JP6675532B2 - Onigiri production method and apparatus - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a method and an apparatus for producing rice balls, and more particularly to a method and an apparatus for continuously producing rice balls.

An apparatus for continuously producing rice balls has already been put into practical use, and many products are commercially available.
As an example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2003-250472 discloses that a chunk of cooked rice inserted from a hopper is compressed by a pair of cooked rice delivery rollers, formed into a continuous sheet, and sent downward.
Cut at the exit with a shutter to form a rectangular plate of cooked rice. An apparatus is disclosed in which this rectangular plate-shaped rice chunk is conveyed by a conveyor and is formed into a rice ball by a mold on a turntable.

JP-A-2003-250472

In the rice ball making device described in JP-A-2003-250472, the rolling roller pair 3
Rolled at 1, 32 to form a sheet, extruded from the rolling roller 32 and pushed into the forming mold, and when a certain amount of cooked rice sheet is put into the forming mold, the rolling roller 32 is rotated in reverse to cut the sheet-shaped cooked rice. ing. At this time, the size of the cooked rice sheet is controlled by the rotation speed of the rolling roller. However, the mass of cooked rice that descends the rolling roller from the hopper while being rolled is not necessarily uniform in density, so even if the length of the rolled rice sheet is cut according to the number of rotations of the rolling roller and cut, If the density is not uniform, the weight of the cut rice cooked sheet is not uniform. As a result, there is a problem that the weight of the produced rice balls varies.

Furthermore, in the above invention, the rice is rolled into a sheet using two pairs of rolling rollers in which the interval between the rotation axes of the pair of rolling rollers is gradually narrowed, so that the extruded rice rice sheet is considerably hardened. Moreover, since the cooked rice was further compressed with a two-piece press, the resulting rice balls had the disadvantage that they were hard and plump.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is a first object of the present invention to improve the above-mentioned drawbacks and to provide a method of continuously producing rice balls having a constant weight of one rice ball and a production apparatus therefor.

It is a second object of the present invention to provide a method for continuously producing rice balls having a plump texture and not out of shape, and an apparatus for producing the rice balls.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a method for producing an onigiri of the present invention is a rectangular plate having a flat area larger than the final product of onigiri without applying pressure on one rice ball from cooked rice chunks without applying pressure. A preform forming step of forming a preform by cutting the preform into a preform with a pair of concave-surface moving presses in a state where a mold for forming a hole is present on the center of the preform. An intermediate formed body forming step of forming an intermediate formed body having a tool hole by raising the preformed body around the forming mold for forming the tool hole while compressing the preformed body in the center direction from both ends in the longitudinal direction; A tool inserting step of inserting a tool into a hole, a secondary compact forming step of forming a secondary compact by compressing in a central direction from four sides of the intermediate compact into which the tool is inserted, and an upper surface of the secondary compact. Press to finish the shape of the rice ball Characterized in that it comprises a degree.

Further, the rice ball manufacturing apparatus of the present invention is a pre-formed body cutting machine for cutting a rice ball for one rice ball into a predetermined shape without applying pressure to form a pre-formed body, while compressing and molding the pre-formed body. A primary molding machine for forming an intermediate molded body by forming a tool hole and a secondary molding machine for compression-molding the intermediate molded body to form a rice ball of a final product are arranged in a row, and each molded body is arranged under the secondary molding machine. In an onigiri production device provided with an intermittent belt conveyor for intermittently conveying, the preformed body cutting machine has a rectangular cross-section for receiving a cooked rice transporter for loosening and transporting cooked rice and the cooked rice transported from the cooked rice transporter. It has an open casing with a shape larger than the surface area of the rice ball of the final product. The open casing has an open / close shutter that opens and closes the outlet at the lower outlet and cuts out a certain amount of cooked rice on the upper part. Characterized in that a cutting shutter for forming a preform in which the rectangular plate shape.

