JP4623736B2 - Method and apparatus for producing loose frozen food - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a method and apparatus for IQF (rose freezing) of rice, rice crackers, frozen foods including side dishes such as pilaf and fried rice, and green peas and other vegetables.

  Conventionally, loose frozen foods such as pilaf and fried rice can be frozen in a freezing chamber after being precooled in a precooling chamber while conveying rice etc. on a net conveyor to increase the cooling area for freezing, Alternatively, a method and apparatus for supplying cooked rice into a rotating drum with a net on the outer periphery, blowing cold air from the outside of the net, unwinding and freezing, and then dividing the frozen mass with a single granulator into single grains It has been known.

  In addition, in Patent Document 1 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 11-318362), the rice is transported on a belt conveyor that does not transmit air, and is cooled by blowing cooling air below the freezing point while stirring. A method and apparatus for making a single grain with a single grain apparatus after leaving the container is disclosed.

  However, the method of freezing on the above-described net conveyor and the method of freezing on the net of the rotating drum cause clogging due to adhesion of cooked rice to the holes in the net, resulting in the cooling area not necessarily increasing. Since it takes a long time to clean the net, the rice is left on the net and the next freezing operation is often performed, so the hygiene level is low from a hygienic point of view. Furthermore, many cooked rices frozen on the net are joined together in a lump and frozen, and when they are separated with a single granulator, the grains are often damaged and have good quality. It was difficult to obtain a frozen product of loose roses.

In addition, in the method and apparatus for freezing by blowing cold air while being conveyed and stirred on the belt conveyor that does not transmit the air, the cooling air below the freezing point is blown from above the belt conveyor to stir and loosen the rice while being conveyed, The frozen cooked rice after freezing is separated from the frozen grain by a single graining device after being taken out from the belt conveyor.
Since the frozen cooked rice grains are brittle, there are many grains that are broken when they are made into single grains, that is, the broken rice ratio is high and the product yield is low.

In order to solve these problems, the present inventors have previously proposed the method and apparatus disclosed in Patent Document 2 (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 2001-252028).
In this method and apparatus, food that is frozen in pieces (hereinafter referred to as “rose frozen food” including before and after freezing) is supplied to the upstream side of a conveyor having a heat conductive belt, and the belt travels from the upstream side. Divided into multiple refrigeration zones and maintained at different refrigeration temperatures for each refrigeration zone, and in each refrigeration zone, the chilling process is performed in the thawing process to freeze, and depending on the type of loose frozen food, it is transported from the conveyor. It is possible to hygienically produce a high-quality frozen frozen food that does not require a subsequent single granulation step, has a low grain breakage rate of the frozen frozen food, and has a high product yield.

JP-A-11-318362 JP 2001-252028 A

  However, as described above, when processing is performed by adding a special process such as a loosening process while being transported on the belt conveyor, it is necessary to level the belt at a high level. The belt conveyor uses a belt made of metal such as steel having a good heat transfer rate. In the unraveling step, the belt conveyor includes unraveling means composed of a pair of a stationary comb and a rotating comb having radial comb teeth that mesh with each other. The loose food is loosened by passing between the fixed comb teeth while applying a shearing force to the loose food by the teeth.

In this case, if the belt conveyor is not horizontal, there is a problem that the radial comb teeth interfere with the belt conveyor, and SUS powder or the like scraped from the belt conveyor by the radial comb teeth is mixed with the frozen frozen food as filth. Further, if the belt conveyor is not horizontal, there is a problem that food to be frozen from the belt conveyor spills out, moves on the belt, and shifts.
Also, when rotating radial comb teeth are provided on the belt as in Patent Document 2, when the radial comb teeth interfere with the belt and the belt is made of a steel belt, scraped SUS powder may be mixed into the frozen food. If the distance between the belt surface and the tip of the radial comb teeth is not accurately maintained at the set value, there is a problem that loose frozen food larger than the size is sent downstream from the gap.

  In view of the above problems, the present invention further improves the loosening effect of loose frozen foods when manufacturing such frozen frozen foods, and horizontally and vertically positions the belt conveyor for conveying the loose frozen foods. It is an object of the present invention to realize a method and an apparatus that can solve the above-mentioned problem by accurately holding it.

In order to achieve the above object, the method for producing a loose frozen food of the present invention comprises:
Supplying a loose food having a freezing temperature between 0 ° C. and −10 ° C. to the upstream side of the conveyor having a heat conductive belt, and dividing the area where the belt runs into a plurality of freezing areas from the upstream side,
In the method for producing loose frozen foods, which is maintained at different freezing temperatures for each freezing section and frozen while being unraveled in the freezing process of each freezing section,
Furthermore, in the freezing area including the supply unit of the loose food, the loose food is kept at the freezing temperature or higher, and in the freezing area where the loosening process is performed, the freezing temperature of the loose food is kept below the freezing temperature,
The unraveling step comprises at least a primary unraveling step and a secondary unraveling step,
In the primary unraveling step, a plurality of stationary comb teeth erected at a narrow interval in the width direction of the belt are meshed so that radial comb teeth rotating around a rotation axis are inserted into the narrow interval, Comprising the step of loosening the loose food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while applying a shearing force to the loose food by the radial comb teeth,
The secondary unraveling step includes a plurality of fixed comb teeth erected at a narrower interval in the widthwise direction of the belt than the fixed comb teeth of the primary unraveling step in the downstream freezing section of the primary unraveling step. The radial comb teeth rotating about the rotation axis are meshed so as to be inserted at the narrow interval, and the radial food is put on the weir while damaging the loose food with the weir provided at the base of the fixed comb tooth. It consists of a step of loosening the loose food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while giving a shearing force to the loose food by the comb teeth,
In the primary unwinding step and the secondary unraveling step, the belt surface is held horizontally and at a narrow interval that allows unwinding action between the tips of the radial comb teeth.

