JP4970135B2 - Food processing apparatus and food processing method - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to an apparatus for processing food such as instant noodles, and more particularly to a food processing apparatus and a food processing method suitable for frying raw noodles as raw materials for instant noodles.

Conventionally, as one of the processes of processing foods such as instant noodles at food processing factories, etc., after making raw noodles that will become instant noodles, they are subsequently immersed in heated oil (edible oil) and fried There is a process.
This frying process is automatically and continuously performed by a food processing apparatus as shown in Patent Document 1 below, for example, in order to efficiently frying a large amount of raw material noodles.

  As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, this frying device is mainly composed of an oil tank (flyer) 10 in which heated oil for frying is stored, and an endless transport conveyor 20 that passes through the oil tank 10. Yes, the raw material noodles made by the noodle making machine are fed into each of a number of baskets 21, 21... After storing each one, the baskets 21, 21, etc. are successively immersed in the heating oil of the oil tank 10 so as to pass through the oil tank 10 to successively perform frying processing one after another, The raw material noodles after the frying process are sequentially collected from the carry-out end of the conveyor 20 and sent to the next step.

Further, as shown in the drawing, a holding conveyor 40 having a lid (not shown) for closing the upper openings of the baskets 21, 21,... Are held from above so that the food put into each basket 21, 21... Does not escape during the frying process.
JP-A-8-140864

By the way, as shown in the drawing, the carry conveyor 20 has a carry-in end and a carry-out end extending outside the oil tank 10 to be in a substantially horizontal state, and a middle portion thereof is immersed in the heated oil in the oil tank 10. It is like that.
As shown in the drawing, the food input unit 30 for storing the raw noodles in each of the baskets 21, 21... Is located above the horizontal portion on the carry-in end side of the transport conveyor 20, and from each position, the baskets The raw material noodles conveyed from the preceding noodle making machine (not shown) to 21, 21,... Are slid down from the upper part toward the downstream side in the conveying direction.

Therefore, the raw material noodles dropped from the food charging unit 30 collide obliquely with the bottom of the basket 21, and therefore, a large number of holes are drilled in the bottom of the basket 21 due to frictional resistance at the time of the collision. As shown in FIG. 7, the raw noodles that are thrown into the basket 21 may not completely enter the basket 21, and a part of the noodle string may be caught on the trailing edge rising portion of the basket 21. is there.
Therefore, during this frying operation, the operator must constantly monitor the loading status, etc., and when such a raw material noodle charging failure occurs, the position of the raw material noodle must be corrected manually each time. In other words, productivity may be reduced.

In addition, since the raw noodles before the frying process are soft, if they get on the rising edge of the rear edge of the basket 21 or the like once in this way, the shape is greatly collapsed, and even if it is corrected manually, it is normal. There is also an inconvenience that the finished shape becomes non-uniform compared to the raw material noodles introduced.
Therefore, the present invention has been devised in order to effectively solve such problems, and the purpose of the present invention is to provide the food for the conveyor conveyor basket when frying the food such as raw material noodles. The present invention provides a novel food processing apparatus and a food processing method that can be input accurately and reliably.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problem, the invention according to claim 1
An oil tank in which the heated oil is stored, a carry-in end and a carry-out end side are positioned on the oil surface of the oil tank, and a middle of the oil is passed through the heated oil in the oil tank. A food processing apparatus including a food input unit that slides food into the basket from the upper side toward the downstream side in the transport direction, and horizontally transports the basket to the transport end of the transport conveyor. A transport unit and an inclined transport unit that transports the basket transported by the horizontal transport unit obliquely downward toward the heated oil in the oil tank, and the food input unit is positioned on the inclined transport unit This is a food processing apparatus characterized by having been made.

