the divided block 18 is decompressed, and the knife 20 is advanced by the coil spring 28-3. The lower opening 14-1 of the hopper 14 is closed. When the plunger 12 is further retracted and the degree of decompression is increased and the knife 20 is retracted together with the plunger 12, the hopper has a reduced pressure between the distal end surface of the plunger 12 and the divided block 18. 14 doughs are sucked in to fill the space and return to the initial position (fabric sucking completion position) shown in FIG.

  The embodiment of the dough dividing machine 10 according to the present invention has been described above. In the dough dividing machine 10, when filling the dough into the pocket 18-1 of the dividing block 18 with the plunger 12, what is a conventional dividing machine? Unlikely, since the lower opening 14-1 of the hopper 14 is opened, most of the dough that does not fill the pocket 18-1 is placed in the hopper 14 before the required pressure to fill the pocket 18-1 is applied. Returned to Therefore, the required pressure for filling the pocket 18-1 is applied, and the amount of the dough remaining in the cylinder is smaller than that of the conventional divider, and thus has occurred in the conventional divider as described above. The deterioration of the quality of the fabric can be greatly improved.

It is a vertical side view of the said cloth dividing machine which shows the state before the filling to the pocket of the dividing block by the plunger in the cloth dividing machine which concerns on this invention starts. It is a vertical side view of the dough dividing machine, and shows a state in which the plunger and the knife are advanced from the position of FIG. 1 and the dough is being filled into the dividing block. It is a vertical side view of the dough dividing machine, and shows a state where the dividing block is displaced to a lower discharge position in order to discharge the dough filled in the pocket. It is a vertical side view of the dough dividing machine, and shows a state in which the plunger starts retreating from the state of FIG. It is a side view of the link mechanism connected between a drive device and a knife and driving a knife in the front-back direction by the action of the drive device.

Explanation of symbols

10 Dough Divider 12 Plunger
14 Hopper
14-1 Lower opening
16 cylinders
16-1 Open end
18 divided blocks
18-1 Pocket
20 Knives
22 Plunger drive means
24 Knife drive means
26 Spring means
28 Link 28-1 First link portion 28-2 Second link portion 28-3 Coil spring 30 Piston 32 Swing flicker

Claims (5)

A hopper,
A cylinder having a side opening connected to the lower opening of the hopper and receiving the dough (kneaded powder) through the lower opening and the side opening;
A plunger set in the cylinder so as to be slidable in the axial direction of the cylinder;
A split block having a pocket set in contact with the open end of the cylinder and receiving a fabric extruded from the open end by the plunger, wherein the pocket is aligned with the open end of the cylinder; and A divided block movable between discharge positions for discharging the fabric received in the pocket,
A knife for opening and closing the lower opening of the hopper with respect to the space in the cylinder between the plunger and the divided block;
The plunger is positioned so that the front end surface of the plunger is in the vicinity of the opening end of the cylinder so that the dough filled in the pocket of the divided block has a predetermined pressure, and the plunger is retracted from the push-out completion position. Plunger driving means for driving between the dough sucking completion position,
A first position where the knife closes the lower opening of the hopper with respect to the inner space of the cylinder when the plunger is driven to the dough push-out completion position; A knife driving means for driving the knife between a second position where the knife opens the lower opening with respect to the internal space of the cylinder,
A dough dividing machine characterized by comprising: The knife driving means has spring means for urging the knife in a direction to close the lower opening against the pressure of the dough around the knife, and the knife in the extrusion completion position is 2. The device according to claim 1, wherein the first position is displaced against the spring means in a direction opposite to a direction in which the lower opening is closed by the pressure of the fabric. Dough splitting machine. The knife is pushed out by the spring means according to the negative pressure generated between the plunger tip and the divided block that is generated when the plunger moves from the dough pushing completion position to the dough suction completion position, and the lower opening The dough splitting machine according to claim 1 or 2, wherein the dough splitting machine is closed.   The knife and the plunger are advanced to the first position and the dough extrusion completion position, respectively, in a state where the tip of the knife is slightly forward from the tip of the plunger. Item 4. The dough dividing machine according to any one of Items 1 to 3. The knife driving means is
A first link portion driven in the axial direction of the cylinder by a drive motor;
A second link portion coaxial with the first link portion and movable in the axial direction with respect to the first link portion, and connected to the knife,
The spring means comprises a connecting link set between the first and second link portions and adapted to bias the second link portion away from the first link portion in its axial direction;
The knife between the second position spaced from the split block in the axial direction of the cylinder and the first position moved from the second position toward the split block in the coaxial line direction; The dough splitting machine according to any one of claims 2 to 4, wherein the dough splitting machine is driven.

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