  When a frozen frozen food is frozen, it becomes brittle as the degree of freezing increases, and the grains of the loose frozen food may be broken during loosening. In order to control the degree of freezing and freezing state of the frozen frozen food according to the unraveling process and reduce the breakage of the loose frozen food grains, the present invention divides the frozen food into a plurality of frozen areas from upstream to downstream. The freezing is performed with the optimum degree of freezing and freezing.

  As one temperature adjustment pattern that can be applied to the present invention, the supply unit for loose frozen foods is held above the freezing temperature of the loose foods, and the loosening step is held below the freezing temperature of the loose frozen foods. . In other words, the bulk frozen food supply unit loosens a relatively large lump while keeping the frozen frozen food in a soft state by maintaining the freezing temperature or higher. This prevents breakage of loose frozen food. Next, in the primary unraveling process, it is necessary to apply a shearing force to the loose frozen food to advance the granulation.

On the other hand, in order to prevent breakage of loose frozen foods, it is necessary to give rigidity to loose frozen foods. Therefore, by keeping the temperature below the freezing temperature of loose frozen foods, the surface layer of loose frozen foods can be frozen. Stiffens the grains of loose frozen foods. A shearing force is applied to the fixed comb teeth and the rotating comb teeth to promote fine graining. In the secondary unraveling step, the temperature is further lowered to increase the brittleness while increasing the rigidity of the loose frozen food, making it easy to make fine particles up to the set particle size.
Since the freezing temperature varies depending on the recipe in pilaf and fried rice, the temperature is controlled based on these freezing temperatures.

  Another temperature adjustment pattern applicable to the present invention will be described. In the first loosening process, it is preferable to feed a plate-shaped frozen frozen food and loosen it to a certain mass. At that time, the surface layer of the mass group is frozen and hardened, but the freezing does not proceed to the inside, and the freezing conditions are controlled so that the inside is relatively soft. If it does so, it will be hard to break the particle | grains of the loose frozen food at the time of loosening in the same reason as that tofu is hard to break. The speed of the conveying belt should be higher than the supply speed of the thin plate-shaped frozen frozen food so that the loose frozen food that has been loosened into a lump group spreads without overlapping on the conveying belt.

  In the first loosening, the loose frozen food after being loosened is a relatively large lump, and in the next loosening process, the surface layer freezes inside and is frozen to an appropriate temperature that is not too low as a whole. In order to loosen it, a weak freezing zone is provided to further loosen the mass into smaller masses. In this way, the loose frozen food is loosened to an optimum temperature for each zone, and finally the frozen single frozen food is almost frozen on the conveyor belt to a predetermined temperature. Therefore, it is good to provide a weak freezing zone of 0 to −10 ° C. between a plurality of freezing zones of −20 ° C. or lower.

  Depending on the type of frozen frozen food, the freezing area is divided into three stages, and the air belt at −20 to −40 ° C. in the primary and tertiary freezing areas, and the air flow at 0 to −10 ° C. in the secondary freezing area By spraying on the upper surface of the belt, preferably both the upper and lower sides, the loose frozen food on the conveyor belt is cooled with a low-temperature air flow, and the conveyor belt is also cooled to remove heat (possibly heated) through the belt. The frozen frozen food can be quickly brought into a predetermined frozen state.

  In addition, in order to quickly bring the frozen frozen food into the optimum frozen state in each freezing zone, the conveyor belt is a heat conductive belt. In this case, when the belt is a thin metal plate belt that does not allow air to pass therethrough, there is no problem that loose frozen foods cannot adhere to the belt mesh and cannot be removed, and good heat conductivity is obtained.

Moreover, the manufacturing apparatus of the rose-shaped frozen food of the present invention comprises:
In the longitudinal direction in a horizontally long casing surrounded by a heat insulating wall, a conveyor belt conveyor that conveys loose frozen food having a freezing temperature between 0 to -10 ° C. is disposed to form a longitudinal conveying space,
Partitioning the transport space into at least a plurality of freezing sections in order from the upstream side of the transport space by a partition wall, and maintaining different freezing temperatures for each freezing section;
While disposing the loosening means in each of these freezing areas,
In the manufacturing apparatus of loose frozen foods provided with supply means for controlling the temperature of the frozen frozen foods and supplying them in a plate shape on the inlet side of the first freezing area of each freezing area,
In the freezing area including the supply unit of the loose food, the loose food is kept at the freezing temperature or higher, and in the freezing area where the loosening means is loosened, the freezing temperature is kept below the freezing temperature of the loose food,
The unwinding means comprises at least a primary unwinding means and a secondary unwinding means,
The primary unwinding means rotates around a central axis arranged in the width direction of the belt, and a fixed comb composed of a plurality of fixed comb teeth erected at narrow intervals in the width direction of the belt. It consists of a rotating comb having radial comb teeth inserted at a narrow interval, and is configured to loosen the bulk food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while giving shearing force to the bulk food by the radial comb teeth,
The secondary unwinding means is disposed in a freezing area downstream of the primary unwinding means, and is erected in a width direction of the belt conveyor at a narrower interval than the fixed comb teeth of the primary unraveling means. A fixed comb composed of a fixed comb tooth, a rotating comb having a radial comb tooth that rotates around a central axis arranged in the width direction of the belt conveyor and is inserted into the narrow interval, and a root of the fixed comb tooth A weir provided in the width direction of the belt conveyor, and while holding the loose food with the weir, while riding on the weir, while giving a shearing force to the loose food with the radial comb teeth, between the fixed comb teeth Configured to loosen up loose food by passing through
There is provided a horizontal support device for holding the belt conveyor in a region where the primary and secondary unwinding devices are installed horizontally and at a narrow interval that allows unwinding action between the radial comb teeth tips. It is characterized by.

