JP4579280B2 - Stamping device for cooked rice food - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a stamping device for cooked rice food for shaping cooked rice food with food ingredients placed on the upper surface thereof, such as hand-made sushi and nigiri sushi.

  Conventionally, the cooked rice has been supplied directly to the mold and formed into a predetermined shape by pressing. In this case, in order to reliably join the cooked rice grains, pre-cooled cooked rice is used. Because of being over-pressed by the mold, the resulting molded product was harder and compacted than handmade. In addition, the shape was limited to make it easy to release, and the corners were also rounded, and the change and appearance were poor.

  Thus, as described in Patent Document 1, the present inventors have proposed a cooked rice food molding apparatus that can be molded in a plump state without the rice being compacted and can prevent leakage of the inner material. In this cooked rice food forming apparatus, cooked rice loosened by the supply mechanism is shaped into a cooked rice sheet of a predetermined thickness by the sheet forming mechanism, and the both sides of the cooked rice sheet by the sealing member while being transported by the sealing conveyor in the sealing mechanism Is formed into a cooked rice stick-shaped body, the cooked rice stick-shaped body is divided into a predetermined length by a dividing mechanism, and shaped into a predetermined shape by a mold in a shaping mechanism.

Further, Patent Document 2 describes a manufacturing apparatus that manufactures hand-made sushi by forming sushi rice using a mold composed of an upper mold, a middle mold, and a lower mold. Moreover, in patent document 3, while connecting with the lower molding member made from a thin-walled resin which has the lower molding hollow part which shape | molds the lower part of Tesushi sushi, and one edge of this lower molding member, it is possible to rotate. There is described a hand-made sushi molding container comprising an upper molding member made of thin-walled resin having an upper molding recess for molding the upper part of sushi.
JP 2006-075114 A JP 2006-340605 A JP 2007-54025 A

  With the growing interest in Japanese food, demand for cooked rice foods such as onigiri and sushi is increasing, and rice balls that have been wrapped in traditional ingredients such as plums and kelp are being offered. Yes. Moreover, as for sushi, in addition to nigiri sushi placed with conventional seafood as material, as described in the above-mentioned prior art, hand-made sushi having a spherical shape has been proposed.

  Such a new type of cooked rice food, as described in Patent Documents 2 and 3, because the space surrounded by the mold has a constant volume when the upper mold and the lower mold are compressed and molded, If the amount of cooked rice is not adjusted accordingly, the amount of rice grains will be too small or too large, and the rice grains will be crushed and the texture will deteriorate.

  In addition, in the case of ingredients whose volume of ingredients placed on the rice is not constant, if the amount of cooked rice is not adjusted according to the change in volume, the rice grains will be easily broken or the rice grains will be crushed and the texture will be There is a problem that it is difficult to produce products of a certain quality, such as worsening, and production efficiency is poor.

  Therefore, the present invention is a method for stamping cooked rice food that can be shaped with a certain quality without losing or crushing the grain of rice that is formed in a predetermined size and has food on the top surface. The object is to provide an apparatus.

  A rice food stamping apparatus according to the present invention is a rice food stamping apparatus which is formed in a predetermined amount and shapes a cooked rice body having food on its upper surface. And a conveying means for conveying the cooked rice body to the stamping position, and a support for supporting the conveyor belt from the lower surface and forming a relief portion where the conveyor belt can be bent downward at a portion corresponding to the stamping position. A pair of horizontal molds that are pressed against the cooked rice body from the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveying direction at the stamping position; an upper mold that is pressed against the cooked rice body from above at the stamped position; and the horizontal mold And a moving means for moving the upper mold to the stamping position. Further, the present invention is characterized by further comprising separation means for ejecting compressed air from the mold surface of the upper mold to separate the food material from the mold surface. Further, the moving means includes a position adjusting means for adjusting the vertical position of the upper mold. Further, the horizontal mold and the upper mold are characterized in that the mold surfaces are curved so as to shape the cooked rice into a spherical shape. Further, the horizontal mold and the upper mold are characterized in that the mold surfaces are curved so as to shape the cooked rice body into a nigiri sushi shape.

  Since the present invention has the above-described configuration, the conveyor belt has elasticity, and the support base is formed with a relief portion that can bend the conveyor belt. When stamping while enclosing the body, even if the volume of food changes or there are many cooked rice bodies, the conveyor belt is curved and compressed so that it bulges to the escape part, so it always has a constant quality. Can be stamped.

  And since the bottom surface of the cooked rice body is curved and formed by the conveyor belt, the whole can be finished in a curved surface like the cooked rice food such as hand-made sushi and nigiri sushi. Moreover, since the stamping operation is performed while being placed on the conveyor belt, the loading operation to the stamping position and the unloading operation after stamping can be performed in a short time, which can greatly improve the production efficiency. It becomes.

