JP4332541B2 - Bread cutting machine - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a bread cutting device for cutting an ear portion from a substantially rectangular flat bread piece obtained by slicing bread, and more particularly to a bread cutting device for manufacturing bread for sandwiches.

  Conventionally, bread pieces obtained by cutting so-called ear portions from bread and further slicing them are packaged and sold as sandwich bread. Sandwich bread is manufactured using bread that has been baked in a rectangular parallelepiped shape. Generally, the manufacturing apparatus includes a band-shaped cutting blade for dropping an ear and a band-shaped cutting blade for slicing. When using the manufacturing apparatus, sandwich bread by passing through a step of cutting each outer surface portion including the ear portion with a predetermined thickness from a rectangular parallelepiped shaped bread, followed by a step of slicing with a predetermined thickness in a direction crossing the longitudinal direction Is manufactured. In the slicing step, a large number of strip-shaped cutting blades reciprocate simultaneously to slice the bread, and a large number of sandwich breads are cut out at a time.

  By the way, the baked bread has a relatively hard outer surface, while the inside is soft, and each part becomes slightly harder as time passes after baking. Therefore, in the case of slicing after the outer surface portion (ear portion) of the bread is first cut out as in the conventional manufacturing apparatus described above, it must be after a relatively long time (generally at least about 24 hours) after baking. The bread with the ears removed is easily deformed and difficult to process. Accordingly, in the conventional manufacturing apparatus, since it takes a relatively long time from the baking of the bread to the manufacture of the sandwich bread, it is difficult to maintain the freshness of the sandwich bread.

  Furthermore, since the conventional manufacturing apparatus cuts the bread by reciprocating the belt-like cutting blade, the cut surface may be lacking in smoothness. Therefore, there is a demand for obtaining a smoother cut surface and improving the merchantability. It was.

In order to respond to such a request, the applicant of the present application slices bread with a round blade to obtain a bread piece, and then cuts the ear portion of each side with the round blade in a state where the bread piece is pressed and fixed. Invented an excellent bread processing apparatus that can be used (see Patent Document 1). According to this bread processing apparatus, even in a relatively soft state of bread that has just been baked, it is possible to slice and obtain a piece of bread, and to cut out the ear part from the obtained piece of bread Is possible. Therefore, a sandwich bread having excellent freshness can be obtained. Furthermore, since a round blade is used in the cutting of the slice and the ear portion, there is an advantage that a smooth cut surface can be obtained.
JP-A-2005-297110

  However, according to the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, when the ear portion is cut out from the sliced bread piece, the cut surface may be curved. That is, in the invention disclosed in Patent Document 1, the rotating round blade is moved along the longitudinal direction of each side of the bread piece to cut the ear part of the bread piece that is pressed and fixed. Therefore, the cut surface of the pan is brought into sliding contact with the surface of the round blade and pulled in the rotation direction of the round blade. Thus, when the pan is cut while being pulled in the rotation direction of the round blade, the cut surface does not become a parallel surface but a slightly curved surface. If two orthogonal sides of the four sides of the bread piece have such a curved surface shape, the intersecting portion of the two sides is deformed and a 90-degree corner cannot be formed. Since the shape of the corners and cut surfaces of the sandwich pan is a major factor that affects the commercial property of the sandwich pan, it is desirable to improve such a situation.

  Then, an object of this invention is to provide the bread-bread cutting apparatus which can form the corner | angular part and cut surface of a preferable shape, cut | disconnecting an ear | edge part from the bread (bread piece) obtained by slicing.

  The present invention has been made in view of the circumstances as described above, and the bread cutting apparatus according to the present invention is a bread cutting apparatus for cutting an ear portion from a rectangular bread piece obtained by slicing bread. , A mounting table on which the bread pieces are mounted, an ear cutting blade disposed above the mounting table with a straight blade edge facing downward, and a drive unit for moving the ear cutting blade up and down. .

  By adopting such a configuration, the ear portion is cut out by hitting it with an ear cutting blade descending from above, so that the bread pieces are not pulled in the longitudinal direction of each side during cutting. Accordingly, a sandwich bread having a corner portion of approximately 90 degrees can be manufactured, and the merchantability can be improved.

  Further, the ear cutting blade may be formed of a single blade having a blade attachment portion only on one surface, and may be provided with the blade attachment portion facing outward. By setting it as such a structure, the surface in which the blade attachment part was formed in the ear cutting blade was turned to the outer side (namely, the side with an ear part) of the bread piece, and the flat part in which the blade attachment part was not formed is formed. The surface can be directed to the center of the bread piece. Thereby, the cut surface shape along a perpendicular direction can also be made into a flat preferable shape.

  Further, the ear cutting blades are provided in pairs corresponding to the ear portions located on the two opposite sides of the bread piece, and the ear cutting blades are separated from each other as they go downward. May be provided so as to be inclined with respect to the vertical direction. By setting it as such a structure, the cut surface shape along the perpendicular direction after cut | disconnecting an ear | edge part can be made into a preferable shape substantially orthogonal to an upper surface and a lower surface.