  In the apparatus of the present invention, the cooling means comprises airflow jetting means for blowing the cooled airflow onto the frozen frozen food on the conveyor belt and the conveyor belt in order to quickly bring the frozen frozen food on the conveyor belt into the optimum frozen state for the freezing zone, The belt should be a metal belt with good heat conductivity. The cooling airflow is also blown from the lower surface (back surface) of the belt conveying surface to accelerate the cooling of the belt, and the heat absorbed from the frozen frozen food through the belt (in some cases heating) is also added, so that the frozen frozen food can be quickly specified. Therefore, the length of the conveyor belt, that is, the length of the apparatus can be shortened, and the manufacturing time of the loose frozen food can be shortened.

  The loosening means is composed of a pair of rotating teeth having fixed combs and radial comb teeth meshing with each other, and in the primary loosening means, the frozen frozen food thinly laminated and cooled on the transport belt is fixed with the fixed comb teeth and radial shapes. While being sandwiched between the comb teeth and applying a shearing force, it is forcibly fed into the gap between the fixed comb teeth by the rotating comb teeth and finely divided. Preferably, the fixed comb teeth are flexible so that the distance between the fixed comb teeth can be adjusted by the pressing force of the loose frozen food.

In the secondary unraveling means, the frozen frozen food is dammed up by a weir provided at the base of the fixed comb, the residence time at the base of the fixed comb is increased, and the frozen combed food is put on the weir by rotating the comb frozen food. The shear force of the rotating comb teeth can be applied to the frozen frozen food more closely. During this stay, a shearing force is applied by the radial comb teeth to break up into finer particles.
In addition, when there is a defective product larger than the interval between the fixed comb teeth, it is preferable that the fixed comb teeth of the secondary loosening means have a height at which the defective product can jump over. As a result, defective products can be discharged from the apparatus.
Further, the distance between the belt and the tip of the radial comb teeth needs to be kept equal to or less than the distance between the fixed comb teeth so that loose frozen foods having a size larger than the set value are not discharged downstream.

In the device of the present invention, preferably, the horizontal support device is
A plurality of magnet rollers are arranged below the belt conveyor so that the outer circumferential surface rotates in the direction of conveyance of the belt conveyor and the outer circumferential surface is at the same level in the vertical direction.
The lower surface of the belt conveyor is configured to be sucked and supported on the outer peripheral surface of the magnet roller. With this configuration, the lower surface of the belt conveyor that forms the conveyance space is supported by a plurality of magnet rollers that are arranged so that the rotation direction is in the conveyance direction of the belt conveyor and the outer peripheral surface is at the same level in the vertical direction. The belt conveyor is moved in a state where the lower surface of the belt is attracted to the outer peripheral surface of the magnet roller.

As a result, the belt conveyor can be held horizontally, so that food to be frozen placed on the belt conveyor can be prevented from spilling, moving on the belt, shifting, and the like.
In addition, the horizontal support device can maintain the distance between the tip of the rotating comb teeth and the belt surface accurately below the distance between the fixed comb teeth.
Preferably, fine adjustment means for finely adjusting the position of the magnet roller in the vertical direction is provided. As a result, the plurality of magnet rollers can be adjusted to the same level in the vertical direction with high accuracy.

  In the apparatus of the present invention, the frozen frozen food is preferably formed into a thin and wide plate by a roller on the conveyor belt, and if the loose frozen food supplied to the roller is significantly wider, the front of the roller is used. A guide is provided to cut loose frozen food, and reduce the width of each plate as a plurality of plates and supply it to the roller to reduce internal stress when rolled by the roller, and deformation of loose frozen food grains It may be configured to prevent damage. Note that the temperature control of the frozen frozen food is also performed in the supply stage of the frozen frozen food, and the frozen frozen food is brought to an optimum temperature state for the next process.

  In the primary loosening process, the combs are relatively coarse, and the frozen frozen food is separated mainly by bending at the fixed combs to form a mass in which a certain number of grains are connected. The surface layer of the grain is relatively frozen and hardened, but the inside is not frozen and relatively soft, so the grains are elastic as a whole, and are not damaged by bending, It is restored to its original shape, and the surface is hard so that it is not easily damaged by comb teeth.

  In the next secondary unraveling step, the combs of the unraveling means are made small, so that shear force is important in addition to bending to separate the joints due to freezing of the grains and grains, and the rigidity of the grains themselves is required. On the other hand, the freezing-bonding force between grains becomes stronger as the temperature is lower, and due to the balance between the two, there is an appropriate temperature to separate the frozen joints without damaging the grains. Also raise the temperature and loosen the whole grain close to the appropriate temperature. As described above, the comb roughness and the freezing temperature are optimally set for each stage, and the loosening is performed. Finally, the particles are frozen to a predetermined temperature at once after being almost single-grained.

