JP6041365B2 - Food dough splitting equipment - Google Patents

Description

  The present invention relates to a dividing apparatus for receiving food dough such as kneaded bread dough from a hopper and supplying it in a predetermined amount.

  In the bread-making process, after subdividing a large amount of kneaded dough into a predetermined amount of dough balls, the process proceeds to intermediate fermentation before the baking process, and as an automated machine that subdivides bread dough into dough balls, For example, a dividing device disclosed in Patent Documents 1 to 3 is used.

  These dividing devices include a hopper that contains the dough, a cylinder that receives the dough from the hopper, a slide head that is disposed at one end of the cylinder and has a plurality of dividing pockets that simultaneously receive the dough from the cylinder, A main ram that pushes the dough into the split pocket of the slide head and a knife that partitions the hopper and the cylinder when the dough is pushed into the split pocket.

  The slide head is movable up and down between a first position for receiving the fabric into the split pocket and a second position for discharging the fabric from the split pocket, and the main ram has the slide head set at the first position. The inside of the cylinder is advanced in accordance with the timing of the movement, and the cloth existing in the cylinder is pressed toward the divided pocket. This pushes the dough into the split pocket. Further, when the main ram presses the cloth toward the slide head, the knife advances between the hopper and the cylinder and cuts the cloth between the two.

  When the dough has been pushed into the divided pockets, the slide head descends to the second position, and after the dough balls subdivided from the respective divided pockets at that position, the slide head rises again to the first position and empties. Prepare to push the next dough against the split pocket. Further, while the slide head is lowered to the second position and further returned to the first position, the main ram and the knife are retracted to newly receive the fabric in the hopper into the cylinder. The slide head, main ram, and knife repeat these operations, so that the dough in the hopper can be subdivided into dough balls that match the size of the split pocket.

JP 2002-000167 A JP-A-2005-204596 JP 2014-168447 A

  In such a dividing device, it is important to increase the processing speed per unit time while suppressing the stress applied to the dough. For this purpose, the linkage between the slide head, the main ram, and the knife is optimized. It will be necessary. Conventionally, separate driving means are provided for each of the slide head, the main ram, and the knife, and in particular, the main ram and the knife are moved up and down using a servo motor. Monitoring was performed by a sensor, and the operation of the main ram and knife was optimized based on the detection result of the sensor.

  Also, by controlling the servo motor based on the detection result of the sensor, the speed and pressure of the main ram when the fabric is pushed into the split pocket of the slide head, the knife advances between the hopper and the cylinder. It is possible to freely adjust the timing, etc., for example, even if the type of dough is changed and it is necessary to adjust the linkage of the slide head, the main ram, and the knife, it is flexible There was an advantage of being able to.

  However, when a plurality of driving means such as motors are provided, there are problems that the number of parts increases and the production cost of the apparatus increases, and there is a problem that the power consumption when the apparatus is operated increases. It was done.

  The present invention has been made in view of such problems, and the object thereof is to optimize the interlocking of these three while driving the three of the slide head, the main ram and the knife with one motor. An object of the present invention is to provide a food dough dividing apparatus that can increase the production capacity of dough balls per unit time while suppressing the stress applied to the dough.

  That is, the dividing apparatus according to the present invention includes a main motor, a reference drive shaft that is swung at a constant rotation angle by the main motor, a hopper that stores the cloth, and a cloth introduction port provided at the lower end of the hopper. A cylinder for receiving the fabric from the hopper via the first position, and a plurality of split pockets disposed at one end of the cylinder and simultaneously receiving the fabric from the cylinder, the first position for receiving the fabric from the cylinder to the split pocket; A slide head that is movable up and down between a second position for discharging the cloth from the divided pocket, a first link mechanism that converts the swinging rotation of the reference drive shaft into the vertical movement of the slide head, and the inside of the cylinder Reciprocatingly, the fabric received in the cylinder is pushed into the split pocket of the slide head set at the first position. A main link ram, a second link mechanism for converting a swinging rotation of the reference shaft into a reciprocating movement of the main ram, a reciprocating movement in parallel with the main ram between the hopper and the cylinder, and introducing the dough A knife that opens and closes the mouth; and a third link mechanism that converts the rotational rotation of the reference shaft into the reciprocating motion of the knife.

  According to the present invention as described above, the reference drive shaft is given a swinging motion as a reference for the motion of the slide head, the main ram, and the knife by the rotation of the main motor. It is converted into the vertical movement of the slide head through a single link mechanism. For this reason, the swing of the reference drive shaft is converted into the reciprocating motion of the main ram by the second link mechanism, and the swing of the reference drive shaft is converted into the reciprocating motion of the knife by the third link mechanism. For example, the movements of the main ram and the knife are correctly linked to the movement of the slide head.

