JP4006259B2 - Food application equipment - Google Patents

Description

[0001]
BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION
The present invention relates to a food applicator for applying an application product such as wasabi to food such as a shrimp ball. More specifically, the application product is applied to food with a human finger with a simple configuration. The present invention relates to a food applicator that can be applied evenly.
[0002]
[Prior art]
Along with the automatic production of nigiri sushi, a food applicator for applying wasabi on the shrimp balls is also provided along with a shrimp ball molding device. The food application apparatus includes the following.
[0003]
That is, for example, Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 60-79978 discloses a wasabi applicator that attaches a nozzle to the tip of a wasabi transport tube and moves the nozzle up and down to apply wasabi on a shabby ball.
[0004]
Also, for example, in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-9247, there is a wasabi applicator that is provided with a tube pressing closing means on a wasabi conveying tube conveying path to push out and supply wasabi, thereby reducing the cost associated with wasabi conveyance. It is disclosed.
[0005]
According to these prior arts, it is supplied so as to squeeze out the wasabi balls flowing on the conveyance path from above, and the structure is simple and can be manufactured at low cost. The device has become mainstream to date.
[0006]
[Problems to be solved by the invention]
However, these prior arts still have problems to be solved. In other words, as a problem common to food applicators that use the up-down method, the nozzle attached to the tube tip needs to be adjusted so that it does not come in contact with the workpiece (sharp ball), and it operates without adjusting the position. In this case, the nozzle may come into contact with the workpiece and lose its shape.
[0007]
Also, traditionally, wasabi squeezed from the tube tip like toothpaste squeezed out on a so-called toothbrush is simply placed on top of a sharp ball, so there is anxiety about the stability of the application, and it seems that people have applied it with their fingers It was virtually impossible to obtain a good coating feeling.
[0008]
Recently, there is also a so-called sushi sushi that changes the method of conventional nigiri sushi, and after applying wasabi to the shari ball, various coatings such as mayonnaise and plum meat are often laminated and applied. The simple application method described above is not suitable for overcoating to make sushi.
[0009]
Therefore, the present invention has been made to solve the above-described problems, and the object thereof is to provide a feeling of application as if a person had applied with a finger with a simple configuration without causing the molded product to lose its shape. The object is to provide a food applicator.
[0010]
[Means for Solving the Problems]
In order to achieve the above-described object, the present invention provides a food application apparatus that applies an application such as wasabi to food such as a sprout ball that moves on a predetermined conveying means. A bearing-type application roller that receives the application material fed to the vicinity of the food and applies it to the food, and a support shaft that supports the application roller, and the application roller is a bearing through which the support shaft is inserted. A hole is provided, and the diameter of the bearing hole is larger than the diameter of the support shaft, and a gap is provided between the application roller and the support shaft.
[0011]
According to this, when wasabi is applied on the shrimp ball with a contact type applicator roller, the load applied to the shrimp ball by the applicator roller can be absorbed by the gap, and a feeling of application as if applied with a finger is obtained. At the same time, since the application roller moves along the sharp ball, the shape does not collapse.
[0012]
Here, the food of the present invention may be applied to various foods such as rice balls and takoyaki as well as shari balls for nigiri sushi, and the application is not limited to wasabi, but mustard, mayonnaise, sauce, Furthermore, if it can apply | coat with an application | coating roller, such as paste-like things, such as grated ginger and plum meat, it can select and use suitably.
[0013]
DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION
Next, specific embodiments of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a main part of a food application device according to an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a plan view thereof. In addition, the food application apparatus 1 demonstrated here is integrated integrally in a part on the conveyance path 10 of the food shaping | molding apparatus which shape | molds sushi rice into the shrimp ball Rc.
[0014]
The food applicator 1 is connected at one end to a delivery means (not shown) such as a storage tank or a pump, and is sent out to the vicinity of the food (in this embodiment, the shrimp ball Rc) through the discharge part 2 provided on the discharge side. A contact-type application roller 3 that receives the applied product (wasabi W in this embodiment) and applies it to the sharp balls Rc, and a support shaft 4 that supports the application roller 3 are provided.
[0015]
As shown in FIG. 2, the discharge unit 2, the application roller 3, and the support shaft 4 are cantilevered by a bracket 5 that is supported on the apparatus main body (not shown).
[0016]
The discharge part 2 has one end side connected to a storage tank (both not shown) via a pump means, for example, a tube 21 made of silicon resin, and the other end side (discharge side) of the tube 21 is connected to one end side. The other end side is provided with the nozzle 22 made of, for example, stainless steel that is open toward the coating roller 3. In this embodiment, the discharge side of the tube 21 is press-fitted into the nozzle 22, but other connection methods may be used.
[0017]
As an example of the pump means and the storage tank, the storage tank is a cylinder tank having an internal capacity of 200 g, for example, and wasabi W is stored therein. In this cylinder tank, the compressed air generated by the air compressor is intermittently poured, so that wasabi W stored therein is sent out to the tube 21 at regular intervals.
[0018]
The application roller 3 is formed of, for example, a cylindrical roller made of synthetic resin, and a bearing hole 31 that is inserted into a support shaft 4 to be described later is provided in the center with a larger diameter than the shaft diameter of the support shaft 4.
[0019]
On the outer peripheral surface of the application roller 3, an adhesion surface 32 to which the wasabi W sent from the nozzle 22 adheres is formed in a concave curved shape with respect to the axis, and the adhering wasabi W is attached to both ends of the adhesion surface 32. Ribs 33, 33 are provided so as to prevent them from protruding outward.
[0020]