  According to the method of the present invention, the unraveling step is composed of at least a primary unraveling step and a secondary unraveling step, and the primary unraveling step is a plurality of fixed erected at narrow intervals in the width direction of the conveyor belt. The comb-like teeth are engaged with each other so that the radial comb teeth rotating about the rotation axis are inserted into the narrow space, and the radial comb teeth are passed through between the fixed comb teeth while applying a shearing force to the rose-like food. The secondary unwinding step is a plurality of erected in the downstream freezing section of the primary unraveling step at a narrower interval in the width direction of the transport belt than the fixed comb teeth of the primary unraveling step. The fixed comb teeth meshed with the radial comb teeth rotating around the rotation axis so as to be inserted at the narrow interval, and climbed onto the weir while damaging the loose food with the weir provided at the root of the fixed comb teeth With the radial comb teeth It consists of a process of loosening the bulk food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while applying shearing force to the bulk food, and the primary and secondary loosening processes can improve the unraveling effect, A small number of high-quality frozen frozen foods can be produced hygienically with a good yield.

In addition, even if it is difficult to make a single grain on the conveyor belt depending on the type of frozen food, it is possible to break the frozen frozen food by breaking it under the optimal loosening conditions according to the looseness of the frozen food in each frozen area. Can be reduced.
In the primary and secondary unraveling steps, the conveying belt surface is held horizontally and at a narrow interval that enables the unraveling action between the radial comb teeth tips so that the radial comb teeth tips contact the conveying belt. In addition, it is possible to prevent loose frozen food that has been loosened and unfinished from the gap between the tip of the radial comb teeth and the belt surface from going downstream. In addition, it is possible to prevent spilling of loose frozen food from the belt conveyor, accidental movement or deviation of the frozen food on the belt conveyor.

  In the apparatus of the present invention, the unwinding means comprises at least a primary unwinding means and a secondary unwinding means, and the primary unwinding means includes a plurality of fixed combs erected at narrow intervals in the width direction of the transport belt. A fixed comb composed of teeth, and a rotating comb having radial comb teeth that rotate around a central axis arranged in the width direction of the belt and are inserted into the narrow space. It is configured to loosen the loose food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while applying a shearing force, and the secondary loosening means is disposed in the freezing area downstream of the primary loosening means, and the width of the belt conveyor A fixed comb composed of a plurality of fixed comb teeth erected at a narrower interval than the fixed comb teeth of the primary unwinding means in the direction, and rotating around a central axis arranged in the width direction of the belt conveyor Inserted at narrow intervals The radial comb includes a rotating comb having radial comb teeth and a weir provided at the base of the fixed comb tooth in the width direction of the belt conveyor. The belt conveyor in the area where the primary loosening device and the secondary loosening device are installed is configured to loosen the loose food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while applying shearing force to the loose food by teeth. By providing a horizontal support device that is held horizontally at a narrow interval that allows a loosening action between the tips of the radial comb teeth, the method of the present invention can be implemented, and the same effects as the method of the present invention can be achieved. Can be played.

Preferably, the horizontal support device is arranged in a distributed manner below the belt conveyor so that the plurality of magnet rollers rotate in the direction in which the outer peripheral surface is conveyed by the belt conveyor and the outer peripheral surface is at the same level in the vertical direction. Since the lower surface of the belt conveyor is supported by adsorbing to the outer peripheral surface of the magnet roller, it can be easily installed on the lower surface of the belt conveyor, and the belt surface in the unraveling process can be held horizontally with high accuracy. be able to.
Preferably, the above-described configuration is provided with fine adjustment means for finely adjusting the vertical position of the magnet roller so that the vertical position of the belt conveyor surface is adjusted to an interval that provides the most loosening effect between the radial comb teeth. In addition, the frozen frozen food can be separated into a desired particle size.

Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the embodiments shown in the drawings. However, the dimensions, materials, shapes, relative positions, and the like described in this embodiment are merely illustrative examples and not intended to limit the scope of the present invention unless otherwise specified.
1 is an overall longitudinal sectional view of a manufacturing apparatus for loose frozen food according to a first embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a view taken along the arrow II in FIG. 1, FIG. 3 is a view taken along the arrow III in FIG. 4 is an elevation view of the belt leveling device 21 of the first embodiment, FIG. 5A is a configuration diagram of the primary unwinding device 32 of the first embodiment viewed from the belt width direction, and FIG. ) Is a configuration diagram of the primary unwinding device 32 viewed from the belt traveling direction, FIG. 6A is a configuration diagram of the secondary unraveling device 33 of the first embodiment viewed from the belt width direction, and FIG. 6B. FIG. 6A is a plan view of the scraper 38, and FIG. 7 is a transverse sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG.

