JP5290089B2 - Packaging noodle leveling device - Google Patents

Abstract

<P>PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a leveling device for packaged noodles, by which noodles packaged in a packaging bag are shaped without using hands. <P>SOLUTION: The leveling device 1 for packaged noodles includes a conveyer 7 by which a packaging bag 5 containing noodles 3 is conveyed in a direction orthogonal to the width of the packaging bag 5; and a driving means 11 for vertically moving a striking member 9, thereby striking it against the packaging bag 5. The driving means 11 strikes the striking member 9 against one packaging bag 5 several times. The striking member 9 has 1/3 to 3/4 of the width of the packaging bag 5. The striking member 9 faces the packaging bag 5 so that the positions bisecting the widths of the packaging bag 5 and striking member 9 may coincide with each other. <P>COPYRIGHT: (C)2011,JPO&amp;INPIT

Description

  The present invention relates to a packaging noodle leveling device that taps boiled or steamed noodle strings contained in a packaging bag from the outside of the packaging bag to loosen and level and shape.

  When the noodle strings of steamed noodles and steamed noodles are packaged one by one in a bowl, the noodle strings may be biased in the packaging bag. The reason for this will be described by taking a vertical pillow packaging machine as an example. That is, as shown in FIG. 4A, the transparent film 101 is curved so that the edges on both sides thereof overlap each other, and these edges are joined together to form the cylindrical body 103. The middle of the tube 103 is cut, the lower edge portion 105 formed by this cutting is sealed, and the noodle strings 3 are put into the tube 103 through the chute 107. Since the noodle strings 3 are boiled or steamed in the previous process and then washed with water, the noodle strings 3 have flexibility when they are put into the cylinder 103, and the surface is wet.

Subsequently, as shown in FIGS. 5B and 5C, the tubular body 103 is cut at a position higher than the noodle strings 3 put in the tube 103, whereby the cut portion is referred to as the upper edge portion 111. The rectangular packaging bag 5 to be cut is separated from the cylinder 103, and the upper edge portion 111 of the packaging bag 5 is sealed. Immediately after this, the packaging bag 5 falls from the vertical pillow packaging machine 115 in the direction of arrow A and is sent to the next process. The vertical pillow packaging machine 115 repeats the above steps at a high speed to form a large number of packaging bags 5 containing the noodle strings 3.
Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-18310 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 56-164902 Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 57-46406

  The noodle strings 3 wrapped by the vertical pillow wrapping machine 115 become a lump that is offset toward the lower edge portion 105 of the packaging bag 5 and does not reach the corner portion 35 of the packaging bag 5. However, the upper edge portion 111 and the corner portion 35 are likely to have no noodle strings 3. Such a distorted packaging bag 5 has a bad appearance as a product, and a part of the packaging bag 5 is thick, so that it is not possible to stack many at the time of shipment and display. Moreover, when it is set as the merchandise form which further wrapped such a packaging bag 5 by the outer packaging material in the unit of 2 to 3, if the shape of each packaging bag 5 is distorted, it becomes difficult to wrap the packaging material, It is necessary to make the outer packaging material larger than necessary. Also, in terms of quality, when the noodle strings 3 are thickened in the packaging bag 5, when the heat sterilization process is added after packaging to improve the storage stability, the center part is difficult to heat, and excessive heating It was necessary to add conditions, which could adversely affect the noodle quality. Furthermore, when the noodle strings 3 are cooled and hardened in the packaging bag 5 in the form of thick dumplings, there is also a problem that the noodles are not easily loosened during cooking.

  Therefore, in order to disperse the noodle strings 3 uniformly in the packaging bag 5 and to finish the packaging bag 5 into a flat shape, it is conceivable to compress it mechanically using a pressing plate or the like. However, if the packaging bag 5 containing the noodle strings 3 is compressed with a pressing plate or the like, the noodle strings 3 are difficult to spread to the corner 35 of the packaging bag 5. Moreover, when an excessive force is applied to the noodle strings 3, the noodle strings 3 are crushed, the noodle strings 3 are bound to each other, and the packaging bag 5 is broken. Thus, if the noodle strings 3 are crushed or cut by compression, the commercial value is lost. On the other hand, the noodle strings 3 themselves have elasticity such as rubber strings to some extent, so that they may return to their original shapes even when pressed as described above. Such boiled or steamed noodle strings have various specialities not found in other articles.