  That is, when the bread piece is cut by lowering the ear cutting blade parallel to the vertical direction, the relatively soft bread piece is slightly deformed as it lowers after contacting the upper surface of the bread piece with the ear cutting blade. As a result, the applicant knows that the cut surface is deformed so that the lower portion is located outward relative to the upper portion, and it is relatively difficult to obtain a cut surface orthogonal to the upper and lower surfaces. did. Then, as described above, the two cutting blades that form a pair are inclined and provided so that the positions of the upper and lower portions of the cutting surface coincide with each other, and a suitable cutting surface that is substantially orthogonal to the upper surface and the lower surface is formed. We succeeded in obtaining sandwich bread having.

  The inclination angle of the ear cutting blade with respect to the vertical direction may be in a range of 3 degrees to 7 degrees. The applicant has found the angle that can be given to the ear cutting blades after trial and error. And the bread cutting apparatus which concerns on this invention can obtain a suitable cut surface as mentioned above by setting an ear cutting blade to the angle within the said range.

  In addition, each of the paired ear cutting blades may be different from each other in timing of contact with the bread piece when lowered. By setting it as such a structure, the suitable sandwich pan with which an upper surface and the cut surface of a side part are substantially orthogonal can be obtained.

  That is, when a piece of bread is cut at the same timing by two paired ear cutting blades, the upper part of the soft bread piece is slightly pulled in the opposite direction when both ear cutting blades bite into the upper part of the bread piece. Therefore, roundness may occur at the intersection between the upper surface of the obtained sandwich bread and the cut surface of the side portion. Therefore, as described above, by changing the timing at which the two ear cutting blades that make a pair come into contact with the bread piece, one ear cutting blade bites into the bread piece and cuts the upper part, thereby deforming the upper part of the bread piece. After the healing is over, the other ear cutting blade will bite into the bread piece. Therefore, it is difficult to produce roundness at the intersection between the cut surface and the upper surface, and a sandwich pan having a suitable shape can be obtained.

  Further, the pair of ear cutting blades are configured to operate at a timing when the other ear cutting blade contacts the bread piece while one ear cutting blade cuts the ear portion of the bread piece. May be. By adopting such a configuration, in a state where the position of the bread piece is fixed by one ear cutting blade, the other ear cutting blade cuts the corresponding part of the bread piece, so that the appropriate position is cut. The dimensional accuracy of the sandwich bread obtained can be improved.

  In the mounting table, the floor surface with which the edge of the lowered ear cutting blade comes into contact may be made of an elastic material. By adopting such a configuration, even when the cutting edge of the ear cutting blade is not strictly linear, the cutting edge can be cut into the bread piece reliably by biting into the floor surface of the mounting table. it can.

  The mounting table includes a conveyor that conveys the placed bread pieces, and two pairs of the ear cutting blades are provided along a conveying direction of the bread pieces, and one pair of the ears is provided. The cutting blade may be provided such that the cutting edge is along the conveying direction of the bread, and the other pair of ear cutting blades may be provided so that the cutting edge is orthogonal to the conveying direction of the bread piece. By adopting such a configuration, the ears on the four sides of the substantially rectangular bread piece can be cut out in a flowing manner, which is efficient.

  In addition, the pair of ear cutting blades arranged on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the bread pieces are provided such that the separation distance between the opposed cutting edges is larger than the pair of ear cutting blades arranged on the downstream side. It may be. By setting it as such a structure, a cut surface shape can be made into a more flat preferable shape.

  That is, when the bread piece placed on the mounting table is viewed in plan, it generally has a rectangular shape, and some ear portions are located in the long side portion and the short side portion. And according to the above-described configuration, the ear portion positioned first in the short side portion is cut out by the ear cutting blade provided so that the separation distance between the opposing blade edges becomes large, and then the ear portion positioned in the long side portion. Will be excised. In this way, since the ear portion located in the long side portion remains after the first cutting, it is easier to suppress the deformation of the bread piece than when the ear portion located in the short side portion is left in the first cutting. Become. As a result, it is possible to excise the ear portion located at the next long side portion with the bread piece maintaining a suitable shape, and a sandwich bread having a suitable cut surface shape can be obtained.

  According to the bread cutting apparatus according to the present invention, it is possible to form corners and cut surfaces of a preferable shape while cutting the ear portion from the bread (bread pieces) obtained by slicing. Quality sandwich bread can be obtained.

  Hereinafter, the bread cutting apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be specifically described with reference to the drawings. FIG. 1 is an overall plan view of a bread processing apparatus provided with a bread cutting device, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the bread processing apparatus shown in FIG. FIG. 3 is a schematic view showing an outline of a process for producing sandwich bread using the bread processing apparatus shown in FIG.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the bread processing apparatus 1 includes a slicing device 2, a bread slicing device 3, and a first belt conveyor 4 for conveyance provided between the slicing device 2 and the bread slicing device 3. The slicing device 2, the bread cutting device 3, and the control unit 5 that controls the operation of the first belt conveyor 4. This bread processing apparatus 1 manufactures sandwich bread by processing bread 1A having a rectangular parallelepiped shape.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the slicing apparatus 2 is responsible for a slicing step of slicing the bread 1 </ b> A to obtain a bread piece 1 </ b> B. More specifically, the bread 1 </ b> A having a rectangular parallelepiped shape after baking is orthogonal to the longitudinal direction. It bears the first step of slicing in the direction to obtain the bread piece 1B. The bread cutting device 3 is responsible for a cutting step of cutting a part of the bread piece 1B, more specifically, a second step of cutting the pair of ear portions 1C of the bread piece 1B placed on the belt of the belt conveyor. And the third step of cutting the other pair of ear portions 1D to obtain the sandwich pan 1E. In the following description, the conveyance direction of the bread 1A or the bread piece 1B is the front, the opposite direction is the rear, and the left and right direction is the same as the left and right direction when viewed from the bread 1A or the bread piece 1B being conveyed. And Moreover, below, the structure of the apparatus which bears it in order of a process is demonstrated.