In FIG. 1 showing the first embodiment, a space in the horizontally long casing 1 made of a heat insulating wall is divided into a cooling chamber A, a primary freezing chamber B, a secondary freezing chamber C, and a final chamber D by partitions 2, 3, and 4. (Rooms B and C may not be separated).
The frozen frozen food 10 rides on the supply belt 7 driven through the drum 8 and proceeds in the direction a, and is formed into a thin and wide frozen frozen food 10a by a roller 9 as shown in FIG. The roller 9 is pivotally supported on the housing 1 by a shaft 9a and is driven to rotate by a driving means (not shown). The loose frozen food 10a formed thin and wide has a fixed comb 11 composed of a plurality of fixed comb teeth 11a arranged at narrow intervals in the belt width direction at the tip of the supply belt 7, and a rotary comb 12 having radial rotary comb teeth 12a. A lump of a certain size is unraveled by a front-stage unraveling device consisting of

FIG. 3 shows the configuration of the front stage unwinding device. A rotating shaft 12b of the rotating comb 12 is pivotally supported by the housing 1 and is driven to rotate by a driving means (not shown). The number of radiations of the rotating comb teeth 12a of the rotating comb 12 is not limited to four as shown, and is appropriately set, and the shape of the comb teeth is not limited to a circle, and an appropriate shape is selected. Arranged so that the rotating comb teeth 12a are inserted into the fixed comb teeth 11a at a narrow interval, the loose frozen food 10a is guided to the conveyor belt 5 by the rotational force of the rotating comb teeth 12a. The conveyor belt 5 is a thin plate-like steel belt that does not have air holes.
In order for the loose frozen food 10b that has been loosened into a lump group of a certain size to spread evenly without overlapping on the conveyor belt 5, the conveyance speed of the conveyor belt 5 is higher than the supply speed of the supply belt 7. Is also increased, for example, 3 to 6 times.

  Since the frozen frozen food becomes brittle when the degree of freezing is high, the loose frozen food 10a supplied to the preceding stage loosening device is cooled in the cooling chamber A to an appropriate temperature equal to or higher than the freezing temperature. This loosens relatively large chunks of the frozen frozen food while still being soft. The loose frozen food 10a is still soft and elastic, and can prevent the frozen frozen food from being damaged. The loose frozen food 10b loosened into a lump of a certain size in the previous stage loosening enters the primary freezer compartment B and is adjusted to a temperature below the freezing temperature of the loose frozen food 10a, where the fixed comb 13 and the rotating comb 14 Is broken up into smaller lumps by a primary loosening device 32 consisting of

  In the primary freezer room B, it is necessary to apply a shearing force to the loose frozen food to promote fine granulation, while it is necessary to give rigidity to the frozen frozen food in order to prevent breakage of the loose frozen food. is there. For this reason, by keeping below the freezing temperature of the loose frozen food, the surface layer of the loose frozen food is frozen, and the grains of the loose frozen food are given rigidity. A shearing force is applied to the fixed comb teeth 13a and the rotating comb teeth 14a to promote fine graining.

  The fixed comb 13 is fixed to a fixed portion 35 shown in FIG. 4, the rotary shaft 14 b of the rotary comb 14 is pivotally supported by the housing 1, and the rotary comb 14 is rotationally driven by a drive motor 34. The loose frozen food 10b on the conveyor belt 5 is dammed up by the fixed comb 13, and is loosened into smaller lumps by the meshing of the rotating comb 14, and sent out into the secondary freezer compartment C.

The secondary freezer compartment C is kept at a lower temperature than the primary freezer compartment B, and the frozen frozen food 10c further freezes. In the secondary freezer compartment C, the temperature is further lowered to increase the brittleness while increasing the rigidity of the loose frozen food, thereby facilitating the refinement to the set particle size. The loose frozen food 10c that has entered the primary freezer compartment C is loosened in the same manner as the primary loosening device 32 by the secondary loosening device 33 composed of the fixed comb 15 and the rotating comb 16, and is almost single-grained by this loosening. The frozen frozen food 10d is frozen to a predetermined temperature while being transported on the transport belt 5, enters the final chamber D, slides on the sliding plate 17 and is collected in the stacking container 18, and is unillustrated by means not shown. Take out outside.
Therefore, the roughness of the comb of the loosening device becomes smaller as the first, first, and second steps of the loosening process progress. In FIG. 1, one unwinding device is provided for each freezer compartment, but a plurality of unwinding devices may be provided as necessary.

  FIG. 4 shows a leveling device 21 for horizontally supporting the conveyor belt 5 on which the primary unraveling device 32 and the secondary unraveling device 33 are installed at a precisely set height. In FIG. 4, a plurality of magnet rollers 22 are arranged below the belt conveyor 21, and are arranged in a direction to rotate in the conveying direction of the conveying belt 5 around the roller shaft 22 a. Reference numeral 23 denotes a support beam that supports the magnet roller 22 and its support member, and a base 24 to which a fixing screw 25 that supports the magnet roller 22 is attached is placed and fixed on the support beam 23.

  The screw portion 25a of the fixing screw 25 is screwed into the threaded hole 24a of the base portion 24, and supports the support base 26 that supports the magnet roller 22 from below. The magnet roller 22 has a rotating shaft 22 a rotatably attached to the rotating table 27, and a plate 27 a that protrudes laterally from the rotating table 27 is placed on the support table 26. Reference numeral 29 denotes a fine adjustment screw for finely adjusting the height direction position of the magnet roller 22, and reference numeral 28 denotes a fixing screw, which is used when the magnet roller 22 and the turntable 27 are disassembled and assembled.

  Above the conveyor belt 5, the above-described primary unraveling device 32 including the rotary comb 14 and the fixed comb 13, and the rotary comb 16 and the fixed comb 15 are provided in the casing 31 surrounding the space above the belt 5. A next unwinding device 33 is arranged. A motor 34 is attached to the outside of the casing 31 and drives the rotary comb 14. Reference numeral 35 denotes a fixing portion that is attached to the inside of the casing 31 and fixes the fixing comb 13.