  In addition, by providing separation means that ejects compressed air from the mold surface of the upper mold and separates the ingredients from the mold surface, ingredients such as sushi material stick to the mold surface of the upper mold during stamping Can be reliably separated from the mold surface. Since the food is pressed downward by the compressed air, the food can be sufficiently bonded to the cooked rice, and the cooked rice is also pressed downward at that time, but the conveyor belt is curved to the escape portion. Thus, it is possible to prevent the bulge from being excessively pressed.

  In addition, by providing a position adjustment means that adjusts the vertical position of the upper mold, it is possible to adjust the position of the upper mold when stamping according to the size of the food and the amount of cooked rice. The position of the upper mold can be finely adjusted to always achieve a constant quality. Therefore, it is not necessary to change the mold according to the food material, and the production cost can be reduced.

  Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail based on embodiments shown in the accompanying drawings. The embodiments described below are preferable specific examples for carrying out the present invention, and thus various technical limitations are made. However, the present invention is particularly limited in the following description. Unless otherwise specified, the present invention is not limited to these forms.

  FIG. 1: has shown the schematic front view (FIG.1 (a)) and top view (FIG.1 (b)) regarding embodiment which concern on this invention. In the stamping device 1, three conveyors 30, 40 and 50 are arranged on the upper part of the main body frame 10 from the upstream side to the downstream side in the conveyance direction, and the conveyor conveyors 30 and 50 on both the left and right sides are continuously conveyed. It is carried out. Moreover, the conveyance conveyor 40 in the central portion is controlled so as to be temporarily stopped when the rice division reaches the substantially central position of the conveyance conveyor 40 when a rice division is detected by a sensor (not shown). Further, the pre-shaping mechanism 11 is installed on the upper part of the transport conveyor 30, and the mold operating mechanism 20 having a pair of horizontal molds 60 and an upper mold 61 is installed on the upper part of the transport conveyor 40.

  The cooked rice formed in a predetermined amount is conveyed by the work conveyor 100 and is carried into the conveyor 30. What is necessary is just to shape | mold a rice body using the well-known apparatus as described in patent document 1, and a well-known sushi ball formation apparatus. While the formed cooked rice body is conveyed on the work conveyor 100, the food material is manually placed on the upper surface. Examples of the ingredients to be placed include ingredients conventionally used as sushi ingredients, such as squid, tuna, shime-saba, toro, bonito, shrimp, octopus, scallops, egg, salmon, salmon, and geso. Can be mentioned. When placing the ingredients, ingredients such as wasabi may be applied to the top surface of the cooked rice.

  The front shaping mechanism 11 includes an abutting plate 111 and a pair of abutting plates 112. The abutting plate 111 is disposed so as to cross the conveying direction and is provided to move up and down by driving means (not shown). ing. In the lowered position, it is set so as to block the conveying path of the cooked rice, and in the raised position, it is set so as to be retracted so that the cooked rice can pass. The pair of abutting plates 112 are set so that the abutting surfaces are slightly inclined so that the front ends thereof are inward with respect to the transport direction, and are controlled to move toward and away from each other by a driving unit (not shown). The

  When the cooked rice is transferred from the work conveyor 100 to the transport conveyor 30 and reaches a predetermined position, the abutting plate 111 is lowered by the detection signal from a detection sensor (not shown) and set at the blocking position. Then, the pair of contact plates 112 are driven and moved so as to approach each other at the timing when the tip of the cooked rice comes into contact with the butting plate 111, and comes into contact with the cooked rice from both sides. Therefore, the rice grains on both sides of the cooked rice body are pressed against each other, and both sides are pre-shaped, so that the shaping operation by the next mold can be performed stably.

  The mold operating mechanism 20 is provided such that a pair of support members 211 protrudes along the conveying direction from both sides of the mounting base 210 that is moved up and down by driving means such as an air cylinder. The pair of support members 211 is controlled to move toward or away from each other along the transport direction by a driving unit such as an air chuck. An arm member 212 protrudes from the pair of support members 211 above the conveyor 40, and a horizontal die 60 is attached to the tip of each arm member 212. For this reason, the pair of horizontal dies 60 are respectively arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side in the transport direction.

  Further, an arm member 213 is provided above the mounting base 210 so as to protrude above the conveyor 40, and an upper die 61 is suspended from the tip of the arm member 213. The upper die 61 is moved up and down by the arm member 213 moving up and down by a driving means such as an air cylinder provided on the mounting base 210.