  Therefore, the interlocking of the slide head, the main ram, and the knife can be optimized with one motor, and the dough can be continuously divided into dough balls while suppressing the stress applied to the dough.

  From the viewpoint of further reducing the stress applied to the fabric, the third link mechanism includes a timing adjusting member, and the timing adjusting member controls the opening timing of the fabric introduction port by the knife to move the slide head up and down. Is preferably adjustable.

  When the slide head and the main ram are driven by a single motor, the reciprocating motion of the main ram is unambiguous with respect to the vertical movement of the slide head, and the movement of the main ram is independent of the vertical movement of the slide head. It is difficult to freely adjust the speed and pressing force. For this reason, when pushing the cloth from the cylinder into the split pocket of the slide head, there is a concern that excessive stress acts on the cloth.

  However, if the timing adjustment member is included in the third link mechanism so that the opening timing of the dough introduction port by the knife can be adjusted with respect to the vertical movement of the slide head, the main ram is relative to the slide head. Since it is interlocked, the opening timing of the dough inlet can be adjusted with respect to the movement of the main ram. As a result, when the main ram advances in the cylinder and presses the fabric, a part of the pressure acting on the fabric can be released, and the stress applied to the fabric can be reduced.

It is a perspective view which shows an example of embodiment of the division apparatus of the bread dough to which this invention is applied. FIG. 2 is a right side view of the bread dough dividing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a left side view of the bread dough dividing apparatus shown in FIG. 1. It is a front view which shows the connecting rod for timing adjustment provided in the 3rd link mechanism.

  Hereinafter, an embodiment of a food dough dividing apparatus to which the present invention is applied will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

  1 to 3 show an example of an embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a bread dough dividing apparatus. This dividing device is used to divide the kneaded dough into small pieces and carry them out. The dough is divided into dough balls of a predetermined weight, and the dough balls are successively carried out from the side belt conveyor 2. It is configured as follows. The weight of the dough ball and the number of pieces produced per hour can be input from the operation panel 3 to the apparatus control unit.

  The dividing device includes a hopper 1 provided at an upper portion of the device housing 4, a cylinder 5 that extends in a horizontal direction directly below the hopper 1 and communicates with the hopper 1 through a dough introduction port 10, and the cylinder 5 A main ram 6 that reciprocates horizontally in the interior, a slide head 7 that faces the main ram 6 so as to close one end opening of the cylinder 5, and the cloth introduction port 10 is opened and closed. A flat knife 8 that reciprocates in parallel with the main ram 6 is provided.

  The hopper 1 is an inlet for kneaded bread dough, and the input bread dough is received by the cylinder 5 positioned directly below via the dough introduction port 10 provided at the lower end of the hopper 1. Further, the dough introduction port 10 is appropriately opened and closed by the knife 8, and the knife 8 advances in a state where bread dough hangs down from the hopper 1 to the cylinder 5 to close the dough introduction port 10. The bread dough in 5 is separated from the bread dough in the hopper 1.

  The slide head 7 has a plurality of divided pockets opened toward the cylinder 5. The divided pockets are arranged in a line in the depth direction of the paper surface of FIG. 2, and therefore the cylinder 5 corresponds to the height of one of the divided pockets and the width corresponds to the number of the divided pockets. The slide head 7 strokes up and down by a first link mechanism described later, and moves between the highest first position and the lowest second position. In the first position, the divided pocket faces the cylinder 5, while in the second position, the divided pocket retracts from the cylinder 5, and the divided pocket is placed on the belt conveyor 2 in the lower space of the cylinder 5. Opened.

  The first position is a bread dough receiving position with respect to the divided pocket, and when the main ram 6 advances toward the slide head 7 in the cylinder 5 with the slide head 7 set to the first position, Bread dough present in the cylinder 5 is pressed by the main ram 6 and is pushed into each divided pocket. Further, when the slide head 7 descends to the second position from this state, the bread dough filled in the divided pocket is separated from the bread dough remaining in the cylinder 5.

  Pistons are provided in each divided pocket so as to face the main ram 6 in the cylinder 5, and these pistons are inserted into the divided pockets from the back side of the slide head 7 (left side in FIG. 2). Yes. The piston can arbitrarily set the stroke amount in the divided pocket, and thereby the depth of the divided pocket when the dough is filled, in other words, the capacity of the dough filled in the divided pocket can be adjusted. It is like that. That is, when the target weight of the dough ball is set on the operation panel, an actuator (not shown) is operated to change the stroke amount of the piston.