The cooked rice transporter is a hopper for feeding cooked cooked rice, a disintegrating wheel for scraping the fed cooked rice, a feed conveyor for transferring cooked rice from the hopper to the opening of the measuring casing, and a cooked rice on the feed conveyor. , A level sensor provided near the opening of the casing, and a control for adjusting the rotation speed of the feed conveyor by the output of the level sensor. A feed device for adjusting the rotation speed of the feed conveyor in accordance with the output of the level sensor so that the amount of cooked rice in the sample casing is always constant and supplied from the feed conveyor to the sample casing. It is characterized by adjusting the amount of cooked rice.

The open / close shutter includes two shutter members that slide in a horizontal direction, and the two shutter members are slid in opposite directions by a link mechanism that is rotated by a piston device.

The two shutter members of the opening / closing shutter are provided so as to slide in the direction of the short side of the rectangular cross section of the casing, and on the upper surface thereof, a number of linear ridges extending in the sliding direction are provided. It is characterized by having been done.

The cutting shutter is composed of two horizontally slidable shutter members attached to the casing at a position higher by a predetermined length than the opening and closing shutter,
The two shutter members are slid in opposite directions by a link mechanism rotated by a piston device.

The two shutter members of the cutting shutter are provided so as to slide in the short side direction of the rectangular cross section of the mesh casing, and both shutter members are controlled so as to stop with a slight gap in a closed state. In addition, a number of linear ridges extending in the sliding direction are provided on the upper and lower surfaces thereof.

Furthermore, the primary molding machine of the rice ball manufacturing device of the present invention is a piston device for vertically moving the primary molding machine, and the rectangular plate-shaped preform is compressed toward the center from both sides in the longitudinal direction to be intermediate. It is characterized by comprising a molding unit for forming a molded body, and a pocket plug which has a molding die for forming a hole in the intermediate molded body at its tip and moves up and down.

A molding unit for forming an intermediate molded body of the primary molding machine is provided with a pair of concave-shaped moving pressing dies which are provided to face both ends in the longitudinal direction of the preformed body and slide in the center direction of the preformed body, and a preformed body. And a pair of flat fixing dies standing on both sides thereof along the longitudinal direction.

The molding die of the pocket plug is controlled so as to descend to the surface of the preform located in the molding unit of the primary molding machine before the concave surface moving die is driven.

The molding die of the pocket plug has a cooling chamber in the interior thereof which is cooled by a refrigerant.

Further, the secondary molding machine of the present invention is a piston device for vertically moving the secondary molding machine, and two pairs of moldings for compressing the intermediate molded body from four directions toward the center to form a final rice ball shape. It is characterized by comprising a unit and a press member that moves up and down to adjust the shape of the rice ball by pressing the rice ball from above.

The two pairs of molding units of the secondary molding machine are characterized in that they comprise a pair of opposed rice ball half-recessed concave moving dies and a pair of opposed flat moving dies.

As the concave moving die of the secondary molding machine, a die having a compression surface depressed in a semicircular shape is used.

As the concave surface moving die of the secondary molding machine, a die having a compression surface depressed in a substantially right triangle is used.

In the method for producing a rice ball of the present invention, a rice ball for one rice ball is cut out from a cooked rice rice lump into a rectangular plate having a larger flat area than the rice ball of the final product without applying pressure to form a preform. In the preformed body forming step, a pair of concave surface moving dies is used to preliminarily move the preformed body from both ends in the longitudinal direction to the center in a state where a forming die for forming a hole is present above the center of the preformed body. An intermediate molded body forming step of forming an intermediate molded body having a hole by raising the molded body around the molding die for forming the hole while compressing the molded body, and a tool inserting step of inserting a tool into the hole of the intermediate molded body A secondary molded body forming step of forming a secondary molded body by compressing in a central direction from four sides of the intermediate molded body into which the above-mentioned tool is inserted, and pressing the upper surface of the secondary molded body to adjust the shape of the rice ball By including the finishing process, always 1 And the weight of the amount of rice balls is constant, has a plump texture, yet it is possible to mold the rice balls keep their shape.