  The arm member 213 is attached to driving means such as an air cylinder by an adjustment screw portion 214 that is a position adjustment means, and adjusts the vertical position of the arm member 213 by rotating an operation knob of the adjustment screw portion 14. be able to.

  FIG. 2 is an explanatory view showing the stamping operation of the mold movement mechanism 20. When the cooked rice body is carried into the transport conveyor 40 from the transport conveyor 30, the arrival of the cooked rice body A on which the food B is placed is detected by a detection sensor (not shown). Based on the detection signal from the detection sensor, the conveyance belt 41 is controlled to move so that the rice body A is moved to a stamping position set at a substantially intermediate position between the conveyance rollers 43 and 44 of the conveyance conveyor 40 and stopped ( FIG. 2 (a)). A support base 42 is disposed between the transport rollers 43 and 44 so as to contact the lower surface of the transport belt 41.

  When the cooked rice body A is set at the stamping position, the mounting base 210 is lowered, the pair of horizontal molds 60 and the upper mold 61 are moved downward, and the lower surface of the horizontal mold 60 is brought into contact with the upper surface of the conveyor belt 41. The setting is made (FIG. 2B). The pair of horizontal dies 60 are set at positions separated from each other, and the rice body A is set at a substantially intermediate position of the horizontal dies 60. The upper mold 61 is set above the set rice bowl A.

  Next, the pair of horizontal molds 60 are moved close to each other so as to be fitted, and pressed by the horizontal mold 60 so as to surround the periphery of the cooked rice A (FIG. 2 (c)). Then, the upper die 61 is lowered and pressed so as to come into contact with the food B placed on the upper surface of the cooked rice A to perform stamping (FIG. 2D).

  3 is a cross-sectional view (FIG. 3A) in which the horizontal mold 60 and the upper mold 61 and the support base 42 are cut along the transport direction, and a plan view of the transport conveyor 40 viewed from above (FIG. 3B). is there. A spherical concave portion 42a is curvedly formed on the upper surface of the support base 42 corresponding to the stamping position.

  A spherical mold surface 61a is formed on the lower surface of the upper mold 61, and the mold surface 61a and the recess 42a are set along one spherical surface in a state where the upper mold 61 is lowered. The conveyor belt 41 is made of an elastic thin sheet material, and when the upper die 61 is pressed against the upper surface of the rice body A, the conveyor belt 41 is curved and deformed into the recess 42a by the pressing force of the upper die 61. . In this way, the concave portion 42a serves as a relief portion of the conveyor belt 41 during the stamping operation, and a spherical stamping operation can be performed.

  In this example, the shape of the concave portion 42a is formed in a curved shape, but the shape of the concave portion 42 may be formed in any shape as long as the conveyor belt 41 can be curved and deformed into a curved shape. Alternatively, a hole that penetrates the support base 42 may be used. In addition to the circular shape in plan view, it may be formed in an elliptical shape or the like according to the shape to be stamped.

  A plurality of air holes 611 are formed in the mold surface 61 a of the upper mold 61, and these air holes 611 communicate with the air reservoir 612. The air reservoir 612 is connected to an air compressor (not shown) through a vent pipe 613, and the food B that adheres to the mold surface 61a when the upper mold 61 ascends by ejecting compressed air from the air holes 611. Can be separated cleanly.

  4 is a top view (FIG. 4A) and a cross-sectional view taken along the line XX (FIG. 4B) regarding the horizontal mold 60. FIG. The horizontal mold 60 includes a divided concave mold 60a and a divided convex mold 60b, and each mold surface 62a and 62b is formed in a curved surface shape obtained by dividing a cylindrical curved surface into which the upper mold is inserted. Then, the divided concave mold 60a and the divided convex mold 60b are fitted, and the mold surfaces 62a and 62b are set to be flush with each other and formed into a cylindrical surface.

  FIG. 5 is a top view (FIG. 5A), a YY sectional view (FIG. 5B), and a bottom view (FIG. 5C) regarding the upper die 61. FIG. The upper die 61 is formed with a circular flange-shaped attachment portion 61b at the upper portion, and a fitting portion 61c having a hemispherical die surface 61a is suspended from the center of the lower surface thereof. A ventilation pipe 613 is attached to the attachment portion 61b so as to communicate with the air reservoir 612. The air reservoir 612 communicates with the blow hole 611 formed in the mold surface 61a. Then, after the molded rice body is stamped and molded, compressed air is ejected from the jet holes 611 in order to quickly release the molded product from the mold surface 61a. . The jetted compressed air spreads over the entire surface of the food material along the mold surface 61a, and acts to reliably separate the food material from the mold surface when the upper mold 61 rises.