  These pistons operate in conjunction with the slide head 7. When the slide head 7 is lowered to the second position, the piston moves forward in the divided pocket and pushes out the bread dough from the divided pocket. Thereby, the dough ball of the size according to the capacity | capacitance of the said division | segmentation pocket is discharged | emitted from each division | segmentation pocket. The discharged dough ball is scraped off from the slide head 7 by the flicker 9 having a scraper attached to the tip, and falls onto the belt conveyor 2. As a result, the dough balls corresponding to the number of the divided pockets are formed on the belt conveyor 2 in response to a single vertical movement of the slide head 7.

  The main ram 6 reciprocates horizontally in the cylinder 5 by a second link mechanism described later. The main ram 6 moves forward when the slide head 7 ascends from the second position to the uppermost first position, and is closest to the slide head 7 in the cylinder 5 when reaching the first position. Exists. That is, with the slide head 7 raised to the first position and the divided pocket communicating with the cylinder 5, the bread dough in the cylinder 5 is pressed and the bread dough is pushed into the divided pocket. Further, when the slide head 7 is lowered to the second position for discharging the dough ball, the main ram 6 moves backward in the cylinder 5 in a direction away from the slide head 7.

  On the other hand, the knife 8 is disposed at the upper part of the cylinder 5 and reciprocates in parallel with the main ram 6 by a third link mechanism described later, thereby closing or opening the dough introduction port 10 with respect to the cylinder 5. The knife 8 has a spire-like blade at the tip side. When the knife 8 advances toward the slide head 7 to close the dough introduction port 10, the knife 8 hangs down from the dough introduction port 10 into the cylinder 5. Cut the dough. When the knife 8 is most retracted in the direction away from the slide head 7, the knife 8 is completely retracted from the dough introduction port 10, and the bread dough in the hopper 1 is self-weighted in the cylinder 5. It comes to hang down at.

  The timing at which the knife 8 starts to advance is earlier than the timing at which the main ram 6 starts to advance toward the slide head 7 in the cylinder 5, and before the main ram 6 comes closest to the slide head 7. The knife 8 closes the dough introduction port 10 and cuts the dough. Further, when the main ram 6 is closest to the slide head 7, the knife 8 has already started to be retracted, and the bread dough remaining in the cylinder 5 without fully entering the split pocket of the slide head 7. On the other hand, the pressing force from the main ram 6 does not act excessively.

  Next, the drive system of this dividing apparatus will be described.

  The drive system of the dividing device includes a main motor 40, a reference drive shaft 41 that is rotatably held with respect to the device housing and is given a swing at a predetermined angle by the main motor 40, and the reference drive shaft 41. The first link mechanism 72 that converts the swing of the slide head 7 into the vertical movement, the second link mechanism 60 that converts the swing of the reference drive shaft 41 into the reciprocating motion of the main ram 6, and the reference drive A third link mechanism 80 that converts the swing of the shaft 41 into the reciprocating motion of the knife 8 and a reference link mechanism 42 that converts the rotational motion of the main motor 40 into the swing motion of the reference drive shaft 41 are included. Yes. That is, in this dividing apparatus, the three elements, the slide head 7, the main ram 6 and the knife 8, which are important elements for producing the dough ball, are driven by the same motor.

  The reference link mechanism 42 is a so-called lever crank mechanism. The crank 43 is rotated by the main motor 40, and the rotational motion of the crank 43 is converted into the swing motion of the lever 45 by the connecting rod 44. The lever 45 is fixed to the reference drive shaft, and when the main motor 40 is rotated, a swinging motion of a constant angle is given to the reference drive shaft 41. Since the rocking motion of the reference drive shaft 41 at a constant angle is converted into the motion of the slide head 7, the main ram 6 and the knife 8 through the first to third link mechanisms 72, 60, 80, The swinging motion of the reference drive shaft 41 is a reference for the operation of the dividing device. Sensors are provided at both ends of the swing range of the reference drive shaft 41, and the detection signals of these sensors serve as a basis for the scraping operation of the dough ball by the flicker 9.

  The first link mechanism 72 is a so-called slider crank mechanism, and a crank 73 fixed to the reference drive shaft 41 and the slide head 7 are connected by a connecting rod 74. Thus, when the reference drive shaft 41 and the crank 73 are swung by the rotation of the main motor, the slide head moves up and down with a certain amount of stroke.