  As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the slicing device 2 includes a roller conveyor 6 that conveys the baked bread 1 </ b> A, and a bread that slices the bread 1 </ b> A that is disposed and conveyed on the left side of the front of the roller conveyor 6. And a cutting machine 7. 4 is an enlarged side view showing the schematic configuration of the bread cutter 7 shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, and FIG. 5 is a plan view of the bread cutter 7 shown in FIG. 6 and 6 are front views of the bread cutter 7 shown in FIG. 4 as viewed from the direction of the arrow VI.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 to 6, the bread cutter 7 includes a mounting table 8 on which the conveyed bread 1 </ b> A is placed, and an extrusion mechanism 9 that intermittently pushes the bread 1 </ b> A placed on the mounting table 8 forward. And a disk cutter 10 for slicing the bread 1 </ b> A extruded by the extrusion mechanism 9. Further, the bread cutter 7 includes a bread piece receiving base 11 for receiving the bread piece 1B obtained by slicing, and a bread piece for transferring the bread piece 1B received by the bread piece receiving base 11 to the first belt conveyor 4. And a transfer table 12. As shown in FIG. 1, in this embodiment, two bread cutters 7 are arranged in parallel for one roller conveyor 6, but the number of roller conveyors 6 and the corresponding bread cutters 7 are arranged. The radix is not limited to this.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the bread piece receiving base 11 is disposed in front of the mounting base 8, and a vertical surface 13 extending along the vertical direction is provided on each of the upper back surface and the front surface thereof, and the front of the vertical surface 13. And a hanging surface 14 that forms an inclined surface along a direction obliquely downward at the front. Moreover, the upper end of the bread | pan piece receiving stand 11 comprises the pointed part 15 formed sharply by the vertical surface 13 and the standing surface 14, when it sees from a side, as shown in FIG. A disk cutter 10 is pivotally supported on the vertical surface 13 so that the rotation axis thereof is parallel to the traveling direction of the bread 1A extruded by the extrusion mechanism 9, and the upper end of the disk cutter 10 is a bread piece. It protrudes upward by a predetermined dimension from the tip 15 of the cradle 11. The disk cutter 10 is rotationally driven by a motor 16 provided below the bread piece tray 11.

  The bread piece 1B sliced by the disk cutter 10 is leaned on the hanging surface 14 on the upper front surface of the bread piece receiving tray 11, and as shown in FIG. (Width dimension) is configured to be smaller than the bread piece 1B. Further, a mounting seat 17 projects from the lower end portion of the standing surface 14 toward the front substantially orthogonal to the standing surface 14. The lower part of the bread piece 1 </ b> B leaning on the hanging surface 14 is supported by the mounting seat 17.

  As shown in FIG. 4, the disk cutter 10, the bread piece receiving table 11, and the motor 16 described above are integrally moved up and down by a cylinder mechanism 18 provided upright below the mounting table 8. It has come to be able to do. Accordingly, when the bread pan 1A placed on the mounting table 8 is pushed forward by the push-out mechanism 9 and the cylinder mechanism 18 is driven in a state of protruding from the front end of the mounting table 8 by a predetermined dimension, the disk cutter 10 rises and the bread pan 1A Cut the protruding part from below. As the disc cutter 10 rises, the bread cradle 11 also rises, and the tip 15 enters the cut end formed in the lower portion of the bread 1A so as to spread the cut end. And the bread piece receiving stand 11 receives this bread piece 1B simultaneously with the bread piece 1B being cut | disconnected from the bread 1A in the upper position. The bread piece 1 </ b> B is received by the bread piece receiving base 11 so that the lower end of the bread piece 1 </ b> A contacts with the mounting seat 17 and leans on the standing surface 14.

  As shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the bread piece replacing table 12 is disposed between the bread piece receiving table 11 and the first belt conveyor 4. As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the bread piece replacing table 12 includes a plate-shaped mounting table 20 extending in the left-right direction, and a pair of left and right receiving members extending in parallel upward from both ends of the mounting table 20. And a surface portion 21. The receiving surface portion 21 is disposed in parallel and spaced apart by a dimension that sandwiches the bread piece receiving base 11, and a standing wall 24 is erected forward from each outer end.

  As shown in FIG. 6, a rotating shaft 23 extending in the left-right direction in parallel with the mounting table 20 is attached to the lower part of the mounting table 20. An output shaft of the motor 22 is connected to one end of the rotating shaft 23, and the rotating shaft 23 is rotated by driving the motor 22. The bread piece changing table 12 can be swung back and forth about the rotation shaft 23 when the motor 22 is driven. That is, the bread piece transfer table 12 has a receiving surface portion 21 that covers the first belt conveyor 4 from the rear position where the receiving surface portion 21 is substantially parallel to the standing surface 14 of the bread piece receiving table 11. It can swing between positions.