  Patent Documents 1 to 3 all have the same problem as that of the present invention in that the packaging bag is filled with articles and the packaging bag is to be leveled. However, in the boiled or steamed noodle strings, Due to various specialities as described above, none of the apparatuses can be applied to such noodles.

  The present invention has been made in view of the above-mentioned circumstances, and the noodle strings wrapped as described above may be stacked so as to become noodles that are easily loosened during cooking, and by stacking packaging bags. The noodle strings are uniformly distributed throughout the packaging bag, and the noodle strings are crushed or broken in the packaging bag so that a plurality can be easily wrapped in the outer packaging material. An object of the present invention is to provide an apparatus for leveling packaging noodles that can be shaped so as not to have any.

  The present invention is a packaging noodle leveling device comprising a conveyor for transporting a packaging bag in which noodle strings are packaged, and driving means for moving the hitting member up and down to hit the packing bag, wherein the hitting member is the packaging It has a width of 1/3 to 3/4 of the bag, and the driving means strikes the hitting member a plurality of times on one packaging bag.

  Further, according to the present invention, when the hitting member is hit against the packaging bag, a position where the width of the packaging bag is divided into two equals a position where the hitting member is divided into two in the width direction of the packaging bag. It is characterized by that.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the driving means strikes the hitting member against the packaging bag 3 to 5 times.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the hitting member has a curved cross section in a direction in which the conveyor conveys the packaging bag.

  Further, the present invention is characterized in that the conveyor has a belt for supporting the packaging bag, and the lower limit for the drive means to move the hitting member up and down is 5 to 20 mm above the belt.

  According to the leveling device for packaging noodles according to the present invention, the tapping member having a width of 1/3 to 3/4 of the packaging bag (width of the packaging bag on the side perpendicular to the conveyance direction conveyed by the conveyor). Is applied to the packaging bag a plurality of times, so that the noodle strings can be leveled and the packaging bag can be finished flat. That is, the noodle strings are elastic because they are boiled or steamed and wetted in the process before being packaged in the packaging bag, and the surface has a lubricating property. For this reason, the noodle strings are leveled inside the packaging bag while receiving a force pushed from the tapping member to the edge or corner of the packaging bag.

  Moreover, according to the packaging noodle leveling device of the present invention, the hitting member is formed to have a width of 1/3 to 3/4 of the width of the packaging bag, and the hitting member is preferably plural times in one packaging bag. Is struck 3 to 5 times, the noodle strings are gradually driven into the edges and corners of the packaging bag, and the edges and corners of the packaging bag are filled with the noodle strings. In this way, the noodle strings filling the edges and corners of the packaging bag diverge by escaping the force received from the tapping member to the edges and corners, and are also crushed because they are dispersed and received multiple times. There is nothing. Further, since the force is applied a plurality of times, the noodle strings that are to return to the original shape by elasticity can be fixed in a shape so as to be substantially flat in the packaging bag against the force to return.

  Further, since the hitting member has a curved cross section in the direction in which the conveyor conveys the packaging bag, the packaging bag conveyed to the conveyor is not caught by the hitting member. For this reason, damage to the packaging bag can be prevented.

  Furthermore, according to the packaging noodle leveling apparatus according to the present invention, the lower limit for the drive means to move the tapping member up and down is 5 to 20 mm above the conveyor belt, so the noodle strings excessively apply the force of the tapping member. The noodle strings are not crushed by the hitting member. The interval of 5 to 20 mm is slightly different depending on whether the noodle string is a thick noodle type, a thin noodle type or a buckwheat noodle type, but may be adopted for these ordinary noodles. A preferred interval. That is, the interval of 5 to 20 mm is an interval at which when noodle strings that are stacked one above the other are pressed by the tapping member, they are displaced and escape or are instantaneously expanded or contracted so that they are not crushed. On the other hand, it is a preferable interval that can be pressed so as not to completely return to the original shape before hitting due to the elasticity of the noodle strings themselves.