A rice ball manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention is a pre-formed body cutting machine for cutting a rice ball for one rice ball into a predetermined shape without applying pressure to form a pre-formed body. A primary molding machine for forming an intermediate molded body to form an intermediate molded body and a secondary molding machine for compression molding the intermediate molded body to form a rice ball of a final product are arranged in a line, and each molded body is intermittently arranged below the primary molding machine. In an onigiri production device equipped with an intermittent belt conveyor that conveys the preformed body cutting machine,
A rice transporter for loosening and transporting rice and a bulk casing having a rectangular cross section for receiving the rice transported from the rice transporter and having a shape larger than the surface area of the rice ball of the final product, The lower discharge port is provided with an opening / closing shutter for opening and closing the discharge port, and a cutting shutter for cutting a fixed amount of cooked rice and forming a rectangular plate-shaped preform on the upper part, so that little pressure is applied to the cooked rice. To form a preform, and a plump preform can be formed.

In particular, the rice rice transporter is a hopper for charging the cooked rice, a loosening wheel for scraping and loosening the charged rice, a feed conveyor for transporting the rice from the hopper to the opening of the casing, and a feed conveyor. To adjust the rotation speed of the feed conveyor by the leveling wheel provided near the opening of the casing and the output of the level sensor. Control device, and adjusts the rotation speed of the feed conveyor according to the output of the level sensor, so that the amount of cooked rice in the amount casing is always constant from the feed conveyor to the amount casing. Since the amount of cooked rice can be adjusted, the weight of one rice ball is always constant. The molded body can be produced, as a result, it is possible to always constant the weight of rice balls products.

The two shutter members of the opening / closing shutter of the casing are provided so as to slide in the short side direction of the rectangular cross section of the casing, and a large number of linear ridges extending in the sliding direction are provided on the upper surface thereof. Is provided, the sliding distance is short, and a large number of straight ridges make it difficult for the cooked rice to adhere to the cooked rice.

The two shutter members of the cutting shutter of the mesh casing are provided so as to slide in the short side direction of the rectangular cross section of the mesh casing, and both shutter members are stopped with a slight gap in a closed state. In addition to being controlled, a large number of linear ridges are provided on the upper and lower surfaces in the sliding direction, so that the sliding distance is short, and because of the large number of linear ridges, it is difficult for rice to stick, In addition, since the rice rice is stopped leaving a gap, the rice is hardly damaged and the quality of the rice ball can be improved.

The primary molding machine of the present invention is a piston device for vertically moving the primary molding machine, a molding unit for forming an intermediate molded body by compressing a rectangular plate-shaped preform toward the center from both sides in the longitudinal direction. A pocket plug that has a molding die for forming a tool hole in the intermediate molded body at the tip thereof and moves up and down, and the molding units are provided opposite to each other at both longitudinal ends of the preformed body. The pocket plug comprises a pair of concave moving dies which slide in the direction of the center of the preform and a pair of flat fixed dies which are erected on both sides thereof along the longitudinal direction of the preform. Before the movable die is driven, it is controlled so as to descend to the surface of the preform located in the molding unit of the primary molding machine. Center of molded body If we compressed toward the direction, the preform is both sides is restricted from spreading in the lateral direction in a plane fixed press die, they come raised as the concave moving mold-pressing proceeds. Since there is already a pocket plug mold in the center of the preform,
The raised rice rice surrounds the mold, and is pressed from the side by the further advance of the concave-surface moving mold to form a hole. The hole formed in this way is different from the hole formed by the stamp, and the periphery of the hole is not hardened, so that a plump intermediate molded body can be formed.

To explain this point in more detail, the rectangular plate-shaped preform formed in the bulk casing without applying pressure has an area larger than the rice ball of the product, preferably twice as large. So its thickness is about half of the product rice balls. If this preform is compressed by a concave displacement pressing die from both ends of the longitudinal direction toward the center, the preform rises to about twice the height, surrounds the tool hole forming die, and fills the tool hole. Can be formed. Originally, this preformed body was cut out with a coarse casing and became plump, so that an intermediate formed body having a tool hole was formed while maintaining that state.