The invention of claim 2
2. The food processing apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a pressing conveyor provided with a lid for holding food introduced into the basket from above is provided on the transport conveyor, and an upstream end of the pressing conveyor. The food processing apparatus is characterized in that the side is positioned downstream of the food input part.
The invention of claim 3
A food processing method in which food is put into a basket transported by a transport conveyor and then passed through the oil in an oil tank in which heated oil is stored to frying the food. Is transported obliquely downward toward the heated oil in the oil tank, and the food is put into the basket so as to slide down from the upper part toward the downstream side in the transport direction during the obliquely downward transport. This is a food processing method characterized by the above.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, since the food input part for inputting food such as raw material noodles is positioned above the inclined transfer part of the transfer conveyor, the food such as raw material noodles from the position of the transfer conveyor It is thrown into each basket so as to slide down toward the downstream side in the transport direction.
As a result, the difference between the food input angle from the food input section and the transport angle of each basket is reduced, so that the frictional resistance between the food input from the food input section and each basket is also reduced, and the bottom of the basket. The whole dropped food can be smoothly and reliably accommodated in the basket.

According to the invention of claim 2, the upstream end side of the holding conveyor provided with a lid for holding the food charged in the basket from above is positioned downstream of the food charging portion. , The restraining conveyor and the food input part will not interfere with each other.
Further, according to the invention of claim 3, as in the invention of claim 1, since the difference between the feeding angle of the food fed from the food feeding part and the transport angle of each basket is small, Since the difference between the throwing angle of the thrown-in food and the transport angle of each basket is small, the thrown-in food from the food throwing unit will not get caught in the bottom of each basket or its hole. Can be accommodated smoothly and reliably.

Hereinafter, the best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the accompanying drawings.
FIG. 1 shows an embodiment of a food processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention.
As shown in the figure, the food processing apparatus 100 includes an oil tank (flyer) 10 in which heated oil is stored, a transfer conveyor (slat conveyor) 20 positioned so as to pass through the oil tank 10, and the transfer of the transfer conveyor 20. It is mainly comprised from the food input part 30 located on an end, and the suppression conveyor (slat conveyor) 40 located on this conveyance conveyor 20. FIG.
This oil tank 10 is provided with a heating means such as a heater (not shown), various sensors such as a thermometer, an oil level gauge, etc., on a tank body (fry pan) 11 extending in the left-right direction in the figure, and a predetermined amount of food. The oil is heated and maintained at a predetermined temperature (for example, 150 ° to 200 °) to generate and store heating oil that is optimal for frying.

  Next, the conveyor 20 has a pair of endless roller chains 23 and 23 (one overlapping in the paper direction is not shown) between a pair of sprocket wheels 22 and 22 located at both ends of the oil tank 10 as in the conventional structure. .., And a plurality of baskets 21, 21... Are laid between the roller chains 23, 23 at a predetermined interval along the longitudinal direction. The roller chains 23, 23 between the sprocket wheels 22, 22 are guided by rails (not shown) formed along the oil tank 10 and circulate infinitely between the two sprocket wheels 22, 22, whereby each basket 21, 21... Also circulates infinitely between the two sprocket wheels 22.

Further, as shown in the figure, the roller chains 23, 23 between the sprocket wheels 22, 22 of the conveyor 20 are guided by the rails so that the middle of the roller chains 23, 23 is immersed in the heated oil of the oil tank 10 for a predetermined time. ing.
That is, a horizontal transport section 20a and an inclined transport section 20b are respectively formed at both ends (loading end and unloading end) of the transport conveyor 20, and each basket 21 is transported in the horizontal direction by the horizontal transport section 20a. The basket 21 transported by the horizontal transport unit 20a is transported obliquely downward toward the heated oil in the oil tank 10 by the inclined transport unit 20b and immersed in the heated oil in the oil tank 10, and then heated for a predetermined time. It passes through the inside (the opposite side is on the carry-out end side).