  Here, as shown in FIG. 6, the bread piece receiving table 11 that has received the bread piece 1B at the upper position has the bread piece changing table 12 with the bread piece changing table 12 positioned rearward. It goes down between the pair of left and right receiving surface portions 21. The bread pieces 1 </ b> B descending together while being received by the bread piece receiving tray 11 are left and right by the receiving surface portion 21 of the bread piece changing table 12 when the bread piece receiving table 11 passes through the bread piece changing table 12. As a result, the bread piece 1B is transferred from the bread piece receiving stand 11 to the bread piece changing stand 12.

  Next, as shown in FIG. 4, the bread piece replacement table 12 falls from the rear position to the front position by driving the motor 22, and the bread piece 1 </ b> B is placed on the first belt conveyor 4. When the bread piece replacement table 12 falls, the left and right side portions of the bread piece 1B are supported by the standing wall 24, and the lower end portion is supported by the mounting table 20, so that it is difficult for positional deviation to occur. Accordingly, the bread pieces 1B that are successively transferred to the first belt conveyor 4 are transferred to a substantially constant position in a constant posture.

  In this way, in the process of slicing the bread 1A and replacing the obtained bread piece 1B on the first belt conveyor 4, everything is mechanized without human intervention. Therefore, productivity can be improved regardless of the work ability of the worker, and hygiene can be improved.

  FIG. 7 is a side view showing the configuration of the bread slicing device 3 responsible for the second step and the third step (see FIG. 3). FIG. 8 shows the bread slicing device 3 shown in FIG. FIG. In addition, in the bread processing apparatus 1 shown in FIG. 1, two bread cutting apparatuses 3 shown in FIGS. 7 and 8 are provided side by side.

  As shown in FIG. 7 and FIG. 8, the bread slicing device 3 is moved up and down by the frame 30 that forms a substantially cube, the drive unit 31 provided on the frame 30, and the drive unit 31. An ear cutting blade 32 and a mounting table 33 on which a bread piece 1B cut by the ear cutting blade 32 is placed are provided.

  More specifically, the substantially cubic frame 30 has a top plate 30a and a bottom plate 30b having the same rectangular shape, and four leg portions 30c erected between corresponding top portions of the top plate 30a and the bottom plate 30b. Thus, the top plate 30a is supported on the upper portion of the bottom plate 30b.

  The drive unit 31 includes an electric motor 40 provided on the top plate 30 a of the frame 30. The electric motor 40 is provided with an output shaft 41 along the front-rear direction, and a gear 42 is coaxially provided on the output shaft 41. A transmission shaft 43 is disposed on the top plate 30 a of the frame body 30 so that the shaft core faces in the front-rear direction in parallel with the output shaft 41 of the electric motor 40, and the front and rear end portions of the transmission shaft 43 are arranged. Is pivotally supported by a bearing portion 44 erected on the top of the top plate 30a. The transmission shaft 43 is provided with a gear 46 coaxially connected to a gear 42 provided on the output shaft 41 of the electric motor 40 via a chain 45.

  At the front and rear ends of the transmission shaft 43 projecting from the bearing portion 44, a transmission mechanism 50 is provided that transmits the rotational motion of the transmission shaft 43 while changing the rotational motion to the vertical motion (for convenience, the front side of FIG. The lower part of the transmission mechanism 50 is not shown). The transmission mechanism 50 includes a disc-shaped crank 51 provided at the end of the transmission shaft 43 and a transmission rod 52 connected to the crank 51. The crank 51 is provided so that its rotational axis 53 coincides with the axis of the transmission shaft 43, and has an eccentric shaft 54 in the vicinity of the peripheral end. An upper end portion of the transmission rod 52 is rotatably supported on the eccentric shaft 54, and the transmission rod 52 extends downward.

  In such a transmission mechanism 50, the crank 51 rotates around the axis 53 as the electric motor 40 is driven. When the crank 51 rotates, the eccentric shaft 54 revolves around the shaft 53, and the transmission rod 52 pivotally supported by the eccentric shaft 54 moves up and down. 7 to 8 of the present embodiment, the eccentric shafts 54 of the transmission mechanisms 50 provided at the front and rear are configured so that the phases around the rotation axis 53 of the crank 51 coincide with each other. . Accordingly, the front and rear transmission rods 52 move up and down at the same timing.

  A blade support frame 55 that supports the ear cutting blade 32 is pivotally supported at the lower end of the transmission rod 52. The blade support frame 55 has a rectangular frame shape in plan view, a long plate-shaped side frame 55a that is disposed on the left and right and extends in the front-rear direction, a plate-shaped front frame 55b that connects the front end portions, and a rear It is comprised from the plate-shaped back flame | frame 55c which connects between edge parts. The lower end portion of the transmission rod 52 is pivotally supported at the left and right center portions of the front frame 55b and the rear frame 55c of the blade support frame 55 (see FIG. 8).

  As shown in FIG. 7, the blade support frame 55 is also supported by a guide portion 57 provided on the frame body 30. The guide portion 57 includes four guide rods 57a extending in the vertical direction and a rod receiving portion 57b that is inserted through the guide rod 57a and slides in the vertical direction along the guide rod 57a. . The rod receiving portion 57b has a cylindrical shape, and is attached to each of the left and right portions of the blade support frame 55 in the front-rear direction with its axis oriented in the vertical direction. The guide rod 57a inserted through the rod receiving portion 57a has an upper end and a lower end fixed to the top plate 30a and the bottom plate 30b of the frame 30, respectively. When the electric motor 40 is driven and the transmission rod 52 of the transmission mechanism 50 moves up and down, the guide portion 57 moves the blade support frame 55 accurately in the vertical direction along the guide rod 57a.