  The configuration of the primary loosening device 32 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 5, the rotating comb 14 has a plurality of rotating comb teeth 14 a arranged at intervals on a rotating shaft 14 b installed in the width direction of the transport belt 5. The fixed comb 13 is composed of a plurality of fixed comb teeth 13a arranged in the vertical direction slightly downstream of the rotary comb 14 at the same interval as the rotary comb teeth 14a. The fixed comb teeth 14a and the fixed comb teeth 13a Are engaged with each other so as to enter each other. The fixed comb teeth 13a have a high height and can be made of an elastic material so that when a large-sized loose frozen food is conveyed, the interval is instantly widened so that the large loose frozen food can pass through. Or is flexible or installed so that it can escape. A belt leveling device 21 is disposed below the primary loosening device 32.

  Next, the configuration of the secondary unwinding device 33 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 6, the rotary comb 16 has a plurality of rotary comb teeth 16 a arranged in parallel on a rotary shaft 16 b installed in the width direction of the transport belt 5. The fixed comb 15 is composed of a plurality of fixed comb teeth 15a arranged in the vertical direction at the same interval as the rotary comb teeth 16a on the slightly downstream side of the rotary comb 16, and the rotary comb teeth 16a and the fixed comb teeth 15a. Are engaged with each other so as to enter each other. The interval between the rotating comb teeth 16a and the fixed comb teeth 15a of the secondary loosening device 33 is narrower than the interval between the rotating comb teeth 14a and the fixed comb teeth 13a of the primary loosening device 32.

  The fixed comb teeth 15a are set to have a short height L except for some fixed comb teeth connected to the fixed portion 35, and are made of a rigid body so that the interval between the fixed comb teeth 15a cannot be changed. The height L of the fixed comb teeth 15a is set to a height at which a defective product having a large size that cannot pass through the interval between the fixed comb teeth 15a can get over the fixed comb teeth. A belt leveling device 21 is disposed below the secondary loosening device 33.

  As shown in FIG. 6 (c), the roots of the fixed comb teeth 15a are connected by a plate-shaped scraper 38, and the loose frozen food 10c that has been transported by the transport belt 5 at the tip of the scraper 38. Is provided with a sloped surface 38a so as to ride on the scraper 38. Reference numeral 39 denotes a food guide that forms a weir along the belt end surface 5a in order to prevent loose frozen food from falling from the conveying belt surface 5.

  Next, FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view taken along line VII-VII in FIG. 1, and each of the freezer compartments A, B, C is air-cooled through a discharge pipe 19 provided for each freezer compartment. Cooling air communicated with the air intake port of the cooler 20 and cooled by the air cooler 20 is supplied from the air injection pipe 20a to the freezer compartments A, B, and C. The air temperature in each freezer compartment A, B, C is maintained at a predetermined temperature, and the air at the predetermined temperature is ejected toward the conveyor belt 5 and the loose frozen foods 10b, 10c on the conveyor belt 5 are ejected. 10d and the steel conveying belt 5 are cooled.

  The cooled air is taken into the air cooling device (not shown) through the discharge pipe 19, cooled to a predetermined temperature, and returned to the freezer compartments A, B, and C again. As described above, since the low-temperature air collides with the frozen frozen foods 10b, 10c, and 10d and cools in each freezer compartment, the heat transfer coefficient on the surface of the frozen frozen food is large, and the cooling can be performed quickly. The roller 9 is arranged in the primary freezer compartment A, but may be arranged outside the freezer compartment A.

  The loose frozen food 10b which has been thinly layered and cooled on the steel belt 5 reaches the primary loosening device 32 shown in FIG. 5, and primary loosening is performed by the rotating comb teeth 14a and the fixed comb teeth 13a. That is, a shearing force is applied by the rotating comb teeth 14a rotating in the b direction, and the fixed comb teeth 13a are dammed up at a considerable rate. The loose frozen food 10b that has been dammed is forcibly fed into the gap between the fixed comb teeth 13a by the rotating comb teeth 14a, and is finely divided.

  The loose frozen food 10c roughly loosened by the primary loosening device 32 is finished and loosened by the secondary loosening device 33 installed immediately thereafter. In the secondary loosening device 33, shearing force is applied to the loose frozen food 10c by the rotating comb teeth 16a rotating in the b direction, and the force is fed into the gaps between the fixed comb teeth 15a in the same manner as the primary loosening device 32. Since the scraper 38 is installed in the secondary unwinding device 33, the loose frozen food is dammed up on the scraper 38 from the slope 38a provided on the front surface of the scraper 38. In the secondary loosening device 33, the presence of the scraper 38 increases the amount of loose frozen food that is dammed by the fixed comb teeth 15a, and the time for damming is increased.

  The time when the loose frozen food comes close to the rotating comb teeth 16a when the frozen frozen food rides on the scraper 38, and thereby the sheared frozen food is given a greater shearing force by the rotating comb teeth 16a and is blocked by the fixed comb teeth 15a. By becoming longer, the number of times the shearing force is applied by the rotating comb teeth 16a increases, and for these reasons, the loose frozen food is divided into finer grains.

If the loose frozen food contains a particularly large and hard object (defective product), if the fixed comb tooth 15a is long upward, the defective product is permanently blocked, and the rotating comb tooth 16a or fixed comb tooth Since the 15a may be damaged, the fixed comb teeth 15a have a length L that allows the defective product to jump over. Therefore, the defective product c that jumps over the fixed comb teeth 15a is conveyed downstream, and the product including the defective product after packaging is removed by an operator or the like.
In the secondary unwinding device 33, the interval between the rotating comb teeth 16a and the fixed comb teeth 15a is narrower than that in the primary unraveling device 32, and the interval must be maintained. Therefore, the rotating comb teeth 16a and the fixed comb teeth 15a. Is made of a rigid body.