  On the other hand, the second link mechanism 60 is a so-called lever crank mechanism, and transmits the swinging motion of the reference drive shaft 41 to the main ram lever 63 via the crank 61 and the connecting rod 62 as shown in FIG. Yes. The main ram lever 63 is swingably held by a shaft 46 fixed to the apparatus housing 4, the connecting rod 62 is connected to one end, and the main ram 6 is connected to the other end. For this reason, when the reference drive shaft 41 swings, the swinging motion is transmitted to the main ram lever 63 via the connecting rod 62, and the main ram lever 63 swings. Reciprocates in the cylinder 5.

  As described above, the swing of the reference drive shaft 41 is converted into the vertical movement of the slide head 7 via the first link mechanism 72 and the reciprocating motion of the main ram 6 via the second link mechanism 60. The movement of the ram 6 is completely interlocked with the movement of the slide head 7. When the slide head 7 repeats the vertical movement without stopping, the main ram 6 also repeats the reciprocating movement without stopping.

  On the other hand, when attention is paid to the operation of the main ram 6, the main ram 6 moves forward in the cylinder 5 toward the slide head 7, and the bread dough in the cylinder 5 is stored in the split pocket of the slide head 7. After being pressed toward the center, it reverses without stopping and begins to retreat inside the syringe 5, so that the time during which the dough is pushed into the divided pocket with the maximum pressure is extremely short.

  For this reason, the pressurization limit point of the main ram 6 is such that the main ram 6 stops at a position closest to the slide head 7 in the cylinder 5 (hereinafter referred to as “pressurization limit point”) for a predetermined time. It does not correspond to the end of the swing range of the reference drive shaft 41, and is set slightly forward. The connecting rod 62 of the second link mechanism 60 incorporates a spring. When the main ram 6 reaches the pressurization limit point, the swing of the reference drive shaft 41 is absorbed by the compression of the spring, The length of the connecting rod 62 is configured to be short.

  As a result, it is possible to hold the main ram 6 at the pressurization limit point for a certain period of time while completely linking the movement of the slide head 7 and the movement of the main ram 6. It becomes possible to push in reliably. Further, by adjusting the strength of the spring, it becomes possible to set the upper limit of the force with which the main ram 6 presses the bread dough in the cylinder 5, and in combination with the holding time of the main ram 6 at the pressurization limit point, the bread dough Can be gradually pushed into the dividing pocket with a low pressing force, and the stress applied to the bread dough during the dividing process can be reduced.

  Further, in order to make it possible to finely adjust the position of the main ram 6 with respect to the position of the slide head 7, the crank 61 of the second link mechanism 60 uses the hub whose adjustment angle can be adjusted in steps of several degrees. It is fixed to the shaft 41.

  The third link mechanism 80 is a so-called lever crank mechanism, and is disposed on the opposite side of the second link mechanism 60 with the main motor 40 and the reference link mechanism 42 interposed therebetween. As shown in FIG. 3, the third link mechanism 80 transmits the swing motion of the reference drive shaft 41 to the knife lever 83 via the crank 81 and the connecting rod 82. The knife lever 83 is swingably held by a shaft 46 common to the main ram lever 63, and the connecting rod 82 is connected to one end, and the knife 8 is connected to multiple ends. Therefore, when the reference drive shaft 41 swings, the swing motion is transmitted to the knife lever 83 via the connecting rod 82, and the knife lever 83 swings, so that the knife 8 is moved to the cylinder. The dough introduction port 10 is opened and closed by reciprocating at the upper part.

  Since the swing of the reference drive shaft 41 is converted into the reciprocating motion of the knife 8 through the third link mechanism 80 in this way, the motion of the knife 8 is also based on the swing of the reference drive shaft 41. It is completely interlocked with the movement of the slide head 7 and the main ram 6.

  On the other hand, in order to reduce the stress applied to the bread dough as much as possible while smoothly pushing the bread dough into the divided pockets of the slide block 7, the operations of the slide head 7 and the main ram 6 are as follows. Therefore, it is necessary to optimize the opening / closing timing of the dough introduction port 0 by the knife 8, and the connecting rod 82 of the third link mechanism 80 functions as a timing adjusting member.

  FIG. 4 shows the connecting rod 82 of the third link mechanism 80. The connecting rod 82 includes a first bracket 84 that is rotatably connected to the crank 81, a second bracket 85 that is rotatably connected to one end of the knife lever 83, and the first bracket 84 and the first bracket 84. A regulation rod 86 for connecting the two brackets 85 to limit the total length of the connecting rod 82, and a spring 87 inserted in a compressed state between the first bracket 84 and the second bracket 85. Yes. One end of the restriction rod 86 is screwed to the second bracket 85, and the other end passes through a bearing sleeve 85b provided in the flange portion 85a of the second bracket 85 to the second bracket 85. It can slide freely. Further, a lock nut 88 is screwed into an end portion of the restriction rod 86 penetrating the flange portion 85a of the second bracket 85, and a spacer 89 (FIG. 4) is provided between the lock nut 88 and the bearing sleeve 85b. Is displayed in black).