  Two pairs of ear cutting blades 32 that are paired with each other are supported at two locations, the rear portion and the front portion of the blade support frame 55, and the pair of ear cutting blades 32 on the rear side are arranged before and after the bread piece 1B. A front and rear ear cutting blade 32A for cutting the ear portion 1C is formed, and the pair of front ear cutting blades 32 forms a left and right ear cutting blade 32B for cutting the left and right ear portions 1C of the bread piece 1B. is doing. These ear cutting blades 32 (32A, 32B) are supported by a flange 60 attached to the lower portion of the blade support frame 55 via a bracket 61, and the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A supported on the rear side. The left and right ear cutting blades 32B supported on the front side are provided in different directions.

  FIG. 9 is an enlarged side view showing a part of FIG. 7 in order to explain the configuration of the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A. As shown in FIG. 9, the left and right side frames 55a of the blade support frame 55 (only the right side frame 55a is shown in FIG. 9) have flanges 60 for attaching the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A. Two are attached along the side frame 55a so as to protrude downward. The flange 60 has a rectangular plate shape, and is provided so that the front and back surfaces thereof face in the left-right direction. Each flange 60 is formed with bolt holes 60a and 60b that are disposed relatively front and rear, and the bracket 61 is fastened to the flange 60 by a bolt 63 passed through the bolt holes 60a and 60b.

  The bracket 61 includes a fastening plate 61a fastened to the flange 60 and a horizontally long plate-like support plate 61b that supports the ear cutting blades 32 and 32 constituting the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A. The pair of brackets 61 is configured such that one support plate 61b is installed between two fastening plates 61a arranged opposite to the left and right (see also FIG. 8). The fastening plate 61 a at the end of the bracket 61 is bolted to the flange 60. The front and rear ear cutting blades 32A are attached to the lower part of the support plate 61b of the bracket 61.

  As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the front / rear ear cutting blade 32A has a cutting edge 65 extending linearly in the left-right direction, and the base 66 is supported by the support plate 61b with the cutting edge 65 facing downward. . Further, the front / rear ear cutting blade 32A is composed of a single blade having a bladed portion 67 on only one surface, and the bladed portion 67 is provided outward. That is, as shown in FIG. 9, of the two front and rear ear cutting blades 32 constituting the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A, the rear ear cutting blade 32 is provided with the bladed portion 67 facing backward, and the front side The ear cutting blade 32 is provided with the bladed portion 67 facing forward. Accordingly, the two front and rear ear cutting blades 32 are opposed to each other on a flat surface where the bladed portion 67 does not exist.

  Also, as shown in FIG. 9, of the bolt holes 60a, 60b provided in the flange 60, one bolt hole 60a is formed in a substantially oval shape, and the other bolt hole 60b is formed in a perfect circle shape. Yes. Specifically, of the two flanges 60 arranged in the front-rear direction, the rear flange 60 is formed with a substantially oval bolt hole 60a on the rear side and a perfect bolt hole 60b on the front side. . In the front flange 60, a substantially oval bolt hole 60a is formed on the front side, and a perfect circular bolt hole 60b is formed on the rear side. Further, the shape of the bolt hole 60a will be described in more detail. The bolt hole 60a has a substantially oval shape extending in an arc shape with the other bolt hole 60b as the center.

  Accordingly, when the bolts 63 are passed through the bolt holes 60a and 60b and the bracket 61 is attached to the flange 60 with play, the bolts 63 passed through the bolt holes 60a can be moved up and down substantially in the vertical direction. It is possible to adjust the inclination angle of the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A supported by. In FIG. 9, the front and rear ear cutting blades 32 constituting the front and rear ear cutting blades 32 </ b> A are adjusted so that the distance between them becomes larger toward the lower side (that is, opened downward in a side view). Thus, the bolt 63 is fastened and the bracket 61 is fixed to the flange 60. Further, the ear cutting blade 32 at this time has an inclination angle α of about 5 degrees with respect to the vertical direction (see a two-dot chain line in FIG. 9). In addition, what is necessary is just to adjust this angle (alpha) suitably in the range of 3 to 7 degree | times according to conditions, such as the thickness and hardness of bread piece 1B to cut | disconnect, and environment (humidity and temperature).

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 7, the left and right ear cutting blades 32B supported by the front portion of the blade support frame 55 are configured such that the pair of ear cutting blades 32 constituting the left and right ear cutting blades 32 face the front and back surfaces in the front-back direction. Are arranged. Each ear cutting blade 32 is supported by the blade support frame 55 via the bracket 61 and the flange 60 similar to those described above. However, distance d _B of the cutting edge 65 of the pair of ear cutting blades 32 constituting the right and left ear cutting blade 32B, rather than the separation distance d _A of the cutting edge 65 of the pair of ear cutting blade 32 forming the front and back ear cutting blade 32A It is set to be small (see FIG. 1). Such front and rear ear cutting blades 32 </ b> A and left and right ear cutting blades 32 </ b> B move up and down as the electric motor 40 is driven.