  On the other hand, a plurality of magnet rollers 22 are arranged below the belt conveyor in the unwinding process so as to rotate in the conveying direction of the belt conveyor 5, and the outer peripheral surface of each magnet roller 22 is precisely the same level by the fine adjustment screw 29. The distance between the belt surface 5 and the tip of the rotating comb tooth 16a is adjusted to be equal to or less than the distance between the fixed comb teeth 15a, and the distance between the belt surface 5 and the tip of the rotating comb tooth 16a is adjusted. The loose frozen food 10c is adjusted so that the loose frozen food 10c passing between the rotating comb teeth 16a and the belt surface 5 has the most loosening effect by the rotating comb teeth 16a.

The belt conveyor 5 is conveyed while being attracted to the outer peripheral surface of the magnet roller 22.
When the loosening process is performed on the loose frozen food, it is necessary to hold the belt conveyor 5 at exactly the same level, and according to this embodiment, the belt conveyor 5 moves while being adsorbed by the magnet roller 22. It can hold | maintain at the same level in the arbitrary locations of the conveyor 5, and can perform a loosening process without trouble.

  That is, the belt leveling device 21 accurately maintains the gap between the rotating comb teeth 16a and the belt 5 and the distance between the rotating comb teeth 16a and the fixed comb teeth 15a at the set values. Can be separated into diameters. Moreover, since it can hold | maintain at the same level in the arbitrary places of the belt conveyor 21, a loose frozen food will spill out from a belt conveyor, a movement and a shift | offset | difference on a belt conveyor will be lost, and the stable freezing process can be performed.

  FIG. 8 is a diagram showing a bulk frozen food supply device in the bulk frozen food manufacturing apparatus according to the second embodiment of the present invention, where (a) is a plan view and (b) is VIII-VIII in (a). It is sectional drawing. A guide 42 is disposed at the upstream side in the supply direction of the loose frozen food 10 at the center of the roller 41, and the guide 42 is fixed to the housing 1. The loose frozen food 10 is fed in the direction of arrow a, cut into two forks by a guide 42, supplied to a roller 41, and thinned by the roller 41. Since the frozen frozen food 10 is cut once into two forks, the width of each crotch is halved, and when the thickness is reduced by the roller, the rolling ratio in the width direction is halved, so that the internal stress during rolling is reduced. It becomes smaller and the deformation and breakage of cooked rice grains are reduced. When the frozen frozen food 10 is wide, the number of the guides may be increased to increase the number of crotches to be incised.

As described above, according to the present invention, for example, frozen frozen foods such as pilaf and fried rice are controlled at the set temperature in the conveyance area of the belt conveyor having good heat conductivity, and the broken frozen food is minimized in grain breakage. The unwinding process can be performed in the optimal frozen state, and the belt conveyor in the unwinding process can always be held horizontally at any location, making it easy to loosen the frozen frozen food to the set particle size Can do.
Further, not only frozen frozen foods but also general frozen foods can be prevented from spilling from the belt conveyor, moving on the belt conveyor, shifting, and the like, so that the freezing process can be performed without any trouble.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is the whole longitudinal cross-sectional view of the manufacturing apparatus of the loose frozen food concerning 1st Example of this invention. It is an II arrow directional view of FIG. FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow III in FIG. 1. It is an elevation view of the belt leveling device 21 of the first embodiment. (A) is the block diagram which looked at the primary unraveling apparatus 32 of the said 1st Example from the belt width direction, (b) is the block diagram which looked at the primary unraveling apparatus 32 from the belt advancing direction. (A) is the block diagram which looked at the secondary unwinding apparatus 33 of the said 1st Example from the belt width direction, (b) is a VIb arrow directional view of (a), (c) is a top view of the scraper 17. is there. It is a cross-sectional view which follows the VII-VII line of FIG. It is a figure which shows the supply apparatus of the loose frozen food in the manufacturing apparatus of the loose frozen food concerning 2nd Example of this invention, (a) is a top view, (b) is VIII-VIII sectional drawing in (a). .

Explanation of symbols

1 Housing 5 Steel belt (belt conveyor)
7 Supply belt 9 Roller 10, 10a, 10b, 10c, 10d Frozen frozen food 11 Fixed comb
12 Rotating comb (front loosening)
13 Fixed comb (primary loosening)
14 Rotating comb (primary loosening)
15 Fixed comb (secondary loosening)
16 Rotating comb (secondary loosening)
17 Scraper
20 Air cooler 20a Air injection pipe 21 Belt horizontal support device 22 Magnet roller 27 Turntable 29 Fine adjustment screw (fine adjustment means)
32 Primary unraveling device 33 Secondary unraveling device 34 Drive motor 35 Fixed part A Cooling chamber B Primary freezing chamber C Secondary freezing chamber

Claims (11)