  As described above, the present invention has a peculiar property in boiled or steamed noodle strings, that is, the lubricity of the surface, elasticity such as rubber strings, resilience, and tearing or crushing if pressed too hard. This is a leveling device applied to the specific properties, and the packaged noodles leveled by this device have the following effects. That is, after wrapping boiled or steamed noodle strings, the entire packaging bag is struck with a hitting member, so that there is less binding between the noodle strings and the noodle strings are easily loosened during cooking. In addition, the noodle strings are leveled at a substantially constant thickness in the packaging bag, and each bag has substantially the same shape. Therefore, it is easy to stack the packaging bags, and it is easy to perform outer packaging even when multiple meals are packaged together. . Even when heat sterilization is performed after packaging for the purpose of adding preservability, the noodle strings are packaged with a uniform thickness, so that no excessive heating conditions are required and high quality noodles can be obtained.

The top view of the principal part of the leveling apparatus of the packaging noodle which concerns on embodiment of this invention. The side view of the drive means applied to the packaging noodle leveling apparatus which concerns on embodiment of this invention. (A) is the XX sectional view taken on the line of FIG. 1, (b) is the YY sectional view taken on the line of FIG. (A) is a side view explaining the principle of a vertical pillow packaging machine, (b) is a side view of a packaging bag formed by the vertical pillow packaging machine, and (c) is a front view thereof.

  In the following, the best mode of the present invention and more specific examples will be shown. However, the present invention can be appropriately set and selected without departing from the gist of the present invention. The drawings refer to FIGS. 1 to 3A and 3B unless otherwise specified.

  The packaging noodle leveling device 1 includes a conveyor 7 that conveys the packaging bag 5 in which the noodle strings 3 are packaged in the direction of the arrow T, and a drive unit 11 that moves the tapping member 9 up and down as will be described later. The conveyor 7 runs the belt 13 in the direction of arrow T with an electric motor. The belt 13 is in sliding contact with the bottom plate 15 attached to the casing or the like of the conveyor 7. The hitting member 9 preferably has a width of 1/3 to 3/4 of the packaging bag 5. In particular, the hitting member 9 is preferably half the width of the packaging bag 5. The width described here is the horizontal dimension of the packaging bag 5 or the tapping member 9 shown in FIG.

  The driving means 11 fixes a swing arm 23 that supports the hitting member 9 to a support shaft 21 that is supported by a pedestal 17 with a bearing 19, and a crank 25 that is joined to an end of the support shaft 21 and an output of a rotating machine 27. An eccentric pin 29 provided on the shaft 28 is connected by a connecting rod 31. The rotating machine 27 is supported by the gantry 17, and the packaging bag 5 conveyed by the conveyor 7 passes below the gantry 17. The gantry 17 is omitted in FIG.

  An arrow α in FIG. 2 indicates a direction in which the hitting member 9 moves up and down with the support shaft 21 as a fulcrum. In FIG. 2, the position at which the hitting member 9 is at the upper limit of the vertical movement is indicated by a virtual line, and the position at which the hitting member 9 is at the lower limit is indicated by a solid line. When the hitting member 9 is at the lower limit, the gap between the lower surface 33 of the hitting member 9 and the belt 13 is preferably 5 to 20 mm.

  FIG. 3A shows that when the tapping member 9 is at the lower limit, the tapping member 9 faces the packaging bag 5 so that the positions of the packaging bag 5 and the tapping member 9 divided into two in the width direction coincide with each other. It shows that Reference numeral 24 indicates a metal fitting for joining the hitting member 9 to the swing arm 23. FIG. 3B shows that the lower surface 33 of the hitting member 9 has a curved surface when the hitting member 9 is viewed as a cross section in the arrow T direction. The curved surface is a shape having no sharp corners, and is preferably a smooth shape curved so as to protrude downward.