  As shown in FIG. 7, a mounting table 33 that supports the frame 30 is provided below the ear cutting blade 32. Specifically, in the present embodiment, the mounting belt 33 is used as the second belt conveyor 70, A third belt conveyor 71 and a fourth belt conveyor 72 are provided. The second belt conveyor 70 is disposed below the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A positioned relatively rearward, and is connected to a motor (not shown) to rotate, and is driven and elastically wound around these pulleys. A belt 70c made of a material is provided. The third belt conveyor 71 is disposed below the left and right ear cutting blades 32B positioned relatively forward, and is similarly wound around a drive pulley 71a and a driven pulley 71b that are connected to a motor (not shown) and rotated. And a belt 71c made of an elastic material. The fourth belt conveyor 72 is disposed in front of the third belt conveyor 71, and includes a driving pulley 72a, a driven pulley 72b, and a belt 72c, like the second and third belt conveyors 70 and 71. The belt 72c need not be an elastic material.

  The second belt conveyor 70, the third belt conveyor 71, and the fourth belt conveyor 72 all convey the bread piece 1B from the first belt conveyor 4 (see FIG. 1) in the same direction, and the bread piece 1B. Is substantially flush with the belts 70c to 72c. Further, a gap 75 is provided between the second belt conveyor 70 and the third belt conveyor 71 for dropping the ear portion 1C cut by the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the width of the belt 72c of the fourth belt conveyor 72 is smaller than the width of the belt 71c of the third belt conveyor 71, and is cut by the left and right ear cutting blades 32B and third. The left and right ear portions 1 </ b> C conveyed by the belt conveyor 71 fall from the side of the fourth belt conveyor 72 without being transferred to the belt 72 c of the fourth belt conveyor 72.

  In the case of the bread bread cutting device 3 as described above, the transmission mechanism 50 moves the blade support frame 55 up and down by the rotational drive of the electric motor 40. Along with this, the ear cutting blade 32 moves up and down at the same timing. The ear cutting blade 32 in the present embodiment is configured to reciprocate up and down with a stroke of about 60 mm. When the ear cutting blade 32 is positioned at the lowest position, the cutting edge 65 of the ear cutting blade 32 includes the second belt conveyor 70 and the second belt conveyor 70. The belt 70c and 71c of the 3-belt conveyor 71 are slightly bitten into the upper surface.

  Next, the cutting operation of the ear portion 1C from the bread piece 1B by the bread cutting device 3 will be described mainly with reference to FIG. As described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 6, the bread piece 1 </ b> B obtained by slicing the bread 1 </ b> A with the bread cutter 7 is conveyed by the first belt conveyor 4, and the second belt of the bread cutting machine 3. Transferred onto the belt 70c of the conveyor 70. The second belt conveyor 70 detects the position of the bread piece 1B on the belt 70c by a sensor (not shown), and stops the bread piece 1B at a predetermined position below the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A.

  The stopped bread pieces 1B are cut at the front and rear ear portions 1C by the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A that are lowered by the drive of the electric motor 40 (see the second step shown in FIG. 1). At this time, the lowered front / rear ear cutting blade 32A has its cutting edge 65 slightly bites into the upper surface of the belt 70c, so that the ear portion 1C can be reliably cut from the bread piece 1B. Further, the pair of ear cutting blades 32 constituting the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A are provided so as to open toward the lower blade edge 65 as described with reference to FIG. Therefore, in the bread piece 1B after cutting the ear portion 1C, it is difficult to round the intersection between the upper surface and the cut surface, and a suitable corner can be formed. Further, the pair of ear cutting blades 32 are provided so that the flat surfaces face each other with the bladed portion 67 facing outward (ie, front and rear), so that the cut surfaces can be formed more flat. .

  When the front and rear ear portions 1C are cut by the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A and the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A are raised and reach a predetermined position or more, the second belt conveyor 70 is driven again. Then, the bread piece 1B on the belt 70c is transferred onto the belt 71c of the next third belt conveyor 71. At this time, the cut ear portion 1C left on the belt 70c of the second belt conveyor 70 is dropped and removed from the gap 75 provided between the second belt conveyor 70 and the third belt conveyor 71. (See FIG. 7).

  The third belt conveyor 71 detects the position of the bread piece 1B transferred on the belt 71c by a sensor (not shown), and stops the bread piece 1B at a predetermined position below the left and right ear cutting blades 32B. The left and right ear portions 1D of the stopped bread piece 1B are cut by the left and right ear cutting blades 32B that are lowered by the drive of the electric motor 40 to obtain a sandwich pan 1E (third step shown in FIG. 1). See). The left and right ear cutting blades 32B and the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A are the same except for the direction of the cutting edge 65, and the other configurations are the same. Therefore, as described above, the ear portion 1D can be cut reliably. A suitable corner can be formed at the intersection between the upper surface of the sandwich pan 1E after cutting and the cut surface, and the cut surface can be formed flat.