And each basket 21, 21 ... of this conveyance conveyor 20 is comprised from the box body of the rectangular frame shape which the upper part opened like the conventional structure, and raw material noodles are directly accommodated from the upper opening part. ing. The basket 21 is formed of a heat-resistant metal plate having a large number of holes such as punching metal. When the basket 21 is immersed in the heated oil in the oil tank 10, the heated oil flows in and out. It becomes easy, and the frying process of the raw material noodles in the basket 21 by the heated oil is surely performed.
Next, the food input part 30 is comprised from the inclination guide plate 31 extended from the cutter part of the noodle making machine which is not shown in figure, and the position of the inclination conveyance part 20b of the said conveyance conveyor 20 makes the raw material noodle produced | generated with the noodle making machine. In the baskets 21, 21... Being transported by the transport conveyor 20, they are slid down from the upper part toward the downstream side in the transport direction.

  On the other hand, the restraining conveyor 40 bridges a pair of endless roller chains 46 and 46 (one that is not shown in the drawing, the same applies hereinafter) between the five sprocket wheels 41, 42, 43, 44, and 45. In addition, a plurality of lid portions 47, 47... Are installed between the roller chains 46, 46 at regular intervals along the longitudinal direction so as to correspond to the baskets 21, 21. The roller chains 46, 46 are guided by rails (not shown) formed along the rails that guide the roller chains 23, 23 of the transport conveyor 20, and these sprocket wheels 41, 42, It is designed to circulate indefinitely between 43, 44 and 45.

  Then, the roller chains 46 and 46 are circulated in the direction opposite to the direction of circulation of the roller chains 23 and 23 on the transport conveyor 20 side as shown by the arrows in the drawing, so that between the roller chains 23 and 23 as shown in FIG. Are covered with the basket 21 on the transport conveyor 20 side to close the upper opening of the basket 21, and the basket 21 is closed. The raw material noodles contained therein are prevented from escaping.

The lid members 47, 47... Are also made of a heat-resistant metal plate having a large number of holes, such as punching metal, and heated oil into the basket 21 when immersed in the oil tank 10. Inflow and outflow can be easily performed.
Of these five sprocket wheels 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, the sprocket wheel 44 located on the carry-in end side of the transfer conveyor 20 is shifted to the downstream side in the transfer direction, and the food input unit 30 is A relatively wide charging space is maintained and formed on the inclined conveyance section 20b.

FIG. 2 shows a power transmission system for driving the roller chains 23, 23, 46, 46 of the transport conveyor 20 and the restraining conveyor 40 configured as described above. The roller chains 23, 23 in this figure are shown. , 46, and 46, and baskets 21, 21,... And lid members 47, 47,.
That is, in the figure, reference numeral 51 denotes a drive shaft that is rotationally driven by an electric motor (not shown), a sprocket wheel 52 provided on the drive shaft 51 and rotated integrally therewith, a driven sprocket wheel 53 as a tensioner, The sprocket wheel 41b provided on the shaft 41a to which the sprocket wheel 41 for driving the roller chains 46, 46 on the holding conveyor 40 side is fixed, and the sprocket wheel 22 for driving the roller chains 23, 23 on the transport conveyor 20 side are integrated. An endless chain 55 for driving, indicated by a two-dot chain line in this figure, is bridged between a sprocket wheel of the same diameter (which overlaps with the sprocket wheel 22 in the figure) and another driven sprocket wheel 54. By the rotation of the drive shaft 51 Flop rocket wheels 22, 41 are adapted to be rotated. In the figure, reference numeral 56 denotes an axis that supports the sprocket wheel 22 and another sprocket wheel, and reference numeral 57 denotes an axis of the sprocket wheel 54. Of course, the shafts 51, 41a, 56, 57 and the shaft of the sprocket wheel 53 are supported by a machine frame (not shown).

  In the food processing apparatus 100 of the present invention having such a structure, as shown in FIG. 1, a food input unit 30 for supplying raw material noodles is provided in the conventional conveyor conveyor 20 (FIG. 5). Since the horizontal conveying unit 20a is positioned (moved) above the inclined conveying unit 20b, the raw material noodles slide down from the position toward the downstream side in the conveying direction with respect to the respective baskets 21, 21,. Will be thrown in.