  FIG. 6 is a top view showing a process of performing a stamping operation by the horizontal mold 60 and the upper mold 61, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view in the transport direction in each process. The rice body A having the food B placed on the upper surface is pre-shaped in the transport conveyor 30 and transferred to the transport conveyor 40. When the pre-shaped rice body A reaches the stamping position, the transport conveyor 40 is temporarily stopped. Is controlled. Then, the mounting base 210 of the mold operation mechanism 20 is lowered so that the horizontal molds 60a and 60b abut on the conveyor surface on the upstream side and the downstream side, respectively, in the conveying direction of the cooked rice A (FIG. 6 (a) and FIG. 7 (a)).

  Next, the horizontal dies 60a and 60b are moved and controlled so as to be fitted close to each other, and the horizontal dies 60a and 60b are pressed from both sides of the cooked rice A (FIGS. 6B and 7B). In this state, the rice body A is compressed by the horizontal molds 60a and 60b so as to be surrounded by a cylindrical shape, and the upper part on which the food A is placed slightly rises.

  Next, movement control is performed so that the upper mold 61 descends from above while the horizontal mold 60 is in close contact, and the horizontal mold 60 is fitted into the upper portion of the horizontal mold 60 so as to close the lid (FIG. 6 (c) and FIG. 7 (c)). In this state, the hemispherical mold surface of the upper mold 61 is pressed against the food B, and the food B is firmly adhered to the upper surface of the cooked rice and the upper surface is shaped into a hemisphere. At this time, since the recess 42a is formed on the upper surface of the support base 42 disposed below the conveyor belt 41, the conveyor belt 41 is curved and deformed into the recess 42a by the pressing force of the upper mold 61. The bottom surface of A is also shaped into a hemisphere.

  By performing the stamping operation using the curved deformation of the elastic conveyor belt in this manner, the conveyor belt is curved so that the conveyor belt bulges to the escape portion even when the volume of the food B changes or when the cooked rice A is large. As a result, compression is appropriately performed, and stamping shaping can always be performed with a constant quality.

  And since the bottom surface of the cooked rice body is curved and formed by the conveyor belt, the whole can be finished in a curved surface like the cooked rice food such as hand-made sushi and nigiri sushi. Moreover, since the stamping operation is performed while being placed on the conveyor belt, the loading operation to the stamping position and the unloading operation after stamping can be performed in a short time, which can greatly improve the production efficiency. It becomes.

  After punching is performed by the horizontal mold 60 and the upper mold 61, compressed air is introduced into the upper mold 61, and the mold is separated while the compressed air is ejected from the blow holes formed in the mold surface. This is performed (FIG. 18 (d)). Such a mold release operation can prevent a trouble that the food B is separated from the cooked rice body A while sticking to the upper mold 61. In addition, since the food B is pressed downward by the compressed air, the food B can be sufficiently bonded to the cooked rice A. At that time, the cooked rice A is also pressed downward, but the conveyor belt 41 is Prevents bulging out into the recess 42a and excessive pressing.

  After the mold release operation, the conveyor 40 is driven again to convey the molded product C and transferred to the conveyor 50 (FIG. 7 (e)).

  FIG. 8 is a perspective view (FIG. 8A) and a cross-sectional view (FIG. 8B) regarding the molded product C. The molded product C is stamped into a spherical hand-made sushi by a mold, and is stuck to the outer surface of the cooked rice A with the food B exposed.

  9 and 10 are a perspective view and a cross-sectional view of the nigiri sushi type molded articles C ′ and C ″. In the molded article C ″, there is an ingredient D such as wasabi between the ingredient B ″ and the cooked rice A ″. Built in. Even in the case of slender cooked rice food such as the nigiri sushi type, it can be formed by the above-described forming method.

  In this case, the stamping operation may be performed by setting the length of the cooked rice on which the food is placed long. The upper die and the horizontal die used in this case can be punched reliably by using the one shown in FIGS.

  FIG. 11 is a top view (FIG. 11A) and a X′-X ′ cross-sectional view (FIG. 11B) regarding the horizontal mold 60 ′. The horizontal mold 60 ′ is composed of divided molds 60 ′ a and 60 ′ b, and the respective mold surfaces 62 ′ a and 62 ′ b are obtained by vertically dividing an elongated elliptical cylindrical surface into two vertically like nigiri sushi in plan view. It is formed in a curved surface shape. Then, the divided molds 60'a and 60'b are joined, and the mold surfaces 62'a and 62'b are set to be flush with each other, and formed into an elliptical cylindrical surface.