  When the left and right ear portions 1D are cut by the left and right ear cutting blades 32B and the left and right ear cutting blades 32B are raised and reach a predetermined position or more, the third belt conveyor 71 is driven again. The sandwich pan 1E on the belt 71c is transferred onto the belt 72c of the next fourth belt conveyor 72. Here, as described above, the width of the belt 72c of the fourth belt conveyor 72 is smaller than that of the belt 71c of the third belt conveyor 71 (see FIG. 1). Therefore, the sandwich pan 1E is transferred onto the belt 72c of the fourth belt conveyor 72 in the ear portion 1D that has been cut off by the left and right ear cutting blades 32B and left on the left and right portions of the belt 71c of the third belt conveyor 71. In this case, the belt 72c is dropped and removed from the left and right sides (see FIG. 7). In this way, the bread piece 1B that has passed through the bread cutting device 3 has the front and rear and left and right ear portions 1C and 1D cut away, and the sandwich bread 1E is obtained.

  In the present embodiment, when the bread piece 1B obtained by slicing with the bread cutter 7 is rectangular, the bread piece 1B is placed on the first belt conveyor 4 with the short side back and forth. In this case, in the bread cutting device 3, the ear portion 1C corresponding to the front and rear short sides is excised in the first second step, and the ear portion 1D corresponding to the left and right long sides is excised in the next third step. In the bread piece 1B, the ear portions 1C and 1D are relatively harder than the other portions. Therefore, by cutting the ear portion 1D that is longer than the ear portion 1C in the third step, the second step to the third step are performed. During the process, it becomes easy to maintain the shape or posture of the bread piece 1B. As a result, the ear portion 1D can be cut more accurately in the third step.

  In the above description, the ear cutting blades 32 (the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A and the left and right ear cutting blades 32B) always move up and down during a series of operations for cutting the ear portions 1C and 1D by the bread cutting device 3. However, the ear cutting blade 32 may be stopped at the upper position each time the second step and the third step are completed for each bread piece 1B.

  FIG. 10 is a drawing showing a configuration of one unit 80 constituting the bread bun cutting device 3 as another example of the structure of the bread bun cutting device 3. The unit 80 has a configuration in which the front-rear dimension is shortened by removing the configuration related to the left and right ear cutting blades 32B in the bread cutting device 3 shown in FIG. The unit 80 can constitute the bread cutting device 3 by being disposed at an appropriate location in an appropriate direction so as to straddle the second to fourth belt conveyors 70 to 72 (see FIG. 7). In this case, the ear cutting blade 32 of the unit 80 can play any role of the front and rear ear cutting blades 32A and the left and right ear cutting blades 32B depending on the orientation and location when the unit 80 is disposed. High versatility. Note that most of the unit 80 shown in FIG. 10 corresponds to the configuration of the bread cutting device 3 shown in FIG. 7, and therefore, the corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted. .

  FIG. 11 is a view showing a unit 90 having a configuration different from that of the unit 80 shown in FIG. In this unit 90, two paired ear cutting blades 32 (32a, 32b) are provided so that their positions in the vertical direction are different. More specifically, the unit 90 includes a transmission mechanism 50a connected to one end of a transmission shaft 43 that rotates in conjunction with the electric motor 40, and a transmission mechanism 50b connected to the other end. These transmission mechanisms 50a and 50b are the same in basic structure as the transmission mechanism 50 (see FIG. 7) already described, but the eccentric shafts 54a and 54b provided on the respective cranks 51a and 51b are provided with the shaft core 53. The surrounding phases are shifted from each other by a predetermined angle. The blade support frame 55 that supports the ear cutting blades 32a and 32b is divided into a blade support frame 551 that supports one ear cutting blade 32a and a blade support frame 552 that supports the other ear cutting blade 32b. Yes. Due to the phase difference between the eccentric shafts 54a and 54b, the cutting edges 65 of the ear cutting blades 32a and 32b supported by the blade support frames 551 and 552 are positioned so as to be shifted in the vertical direction by a predetermined dimension d. .

  When cutting the ear portions 1C and 1D of the bread piece 1B with such a unit 90, the one ear cutting blade 32a and the other ear cutting blade 32b cut into the upper portion of the bread piece 1B at different timings. Thereby, the bread piece 1B cut | disconnected by the ear cutting blades 32a and 32b comprises the suitable shape where the cross | intersection part of an upper surface and a cut surface becomes more orthogonal. The technical reason for this is not necessarily clear, but is considered to be due to the following reasons.

  When the ear cutting blades 32a and 32b are cut into the bread piece 1B at the same timing, two contact portions with the ear cutting blades 32a and 32b are recessed on the upper surface of the bread piece 1B. At this time, the bread piece 1B is pulled to both sides between the contact portion with one ear cutting blade 32a and the contact portion with the other ear cutting blade 32b. Then, for example, the vicinity of the contact portion with one ear cutting blade 32a is pulled toward the contact portion with the other ear cutting blade 32b. As a result, when one of the ear cutting blades 32a is further lowered, the ear cutting blade 32a cuts a portion outside the desired position of the bread piece 1B. That is, the ear cutting blade 32a first contacts the upper surface of the bread piece 1B and then cuts the portion outside the first contact location as it descends. Accordingly, when the bread piece 1B is cut at the same timing by the ear cutting blades 32a and 32b, the upper surface of the cutting surface by the ear cutting blade 32a is rounded, and a suitable corner cannot be formed at the intersection between the upper surface and the cutting surface. There is. The same applies to the cut surface of the other ear cutting blade 32b.