As a result, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, the difference between the feeding angle of the raw material noodles fed from the inclined guide plate 31 of the food feeding unit 30 and the conveying angle of each basket 21, 21. The frictional resistance between the raw material noodles supplied from the input part 30 and each of the baskets 21, 21, etc. is reduced, making it difficult to get caught in the bottom part or the hole thereof. can do.
As a result, the conventional work of correcting the position of the raw noodles by the worker is omitted or almost unnecessary, so that a decrease in productivity in the frying operation can be avoided.
Moreover, since the shape of the raw material noodles before the frying process is almost eliminated, the frying process with a uniform finished shape can be performed.

Furthermore, since the sprocket wheel 44 that has been positioned on the upstream end side of the conventional conveyor 40 is positioned on the downstream side of the inclined conveyor 20b of the conveyor 20, the conveyor 40 and the food input unit 30 interfere with each other. The whole raw material noodles can be reliably stored in the basket 21.
In addition, as described above, the food processing apparatus 100 of the present invention is configured so that the food input unit 30 for inputting raw material noodles is disposed above the inclined transfer unit 20b from the horizontal transfer unit 20a of the transfer conveyor 20 of the related art (FIG. 5). The existing food processing equipment that is currently in operation can be used as it is, and there is no need to manufacture new equipment or make major structural changes. Cost savings can be achieved.

The raw material noodles that have been subjected to the frying process in this way are then removed from the heated oil by passing through the inclined conveying part on the carry-out end side, and then excess oil when passing through the horizontal conveying part. Is removed, and it is transferred from the carry-out end to another conveyor (not shown) and sent to the next process.
In the present embodiment, the raw material noodle immediately after noodle making is described as an example of the food to be fried, but the present invention is not limited to this, and any food (for example, chicken Of course, it can be directly applied to deep-fried foods, fried potatoes and snacks.

1 is an overall view showing an embodiment of a food processing apparatus 100 according to the present invention. It is a figure which shows the power transmission system for driving the roller chains 23 and 46 of the conveyance conveyor 20 and the suppression conveyor 40. FIG. It is the elements on larger scale which show the A section in FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which raw material noodles (food) are charged into a basket 21. It is a general view which shows an example of the conventional food processing apparatus. It is the elements on larger scale which show the A section in FIG. FIG. 4 is a conceptual diagram showing a state in which raw material noodles (food) are charged into a basket 21.

Explanation of symbols

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 100 ... Food processing apparatus 10 ... Oil tank 20 ... Conveyor 20a ... Horizontal conveying part 20b ... Inclined conveying part 21 ... Basket 23 ... Roller chain (conveying conveyor side)
30 ... Food input part 31 ... Inclined guide plate 40 ... Suppressing conveyor 46 ... Roller chain (suppressing conveyor side)
47 ... Cover material

Claims (3)

An oil tank in which the heated oil is stored, a carry-in end and a carry-out end side are positioned on the oil surface of the oil tank, and a middle of the oil is passed through the heated oil in the oil tank. A food processing apparatus comprising a food input unit that slides food into the basket from the upper part toward the downstream side in the conveying direction.
A horizontal transport unit that transports the basket in the horizontal direction to a carry-in end of the transport conveyor, and an inclined transport unit that transports the basket transported by the horizontal transport unit obliquely downward toward the heated oil in the oil tank; The food processing apparatus is characterized in that the food input unit is positioned on the inclined conveyance unit. The food processing apparatus according to claim 1,
Provided on the transport conveyor is a restraining conveyor provided with a lid for holding the food introduced into the basket from above, and the upstream end of the restraining conveyor is located downstream of the food input section. A food processing apparatus characterized by being positioned. A food processing method in which food is put into a basket transported by a transport conveyor and then the food is deep-fried by passing the basket through oil in an oil tank in which heated oil is stored,
The basket is transported obliquely downward toward the heated oil in the oil tank, and the food in the basket is slid down from the upper part toward the downstream side in the transport direction during the transport of the oblique lower part. A food processing method characterized by being introduced.

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