Since the molding die of the pocket plug of the primary molding machine has a cooling chamber that is cooled by the refrigerant inside, the tool hole portion is cooled at the time of molding, and the portion of the rice ball in contact with the inserted tool or tool is less likely to deteriorate. . It is extremely simple if air is used as the refrigerant and the air cooled using an instantaneous cooler utilizing adiabatic expansion is sent to the cooling chamber provided inside the tip mold of the pocket plug by a pipe. With a simple device, the tip mold of the pocket plug can be cooled.

The secondary molding machine of the present invention is provided with a molding unit that compresses the intermediate molded body with the tool inserted into the tool hole from the four sides toward the center to form the final shape of the rice ball, so that the tool is inserted into the tool hole. Since the force is applied sequentially from the four sides of the completed intermediate molded body to tie the rice balls by hand, the rice balls that are full and do not lose their shape can be molded.

As the concave surface moving die of the secondary molding machine, a compressed surface depressed in a semicircular shape, a compressed surface depressed in a substantially right triangle shape, or the like can be selectively used, so that rice balls having various shapes can be manufactured.

By making the surface of the intermittent belt conveyor shark-like, it is possible to prevent the semi-finished product or product of the rice balls being transferred from sticking to the surface of the intermittent belt conveyor.

The onigiri manufacturing apparatus of the present invention includes a piston device for opening and closing a shutter of a large casing, a piston device for a cutting shutter, a lifting and lowering piston device of a primary molding machine, a piston device for a molding unit for forming an intermediate molded body, and a pocket plug. The air piston device is used for the piston device of the secondary molding machine, the piston device for the secondary molding machine, the piston device for the pair of molding units, and the piston device for the press member. There is an advantage that adjustment can be made easily.
In other words, electric pistons and electric motors can be used as these piston devices, but the wiring of electrical products is complicated, and it is necessary to complete waterproofing equipment as a countermeasure against earth leakage. There is a drawback that it is serious. On the other hand, if an air piston is used, the installation of the air pipe is relatively easy, and even for work that involves a lot of water work, there is no need to tighten the waterproofing measures too much. There is an advantage that it can be easily performed.

In the present invention, since the rice ball manufacturing apparatus is provided in a two-parallel arrangement, the production capacity can be doubled, and simultaneously using different shapes of moving dies for each row enables simultaneous production of rice balls of different shapes. Can be.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS The front view which shows schematic structure of the onigiri production apparatus in one Example of this invention. The front view which shows the principal part of FIG. FIG. The enlarged front view of the upper half of the link mechanism of the opening / closing shutter and the cutting shutter of the mass casing. Sectional side view of a primary molding machine. The side sectional view of a secondary molding machine. Sectional drawing of a pocket plug. FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional explanatory view of a planar movement pressing drive device. Explanatory drawing of the control panel for controlling a piston apparatus. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rice ball manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 and is an explanatory view showing a state of a formed rice ball.

The best mode for carrying out the present invention will be described with reference to examples.

FIG. 1 is a front view showing a schematic configuration of an onigiri production apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention. On a base 11, a preform cutting machine 1, a primary molding machine 4, and a secondary molding machine 5 are provided. They are arranged in a line.
The preform cutting machine 1 includes a cooked rice transporter 2 and a casing 3. The cooked rice transporter 2 is provided at a bottom of the cooked rice feeding hopper 21 into which cooked cooked rice is poured, the cooked rice in the hopper 21 is loosened and unraveled, a transport casing 25 for receiving the loosened rice, and a transport casing 25. Feed conveyor 24, a leveling wheel 23 for leveling the height of cooked rice on the feed conveyor 24.
8 is open. Reference numeral 29 denotes a waste food collection container for collecting the waste food left on the feed conveyor 24 and the like.

The large-sized casing 3 has an opening 31 for receiving the chunks of cooked rice A supplied from the input port 28 of the transport casing 25, a discharge port 36 provided at the bottom of the large-size casing 3, and an opening and closing opening and closing the discharge port 36. A shutter 34 and a cutting shutter 32 slightly above the opening / closing shutter 34 are provided.