  On the other hand, when the ear cutting blades 32a and 32b are cut into the bread piece 1B at different timings by the unit 90 as shown in FIG. 11, one ear cutting blade 32a is cut into the bread piece 1B. Since the other ear cutting blade 32b does not contact the bread piece 1B, the bread piece 1B is not pulled to both sides as described above. Therefore, even if the ear cutting blade 32a is lowered after first contacting the upper surface of the bread piece 1B, the vertical lower position of the first contact portion can be cut almost accurately. Thereby, the cut surface by the ear cutting blade 32a becomes flat, and a suitable corner can be formed at the intersection of the upper surface and the cut surface.

  Here, regarding the phase difference between the eccentric shafts 54a and 54b, that is, the shift dimension d of the cutting edge 65 of the ear cutting blades 32a and 32b, one ear cutting blade 32a cuts the ear portion 1C of the bread piece 1B. In the meantime, it can set so that the other ear cutting blade 32b may contact | abut on the upper surface of the bread piece 1B. Specifically, the dimension d can be within the thickness dimension of the sandwich pan 1E to be manufactured. In this case, since the position of the bread piece 1B is fixed by the one ear cutting blade 32a, it is difficult for the bread piece 1B to be displaced, and the other ear cutting blade 32b is easy to cut an appropriate position.

  Note that a part of the unit 90 shown in FIG. 11 corresponds to the configuration of the unit 80 shown in FIG. 10, and therefore, the corresponding components are denoted by the same reference numerals and description thereof is omitted.

  The present invention is to cut bread for obtaining a high-quality sandwich bread with high merchantability by forming a corner or a cut surface of a preferable shape while cutting an ear portion from a sliced bread (bread piece) obtained by slicing. It can be applied to the device.

It is a whole top view which shows the bread baking apparatus provided with the bread bun cutting device which concerns on embodiment of this invention. It is the side view which looked at the bread processing apparatus shown in FIG. 1 from the II arrow direction. It is a schematic diagram which shows the outline of the process of manufacturing the bread for sandwiches using the bread processing apparatus shown in FIG. It is a side view which expands the bread cutter shown in FIG. 1 and shows the schematic structure. It is the top view which looked at the bread cutter shown in FIG. 4 from the V arrow direction. It is the front view which looked at the bread cutter shown in FIG. 4 from VI direction. It is a side view which shows the structure of the bread cutting device which bears the 2nd process and 3rd process which are shown in FIG. It is the rear view which looked at the bread cutting apparatus shown in FIG. 7 from the VIII arrow direction. It is a side view which expands and shows a part in FIG. 7 in order to demonstrate the structure of the front and rear ear cutting blades. It is drawing which shows the structure of one unit which comprises a bread-bread cutting apparatus as another structural example of a bread-bread cutting apparatus. It is drawing which shows the unit which has a structure different from the unit shown in FIG.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Bread processing apparatus 1A Bread 1B Bread piece 1C, 1D Ear part 1E Sandwich bread 3 Bread cutting device 5 Control part 31 Drive part 32, 32a, 32b Ear cutting blade 32A Front and rear ear cutting blade 32B Left and right ear cutting blade 33 Mounting stand 40 Electric motor 50, 50a, 50b Transmission mechanism 51 Crank 53 Rotating shaft core 54, 54a Eccentric shaft 65 Cutting edge 70 Second belt conveyor 71 Third belt conveyor 72 Fourth belt conveyor 60a, 60b Bolt hole 80, 90 Unit

Claims (8)

A bread cutting apparatus for cutting an ear portion from a rectangular bread piece obtained by slicing bread, wherein the bread piece is placed on top of the placing base with the straight blade edge facing downward An ear cutting blade disposed on the head, and a drive unit that moves the ear cutting blade up and down ,
The ear cutting blades are provided in pairs corresponding to the ear portions located on the two opposite sides of the bread piece, and the ear cutting blades are vertically arranged so that the distance between them becomes larger toward the lower side. bread cutting device, characterized that you have provided obliquely with respect to the direction.   The bread cutting apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the ear cutting blade is composed of a single blade having a bladed portion only on one surface, and is provided with the bladed portion facing outward. The bread bread cutting device according to claim 1 or 2 , wherein an inclination angle of the ear cutting blade with respect to a vertical direction is in a range of 3 degrees to 7 degrees. The bread cutting apparatus according to any one of claims 1 to 3 , wherein each of the paired ear cutting blades is configured such that the timing of contacting the bread piece when lowered is different from each other. The pair of ear cutting blades are configured to operate at a timing when the other ear cutting blade contacts the bread piece while one ear cutting blade cuts the ear portion of the bread piece. The bread cutting apparatus according to claim 4 , wherein The mounting table is bread cutting device according to any one of claims 1 to 5 the cutting edge of the ear cutting blade which descends in contact with the floor surface, characterized in that it consists of elastic material. The mounting table includes a conveyor that conveys the placed bread pieces, and two pairs of the ear cutting blades are provided along the conveying direction of the bread pieces, and one pair of the ear cutting blades claim, characterized in that the provided so as cutting edges along the transport direction of the bread, ear cutting blade of the other pair are provided so as cutting edge perpendicular to the conveying direction of the bread pieces 1 The bread bread cutting device according to any one of 1 to 6 . The pair of ear cutting blades arranged on the upstream side in the conveyance direction of the bread pieces are provided so that the separation distance between the opposed blade edges is larger than that of the pair of ear cutting blades arranged on the downstream side. The bread cutting device according to claim 7 .

Images