Supplying a loose food having a freezing temperature between 0 ° C. and −10 ° C. to the upstream side of the conveyor having a heat conductive belt, and dividing the area where the belt runs into a plurality of freezing areas from the upstream side,
In the method for producing loose frozen foods, which is maintained at different freezing temperatures for each freezing section and frozen while being unraveled in the freezing process of each freezing section,
Furthermore, in the freezing area including the supply unit of the loose food, the loose food is kept at the freezing temperature or higher, and in the freezing area where the loosening process is performed, the freezing temperature of the loose food is kept below the freezing temperature,
The unraveling step comprises at least a primary unraveling step and a secondary unraveling step,
In the primary unraveling step, a plurality of stationary comb teeth erected at a narrow interval in the width direction of the belt are meshed so that radial comb teeth rotating around a rotation axis are inserted into the narrow interval, Comprising the step of loosening the loose food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while applying a shearing force to the loose food by the radial comb teeth,
The secondary unraveling step includes a plurality of fixed comb teeth erected at a narrower interval in the widthwise direction of the belt than the fixed comb teeth of the primary unraveling step in the downstream freezing section of the primary unraveling step. The radial comb teeth rotating about the rotation axis are meshed so as to be inserted at the narrow interval, and the radial food is put on the weir while damaging the loose food with the weir provided at the base of the fixed comb tooth. It consists of a step of loosening the loose food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while giving a shearing force to the loose food by the comb teeth,
The method for producing loose frozen foods characterized in that in the primary and secondary loosening steps, the belt surface is held horizontally and at a narrow interval allowing a loosening action between the tips of the radial comb teeth. .   2. The method for producing a loose frozen food according to claim 1, wherein different frozen areas are set by sandwiching a weakly frozen area of 0 to -10 [deg.] C. between a plurality of strongly frozen areas of -20 [deg.] C. or lower. The refrigeration zone is set as a three-stage refrigeration zone, and the cooling means is a cooling means for blowing a cooling airflow (air, nitrogen, CO _2, etc.) on the upper surface of the belt conveying surface. The method for producing loose frozen food according to claim 1, wherein the temperature is -20 to -40 ° C in the second and third cooling zones and 0 to -10 ° C in the second freezing zone.   2. The method for producing a loose frozen food according to claim 1, wherein the heat-conductive belt is a sheet metal belt that does not allow air to pass therethrough.   The said frozen frozen food supplied to the upstream side of a belt conveyor is temperature-controlled by a supply part, is supplied in substantially plate shape, and the running speed of the said belt is larger than the said supply speed. The manufacturing method of the loose frozen food of description. In the longitudinal direction in a horizontally long casing surrounded by a heat insulating wall, a conveyor belt conveyor that conveys loose frozen food having a freezing temperature between 0 to -10 ° C. is disposed to form a longitudinal conveying space,
Partitioning the transport space into at least a plurality of freezing sections in order from the upstream side of the transport space by a partition wall, and maintaining different freezing temperatures for each freezing section;
While disposing the loosening means in each of these freezing areas,
In the manufacturing apparatus of loose frozen foods provided with supply means for controlling the temperature of the frozen frozen foods and supplying them in a plate shape on the inlet side of the first freezing area of each freezing area,
In the freezing area including the supply unit of the loose food, the loose food is kept at the freezing temperature or higher, and in the freezing area where the loosening means is loosened, the freezing temperature is kept below the freezing temperature of the loose food,
The unwinding means comprises at least a primary unwinding means and a secondary unwinding means,
The primary unwinding means rotates around a central axis arranged in the width direction of the belt, and a fixed comb composed of a plurality of fixed comb teeth erected at narrow intervals in the width direction of the belt. It consists of a rotating comb having radial comb teeth inserted at a narrow interval, and is configured to loosen the bulk food by passing between the fixed comb teeth while giving shearing force to the bulk food by the radial comb teeth,
The secondary unwinding means is disposed in a freezing area downstream of the primary unwinding means, and is erected in a width direction of the belt conveyor at a narrower interval than the fixed comb teeth of the primary unraveling means. A fixed comb composed of a fixed comb tooth, a rotating comb having a radial comb tooth that rotates around a central axis arranged in the width direction of the belt conveyor and is inserted into the narrow interval, and a root of the fixed comb tooth A weir provided in the width direction of the belt conveyor, and while holding the loose food with the weir, while riding on the weir, while giving a shearing force to the loose food with the radial comb teeth, between the fixed comb teeth Configured to loosen up loose food by passing through
There is provided a horizontal support device for holding the belt conveyor in a region where the primary and secondary unwinding devices are installed horizontally and at a narrow interval that allows unwinding action between the radial comb teeth tips. An apparatus for producing loose frozen food characterized by the above. 7. The apparatus for producing a frozen frozen food according to claim 6, further comprising an airflow jetting unit for jetting a cooling airflow toward the belt conveyor on a conveyor surface of the belt conveyor in each freezing section. 7. The apparatus for producing loose frozen foods according to claim 6, wherein the belt conveyor is formed of a metal plate having good heat conductivity and impervious air. The fixed comb teeth of the primary loosening means are flexible so that the distance between the fixed comb teeth can be adjusted by the pressing force of the frozen frozen food, and the fixed comb teeth of the secondary loosening means are between the fixed comb teeth. 7. The apparatus for producing loose frozen food according to claim 6, wherein the height is set to a height at which defective products having a size larger than the interval can be skipped. The horizontal support device comprises:
A plurality of magnet rollers are arranged below the belt conveyor so that the outer circumferential surface rotates in the direction of conveyance of the belt conveyor and the outer circumferential surface is at the same level in the vertical direction.
7. The apparatus for producing loose frozen food according to claim 6 , wherein the lower surface of the belt conveyor is configured to be adsorbed and supported on the outer peripheral surface of the magnet roller.   The apparatus for producing a loose frozen food according to claim 10, further comprising fine adjustment means for finely adjusting the position of the magnet roller in the vertical direction.

Images