A level sensor 26 is attached to the end wall of the transfer casing 25. The level sensor 26 measures the height of the cooked rice put into the casing 3 and feedback-controls the rotation speed of the feed conveyor 24 according to the output to constantly measure the amount of cooked rice in the casing 3. Keep at a certain height.

Attach an air blower 27 to prevent fogging beside the level sensor 26.
Prevents the measurement window from becoming cloudy due to the steam of cooked rice.

The cooked rice in the bulk casing 3 closes the opening / closing shutter 34 and falls to the opening / closing shutter 34 when the cutting shutter 32 is opened. At the next point in time, the cutting shutter 32 is closed and the bottom portion of the cooked rice is cut off to form the preform B. When the opening / closing shutter 34 is opened at the next time, the preform B falls onto the intermittent belt conveyor 6.
In the intermittent belt conveyor 6, as shown in FIG. 2, a belt 64 suspended on a driving wheel 63 and an adjusting wheel 62 is intermittently driven in accordance with a rice ball manufacturing process. Upper belt 6
A support base 61 is provided below the support frame 4 to receive the loads of the primary molding machine 4 and the secondary molding machine 5.

The primary molding machine 4 is attached to the base via an elevating piston device, and after being lowered to the position of the preformed body B conveyed by the intermittent belt conveyor 6, to a position in contact with the surface of the preformed body B The mold 463 of the pocket plug 46 is lowered. Next, when the rectangular preform B is compressed in the longitudinal direction by the molding unit 42, the preform B swells and its height becomes about twice, so that the forming die 463 is wrapped and the tool hole 47 is formed. The formed intermediate molded body C is formed.

The intermediate molded body C in which the tool hole 47 is formed is carried to the next position by the intermittent belt conveyor 6, and after the tool G is manually inserted into the tool hole 47, the next process is performed by the intermittent belt conveyor 6. Transported to the location.
If the ingredients are solid like dried plums or salmon, the surroundings C1 of the ingredient holes 47 are raised as shown in FIG. Although there is no such thing, there is a possibility that a soft thing such as seaweed boiled out may be popped out when compressed by the molding unit 52. Therefore, the cooked rice H for closing the hole is manually placed on the component G.

In the next step, the tool G is inserted under the secondary molding machine 5, and the intermediate molded body D covered with the supplementary cooked rice H is carried thereon. The secondary molding machine 5 is mounted on a base via a lifting piston device. The secondary molding E is formed by the molding unit 52 of the secondary molding machine 5 lowered to the position of the intermediate molding D by the lifting piston device. At the next point in time, the press member 53 descends to adjust the shape of the surface of the secondary formed body E.
In the next step, the secondary molding machine 5 is raised, the intermittent belt conveyor 6 is rotated, and the final form of the rice ball E is taken out. This rice ball is wrapped with seaweed and packaged in the next step as necessary.

Next, the structure of the mesh casing 3 will be described in more detail with reference to FIGS.
An opening 31 for receiving cooked rice fed by the cooked rice transporter 2 is provided at an upper portion of the mesh casing 3 shown in FIG. An opening / closing shutter 34 is provided below the discharge port 36, and a cutting shutter 32 is provided slightly above the opening / closing shutter 34.

The opening / closing shutter 34 includes two shutter members 341 and 341 that slide in opposite directions. A sliding protrusion 342 is provided upright at the base of one of the shutter members 341. The tip of the sliding protrusion 342 is inserted into a concave groove 344 provided at the lower end of the arm 343. The upper end of the arm 343 is fixed to the rotation shaft 345. The rotation shaft 345 is fixed to one end of a second link member 352 of the second link mechanism 35 shown in FIG. The other end of the second link member 352 is rotatably connected via a first link member 351 to one end of a third link member 355 that is supported by the machine frame 55 on a rotating shaft 356. The tip of the piston rod 354 of the piston device 353 is rotatably connected to the tip of the third link member 355. Therefore, when the piston rod 354 is extended, the second link member 352 is attached to the rotating shaft 3 fixed thereto.
It rotates with 45 in the forward direction. The rotation of the rotation shaft 345 in the forward direction causes the arm 343 in FIG.
Also rotates in the forward direction, slides the shutter member 341 of the opening / closing shutter 34 to the left, that is, the opening direction, and opens the discharge port 36.
The other shutter member of the opening / closing shutter 34 is also operated by a similar mechanism.
At the same time, it slides rightward, that is, in the opening direction, to fully open the discharge port 36.
In addition, since a large number of linear ridges extending in the sliding direction are provided on the upper surface of the shutter member 341 of the opening / closing shutter 34, friction with rice grains is small when the shutter member 341 slides, The rice grains do not stick to or damage the shutter member 341.