In this embodiment, as shown in FIG. 2, the application roller 3 is formed in a so-called zigzag shape in which the adhesion surface 32 has a concave curved surface, and ribs 33 are provided at both ends thereof. 3 (a) and 3 (b) may be adopted.
[0021]
That is, the application roller 3a shown in FIG. 3A forms a semicircular concave groove 32a along the attachment surface 32 so that the wasabi W is easily attached to the attachment surface 32a. In this embodiment, the concave groove 32a is provided with two semicircular concave grooves 32a. However, the concave groove 32a may be three or may be V-shaped instead of semicircular. Well, its configuration is arbitrary.
[0022]
Further, as shown in FIG. 3B, a so-called drum-shaped application roller 3b in which the adhesion surface 32 is formed into a convex curved surface may be employed. In addition to this, the surface of the attachment surface 32 may be provided with fine unevenness and embossing to make it easy to attach the wasabi W.
[0023]
Referring to FIGS. 1 and 2 again, the application roller 3 has a bearing hole 31 inserted through a support shaft 4 supported by a bracket 5 at both ends, and both ends thereof are fixed by C-rings 41 and 41 for preventing falling off. And rotates along the transport direction (arrow direction) of the transport path 10.
[0024]
The support shaft 4 has a shaft diameter smaller than that of the bearing hole 31, whereby a gap G (clearance) is formed between the support shaft 4 and the bearing hole 31. In this embodiment, the shaft diameter of the support shaft 4 is φ4 mm, whereas the diameter of the bearing hole 31 is φ5 mm, and the gap G formed thereby is 1 mm.
[0025]
This gap G acts as a so-called “escape” for the applicator roller 3 to move effortlessly along the application surface of the shrimp ball Rc, so that the wasabi W is stably applied to the shrimp ball Rc passing through the applicator 1. It becomes possible to apply.
[0026]
Next, the application | coating procedure of this food application | coating apparatus 1 is demonstrated using FIG. First, the wasabi W pushed out from a storage tank (not shown) is guided to the nozzle 22 through the tube 21, and the wasabi W is pushed out from the tip of the nozzle 22 toward the application roller 3. At this time, the wasabi W is uniformly attached to the attachment surface 32 by lightly rotating the application roller 3 by hand as a pre-operation.
[0027]
In this state, when the shaving ball Rc molded by a molding device (not shown) moves along the direction of the arrow on the conveying path 10 and flows to just below the coating roller 3, the coating roller 3 is placed on the top surface of the shaving ball Rc. Touch and start to apply wasabi W while rotating.
[0028]
In general, the shari balls Rc are formed in a so-called drum shape with the upper surface projecting toward the center for placing sushi material. For this reason, when the shaving ball Rc is further moved, the coating roller 3 is pushed upward along the coating surface. At this time, the pushing amount is moderately absorbed by the gap G, so that the shaving ball Rc is impossible. The wasabi W can be applied evenly and uniformly without any additional load.
[0029]
After passing the top of the shrimp ball Rc, the application roller 3 descends again along the application surface by its own weight, and the wasabi W is applied evenly with the top of the shrimp ball Rc being symmetrical. Shari balls Rc after application of wasabi W are transported on a transport path 10 to a predetermined work process. Thereby, a series of wasabi application processes are completed.
[0030]
In this embodiment, the transport path 10 is a belt conveyor, but may be a rotary table or the like, and the food applicator 1 of the present invention may be incorporated on the transport path of the sharp balls Rc. Further, the transport path 10 may be a non-movable table. In this case, a predetermined moving means may be incorporated in the food application apparatus 1 and moved on the sharp ball Rc.
[0031]
In this embodiment, the food applicator 1 is composed of a set of applicator units. However, in order to apply a plurality of applied products to the food at once, for example, two places in series along the flow direction of the food. Such an aspect may be provided, and such an aspect is also included in the present invention.
[0032]
In this embodiment, the application target object has been described by taking the rice ball Rc for nigiri sushi as an example. You may apply to various foodstuffs.
[0033]
In addition, the applied material is not limited to wasabi W, but may be various sauces such as mustard and mayonnaise, pastes such as grated ginger and plum meat, or, in extreme cases, ice cream or honey. Any material can be used as long as it can be conveyed by the tube 21 and can be applied by the application roller 3.
[0034]
Further, in order to change the application position according to the shape of the application object, a predetermined application position adjusting means and various sensors associated therewith may be provided on the bracket 5 or the like. As long as it has the basic form of the food applicator of the present invention, these various modifications are also included in the present invention.
[0035]
【The invention's effect】
As described above, according to the present invention, when applying wasabi and the like on the contact ball with the contact type application roller, the load applied to the contact ball by the gap formed between the application roller and the support shaft is reduced. By absorbing, a feeling of application as if applied with a finger is obtained, an excessive load is not applied, and there is no possibility of losing shape.
[Brief description of the drawings]
FIG. 1 is a side sectional view of a main part of a food application device according to an embodiment of the present invention.
FIG. 2 is a front view of a main part of the food application device according to the embodiment.
FIG. 3 is a front view showing a modification of the application roller.
FIG. 4 is an explanatory diagram for explaining a usage pattern of the food applicator.
[Explanation of symbols]
DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food application apparatus 10 Conveyance path 2 Discharge part 21 Tube 22 Nozzle 3 Application roller 31 Adhesion surface 32 Rib 4 Support shaft 5 Bracket G Space | gap Rc Shaving ball W Wasabi

Claims (1)

In a food applicator that applies an application product such as wasabi to a food product such as a sprout ball that moves on a predetermined transport means,
A contact-type application roller that receives and applies the applied product fed to the vicinity of the food through a predetermined discharge portion and the food, and a support shaft that supports the application roller, the application roller includes: A bearing hole is provided through which the support shaft is inserted. The bearing hole has a diameter larger than the shaft diameter of the support shaft, and includes a gap between the application roller and the support shaft. A food applicator characterized by comprising:

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