  That is, the connecting rod 82 can compress and contract the entire length against the elastic force of the spring 87 with respect to the axial compressive load, while the rod 86 limits the entire length with respect to the axial tensile load. become. In particular, regarding the tensile load, the total length can be finely adjusted by changing the thickness of the spacer 89 inserted between the flange portion 85 a of the second bracket 85 and the lock nut 88.

  In the third link mechanism 80, the dough introduction port through which the knife 8 communicates between the cylinder 5 and the hopper 1 while the main ram 6 is moving forward in the cylinder 5 toward the pressurization limit point. The mounting angle of the crank 81 with respect to the reference drive shaft 41 is set so as to completely close 10. At this time, the most advanced position of the knife 8 does not correspond to the end of the swing range of the reference drive shaft 41 so that the knife 8 keeps the dough introduction port 10 completely closed for a predetermined time. It is set slightly in front of it. For this reason, when the knife 8 reaches the most advanced position and closes the dough introduction port, the swing of the reference drive shaft 41 is absorbed by the compression of the spring 87 of the connecting rod 82 and the entire length of the connecting rod 62 is shortened. It is configured.

  Thereby, the movement of the knife 8 can be completely interlocked with the movement of the slide head 7 and the main ram 6, and the dough introduction port can be closed for a predetermined time by the knife 8. The pressing force of the main ram 6 can be reliably applied to the dough in the cylinder.

  On the other hand, the length of the connecting rod 82 is limited due to excessive tension, and therefore, when the knife 8 is retracted from the most advanced position to open the dough introduction port, the connecting rod 82 is related to the elastic force of the spring 87. And the knife 9 can be moved back quickly. Since the total length of the connecting rod 82 can be finely adjusted by changing the thickness of the spacer 89, the knife 8 can be moved to the maximum without changing the mounting angle of the crank 81 with respect to the reference drive shaft 41. The timing for retreating from the advance position can be adjusted.

  Accordingly, the third link mechanism 80 includes the connecting rod 82 as a timing adjusting member, so that the basic movement of the knife 8 is linked to the slide head 7 and the main ram 6 while the knife 8 is linked. Both the closing timing and the opening timing of the dough inlet can be adjusted with respect to the movement of the slide head 7 and the main ram.

  And according to the dividing apparatus of this embodiment having such a configuration, while the slide head 7, the main ram 6, and the knife 8 are driven by one main motor 40, the timing of interlocking these three members When the bread dough is pushed into the dividing pocket of the slide head 7 and divided, the stress applied to the bread dough can be reduced as much as possible.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Hopper, 2 ... Belt conveyor, 3 ... Operation panel, 4 ... Apparatus housing, 5 ... Cylinder, 6 ... Main ram, 7 ... Slide head, 8 ... Knife, 40 ... Main motor, 41 ... Standard drive shaft, 42 ... First link mechanism, 60 ... second link mechanism, 80 ... third link mechanism

Claims (3)

A main motor;
A reference drive shaft to which a swing of a constant rotation angle is given by the main motor;
A hopper for storing the dough,
A cylinder for receiving the dough from the hopper through the dough introduction port provided at the lower end of the hopper;
A first position that is disposed at one end of the cylinder and that simultaneously receives the cloth from the cylinder, and a second position that discharges the cloth from the split pocket; A slide head that can move up and down
A first link mechanism that converts the swing of the reference drive shaft into the vertical movement of the slide head;
A main ram that reciprocates in the cylinder and pushes the fabric received in the cylinder into the split pocket of the slide head set in the first position;
A second link mechanism for converting the swing of the reference drive shaft into a reciprocating motion of the main ram;
A reciprocating motion in parallel with the main ram between the hopper and the cylinder, and a knife for opening and closing the dough introduction port;
A third link mechanism that converts the swing of the reference shaft into a reciprocating motion of the knife;
A food dough dividing apparatus, comprising: 2. The food dough according to claim 1, wherein the third link mechanism includes a timing adjustment member capable of adjusting the opening timing of the dough introduction port by the knife with respect to the swing of the reference drive shaft. Splitting device. The third link mechanism includes a crank fixed to the reference drive shaft, a lever coupled to the knife, and a connecting rod as the timing adjusting member that couples the ends of the crank and the lever. ,
3. The food dough dividing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the connecting rod is capable of changing a total length with respect to an excessive tensile load in the axial direction.

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