The cutting shutter 32 includes two shutter members 321 that slide in opposite directions. The shutter members 321 and 321 can be inserted into the casing 3 through slit-like insertion holes 37 formed in the side wall of the casing 3. A sliding projection 322 is provided upright at the base of one of the shutter members 321. This sliding projection 32
2 is inserted into a concave groove 324 provided at the lower end of the arm 323. Arm 32
The upper end of 3 is fixed to the rotating shaft 325. The rotating shaft 325 is fixed to one end of the second link member 332 of the first link mechanism 33 shown in FIG. The other end of the second link member 332 is rotatably supported at the tip of a third link member 335 that is supported by the rotating shaft 336 on the machine frame 55 via the first link member 331. The tip of the piston rod 334 of the piston device 333 is rotatably connected to one end of the third link member 335. Therefore, when the piston rod 334 is contracted, the second link member 332 rotates in the opposite direction together with the rotating shaft 325 fixed thereto. By the rotation of the rotation shaft 325 in the opposite direction, the arm 323 of FIG. 2 also rotates in the opposite direction, causing the shutter member 321 of the cutting shutter 32 to slide to the right, that is, the closing direction, and the rice cooked in the casing 3. Cut the bottom of the.
The other shutter member of the cutting shutter 32 is also operated by a similar mechanism.
Slides in the left direction, that is, in the closing direction in synchronization with the right sliding of the rice to cut the lower part of the cooked rice.

Since the two shutter members 321 and 321 of the cutting shutter 32 are controlled so as to stop with a slight gap in the closed state, the rice grains in the gap are not damaged. Further, the shutter member 321 is provided with a large number of linear ridges extending in the sliding direction on the upper and lower surfaces thereof, so that when the shutter member slides, there is little friction with rice grains. The rice grains are not stuck or damaged.

FIG. 3 is a partial cross-sectional side view of the mesh casing 3. As can be seen from this figure, the second casing 3 is provided in parallel in two rows. As shown in the plan view of FIG. 10, the left lane is a first lane I for making a round rice ball, and the right lane is a second lane I for making a triangle rice ball.
I. A first casing 3 provided in each of the first lane I and the second lane II;
A cutting shutter 32, 32 'and an opening / closing shutter 34, 34' are attached to the lower part of 3 '. Two cutting shutters 32, 32 'and two opening / closing shutters 34, 34
'Is operated by one link mechanism.
That is, the first link mechanism 33 is used for a cutting shutter, but since the arms of the cutting shutter 32 and the cutting shutter 32 ′ are fixed to the rotating shaft 325, both cutting are performed by the rotation of the rotating shaft 325. The shutters 32, 32 'are activated.
Similarly, since the arms of the two opening / closing shutters 34 and 34 ′ are fixed to the rotation shaft 345 of the second link mechanism 35, the two opening / closing shutters 34 and 34 ′ are also opened and closed by the rotation of the second link mechanism 35. The shutters 34 and 34 'open and close simultaneously.
Reference numeral 6 denotes an intermittent conveyor, on which a support base 61 is provided below a belt 64 above the intermittent conveyor.

  Next, the structure of the primary molding machine 4 will be described in detail with reference to FIGS.

As shown in FIG. 5, the primary molding machine 4 includes an elevating piston device 41 for elevating and lowering the primary molding machine 4, and a hole 47 for forming a tool hole 47 on the intermediate molded body molded in the molding unit 42. Molding unit 4 for compressing the pocket plug 46 and the pre-molded body to form the intermediate molded body C
2 is provided.