  Moreover, the conveyor 7 conveys the packaging bag 5 without stopping. While the conveyor 7 conveys the packaging bag 5, the driving means 11 repeats the up and down movement of the tapping member 9. The speed at which the hitting member 9 moves up and down is preferably such that the hitting member 9 is hit a plurality of times, particularly 3 to 5 times, against one packaging bag 5 facing the hitting member 9 as shown in FIG.

  The packaging bag 5 has a substantially square shape with a side of 150 mm. When the noodle strings 3 are packaged by a vertical pillow wrapping machine, the noodle strings 3 often have a substantially home base shape as shown in FIG. 4C, and air is also enclosed in the packaging bag 5 together. Further, as shown in FIG. 1, the plurality of packaging bags 5 are not necessarily arranged on the belt 13 in an orderly manner. The intervals between the plurality of packaging bags 5 or the directions of the individual packaging bags 5 may be uneven to some extent.

  In the packaging bag 5, 150 g of Chinese noodles (cutting blade count No. 20, noodle thickness after washing with water of about 2 mm) that has been cut into a serving and boiled or washed immediately after steaming is charged. The conveyor 7 runs the belt 13 at a speed of 40 m / min. The average thickness of the packaging bag 5 on the conveyor 7 is about 30 mm at the thickest point, but there is a difference in the range of plus 7 mm minus 3 mm depending on the bag.

  The hitting member 9 has a width of 100 mm and a length in the arrow T direction of 100 mm. In other words, the hitting member 9 has a width of 2/3 of the packaging bag 5. When the hitting member 9 is at the lower limit of its vertical movement, the gap between the lower surface 33 of the hitting member 9 and the belt 13 is set to 10 mm.

  Further, the noodle strings 3 are elastic because they are boiled or steamed and wetted in the process before being packaged in the packaging bag 5, and the surface of the noodle strings 3 has a lubricating property. The packaging bag 5 containing the noodle strings 3 is hit by the hitting member 9 while being conveyed by the conveyor 7. As a result, the noodle strings 3 are leveled inside the packaging bag 5 while receiving the force applied to the corner portion 35 and the edge portion 37 of the packaging bag 5 from the tapping member 9, and the thickness of the packaging bag 5 is about 22 mm on average. Become. When the width of the hitting member 9 is less than 1/3 of the packaging bag 5, the hitting member 9 is not sufficiently pushed to the corner 35 and the edge 37 of the packaging bag 5, and the above effect cannot be obtained. Further, when the width of the tapping member 9 exceeds 3/4 of the packaging bag 5, the force of the tapping member 9 compressing the noodle strings 3 is dispersed in substantially the entire packaging bag 5, so that the above effect cannot be obtained. .

  Moreover, according to the packaging noodle leveling device 1, the tapping member 9 is struck a plurality of times, preferably 3 to 5 times, into one packaging bag 5, so that the noodle strings 3 are connected to the corners 35 and edges of the packaging bag 5. After gradually being pushed into the portion 37, the corner portion 35 and the edge portion 37 of the packaging bag 5 are filled with the noodle strings 3. In this way, the noodle strings 3 that fill the corners 35 and the edges 37 of the packaging bag 5 use the force received from the tapping member 9 as the force that pushes the corners 35 and the edges 37, and the noodle strings 3 have a force. Since it is applied instantaneously, it is not crushed by the elasticity of the noodle strings 3. In addition, if the number of hits of the hitting member 9 on one packaging bag 5 is 1 or less, the noodle strings 3 are not sufficiently driven into the corner 35 and the edge 37 of the packaging bag 5, Increasing the number of times more than eight times, for example, does not improve the above effect.