  12 is a top view (FIG. 12A), a Y′-Y ′ cross-sectional view (FIG. 12B), and a bottom view (FIG. 12C) regarding the upper die 61 ′. The upper mold 61 ′ has a circular flange-shaped attachment portion 61′b formed in the upper portion, and a fitting portion 61′c in which an elliptical mold surface 61′a is formed in the center of the lower surface. Is suspended. The mold surface 61'a is formed in a curved surface so as to rise toward the periphery at the outer peripheral portion.

  A ventilation pipe 613 ′ is attached to the attachment portion 61′b so as to communicate with the air reservoir 612 ′. From the air reservoir 612 ′ to a plurality of air holes 611 ′ formed on the mold surface 61′a. Communicate. Then, after the cooked rice body is stamped and molded, compressed air is ejected from the jet holes 611 'in order to quickly release the molded product from the mold surface 61'a. The jetted compressed air reaches the entire surface of the food material along the mold surface 61'a, and acts to reliably separate the food material from the mold surface when the upper mold 61 'moves up.

  Using the upper mold and the horizontal mold as shown in FIGS. 11 and 12, the nigiri sushi can be formed by performing the above-described stamping operation on the cooked rice with the ingredients placed on the upper surface.

  In this way, the shape of the molded product can be easily changed by exchanging the horizontal and upper molds. Besides these shapes, rice balls such as triangles and bowls, sushi, other chestnuts, Molded products having various outer shapes such as hexagons, rhombuses, and rolls can be obtained.

  Further, by adjusting the lowering position of the upper die 61 by the adjusting screw portion 214 which is a position adjusting means, it is possible to adjust the hardness of the molded product to be harder or softer. Further, the hardness of the molded product can be adjusted by adjusting the pressing force at the time of stamping by adjusting the driving force of the driving means for moving the upper die 61 in the vertical direction.

  As described above, by using the rice food stamping apparatus according to the present invention, a type of rice food such as nigiri sushi or hand sushi with various ingredients placed on the upper surface can be formed. In addition, as rice, other than white rice, rice using glutinous rice such as red rice and wild vegetables or mixed rice in which other ingredients are mixed with these rice may be used.

It is the schematic front view and top view regarding embodiment which concern on this invention. It is explanatory drawing which shows the stamping operation | movement of a mold movement mechanism. It is the partial sectional view regarding a type | mold movement mechanism part, and the top view regarding a conveyance conveyor. It is the top view and sectional drawing regarding a horizontal type. It is the top view regarding an upper mold | type, sectional drawing, and a bottom view. It is explanatory drawing which shows the process of shaping by a horizontal type | mold and an upper type | mold. It is sectional drawing of the conveyance direction in each process of FIG. It is the perspective view and sectional drawing regarding a molded article. It is the perspective view and sectional drawing regarding another molded article. It is the perspective view and sectional drawing regarding another molded article. It is the top view and sectional drawing regarding a horizontal type. It is the top view regarding an upper mold | type, sectional drawing, and a bottom view.

Explanation of symbols

A Cooked rice B Food material C Molded product D Food material 1 Stamping device
10 Body frame
11 Pre-shaping mechanism
20-type operation mechanism
30 Conveyor
40 Conveyor
41 Conveyor belt
42 Support base
50 Conveyor
60 horizontal
61 Upper mold

Claims (5)

  A punching device for cooked rice food, which is shaped to a predetermined amount and shapes a cooked rice body having food on its upper surface, and includes an elastic transport belt and transports the cooked rice body to a stamping position. Conveying means, a support base that supports the conveying belt from the lower surface and has a relief portion in which the conveying belt can be bent downward at a portion corresponding to the stamping position, and the rice body at the stamping position. On the other hand, a pair of horizontal molds pressed from the upstream side and the downstream side in the conveying direction, an upper mold pressed against the cooked rice body from above at the stamping position, and the horizontal mold and the upper mold are moved to the stamping position. A stamping device for cooked rice food, characterized by comprising a moving means.   2. The rice food stamping apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising separation means for ejecting compressed air from the mold surface of the upper mold to separate the food material from the mold surface.   The said food | money means is equipped with the position adjustment means which adjusts the up-down position of the said upper mold | type, The stamping apparatus for cooked rice foods of Claim 1 or 2 characterized by the above-mentioned.   4. The cooked rice food product stamping apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the horizontal mold and the upper mold have curved mold surfaces so as to shape the cooked rice into a spherical shape. 5.   The said horizontal type | mold and the said upper type | mold have the mold surface curvedly formed so that the said cooked rice body may be shaped in the shape of a nigiri sushi, The stamping for cooked rice foods in any one of Claim 1 to 3 apparatus.

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