  Further, the noodle strings 3 can move smoothly toward the corners 35 and the edges 37 of the packaging bag 5 by receiving the above force. As a result, the noodle strings 3 reach the corner 35 and the edge 37 of the packaging bag 5. The packaging bag 5 once becomes concave every time the portion where the tapping member 9 is struck, but when the tapping member 9 moves away from the packaging bag 5, it will return to its original shape to some extent by the elasticity of the noodle strings 3. As a result, it becomes a generally flat shape as a whole by multiple hits. Even when hitting with the hitting member 9, the gap between the lower surface 33 of the hitting member 9 and the belt 13 is wider than the thickness of one of the noodle strings 3 contained in the packaging bag 5 (thickness of the noodles). Alternatively, the noodle strings 3 are not shattered or cut by being pulled once when the noodle strings 3 are pulled.

  Further, in this apparatus, when the lower surface 33 of the hitting member 9 is hit against the packaging bag 5, the position where the width of the lower surface 33 of the hitting member 9 is equally divided into the position where the width of the packaging bag 5 is equally divided. In order to match, the noodle strings 3 receive force from the tapping member 9 that is pushed in the width direction of the packaging bag 5. As a result, the noodle strings 3 trying to escape to both sides in the width direction are simultaneously driven into the edge portions 37 on both sides of the packaging bag 5, and the edge portions 37 on both sides of the packaging bag 5 are equally filled with the noodle strings 3. The noodle strings 3 are not biased to the edge 37 on one side of the packaging bag 5.

  It should be noted that the present invention can be implemented in variously modified, modified, or modified forms based on the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present invention. The conveyor 7 may be a chain conveyor. Moreover, the conveyor which advances intermittently may be sufficient. Further, although the bottom plate 15 that supports the belt 13 is set so that the belt 13 does not bend, it goes without saying that a structure without the bottom plate 15 may be used. If the belt 13 is configured to bend, a gap is created between the tapping member 9 and the belt 13 when the belt 13 is tapped against the tapping member 9. In this case, the lower limit of the tapping member 9 and the conveyor 7 may be set to 0 mm.

  In the embodiment, the hitting member 9 has a round shape only in the conveying direction of the conveyor 7 (YY cross section). R can also be formed. In this way, when the hitting member 9 is hit, the noodle strings 3 can be driven more easily in the width direction of the packaging bag 5.

  In the embodiment, the leveling device 1 has one hitting member 9 with respect to the conveying direction of the conveyor 7, but a structure having a plurality of hitting members 9 in the conveying direction of the conveyor 7 may be used. In this case, even if the conveying speed of the conveyor 7 is very fast and the single bag member 9 cannot hit the packaging bag 5 a plurality of times, it can be handled.

  The present invention is a technique useful for packaging boiled or steamed noodles. Moreover, the packaging bag 5 will not be limited at all about the material or dimension, as long as it can be easily deformed.

  DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Packing noodle leveling device, 3 ... Noodle string, 5 ... Packaging bag, 7 ... Conveyor, 9 ... Tapping member, 11 ... Driving means, 13 ... Belt, 15 ... Bottom plate, 17 ... Mount, 19 ... Bearing, 21 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS ... Support shaft, 23 ... Swing arm, 25 ... Crank, 27 ... Rotating machine, 28 ... Output shaft, 29 ... Eccentric pin, 31 ... Connecting rod, 33 ... Bottom surface, 35 ... Corner, 37 ... Edge part.

Claims (2)

A conveyor having a belt for supporting a packaging bag in which noodle strings are packaged , a conveyor for transporting the packaging bag, a hitting member having a width of 1/3 to 3/4 of the packaging bag, and moving the hitting member up and down Driving means for driving the packaging bag 3 to 5 times ,
When the hitting member is struck against the packaging bag, the position where the width of the packaging bag is divided into two equals the position where the hitting member is equally divided in the width direction of the packaging bag,
An apparatus for leveling packaged noodles, characterized in that a lower limit for the drive means to move the hitting member up and down is 5 to 20 mm above the belt . The packaging noodle leveling device according to claim 1 , wherein the hitting member has a curved cross section in a direction in which the conveyor conveys the packaging bag.

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