The lifting piston device 41 has a cylinder 411 fixed to a support base 48 erected on the base 11. The tip of the piston rod 412 is connected to the arm 413 of the machine frame 414 of the primary molding machine 4.
, The primary molding machine 4 moves up and down by the vertical movement of the piston rod 412 of the lifting piston device 41. Reference numeral 481 denotes a guide rod vertically attached to a lower portion of the machine frame 414, and slides vertically in a vertical guide hole (not shown) opened in the support base 48.

The pocket plug 46 is a device for forming a tool hole 47 in the intermediate molded body C, and as shown in FIG. 2, the piston rod 4 of the piston device 461 attached downward to the machine casing 414.
A molding die 463 of the pocket plug 46 is fixed to 62. Two guide pipes 465 and 465 are vertically provided on the molding die 463. Two guide pipes 465, 4
Numeral 65 slides up and down in guide holes 466 and 466 opened in the machine frame 414. When the piston rod 462 is extended downward, the mold 463 descends to the position of the surface of the preform B.
In this state, when the preform B is compressed from the longitudinal direction to the center direction by the concave-surface moving pressing dies 421 and 422, the cooked rice swells and wraps the forming die 463, and the hole 47 is placed on the completed intermediate formed body C. Is formed.
As shown in FIG. 7, the inside of the mold 463 is hollowed to form a cooling chamber 467. The air cooled by the air cooler 468 is sent into the cooling chamber 467 through one guide pipe 465. The air cooler 468 is an adiabatic expansion type air cooler (Higashihama air cooler manufactured by Higashihama Industries Co., Ltd.) and can supply air at a temperature of zero degree or less.

As shown in FIG. 10, the molding unit 42 is provided with a pair of concave-surface moving pressing dies 421 and 422 and a pair of flat fixed pressing dies 423 and 423, respectively.
As shown in FIG. 5, since the concave surface moving die 421 is fixed to the tip of the piston rod 432 of the piston device 43 attached to the machine frame 414 in the horizontal direction, it slides in the horizontal direction by the operation of the piston device 43. .
FIG. 5 shows a state in which two primary molding machines 4 are arranged in parallel. Therefore, the left concave moving die of the first lane I on the left side of the drawing is denoted by 421, the right concave concave pressing die of the right lane is denoted by 422, and the right concave die is denoted by 422. The concave concave pressing die on the left side of the second lane II is denoted by 421 ′, and the concave concave pressing die on the right side is denoted by 422 ′. Left and right two piston devices 43 and 44 are provided to slide the concave surface moving die. The piston device 43 is used to slide the two concave moving die 421, 421 '. The piston device 44 is used to slide the two concave moving dies 422, 422 '.
In order to simultaneously slide the two concave moving dies 422 and 422 ′, the piston rod 442 of the piston device 44 fixed to the machine frame 414 is fixed to the upper end of the concave moving die 422 ′, and the common crossbar 451 is fixed. It is fixed to a slide member 452 'slidably mounted. The upper end of the concave moving die 422 of the first lane I is fixed to the slide member 452 that slides on the cross bar 451. Then, the slide member 452 ′ and the slide member 452 are connected by the horizontal connection arm 45.
The concave moving die 421 of the first lane I and the concave moving die 421 ′ of the second lane II are connected in the same manner and slid by the piston device 43. Since the concave moving die 421 and the concave moving die 422 move toward the center of the preform B, the preform B placed therebetween is compressed to form the intermediate molded body C.

In order to form the intermediate molded body C with the primary molding machine 4, first, the preformed body B is moved below the primary molding machine 4, and then the primary molding machine 4 is lowered by the elevating piston device 41, Fix in position B.
Next, the pocket plug 46 is lowered by the piston device 461 to a position where the mold 463 contacts the surface of the preform B. In this state, the pair of concave surface moving dies 421 and 422 are advanced toward the center of the preform B. At this time, since the flat fixed pressing dies 423, 423 are erected at the positions of the widths of the concave moving pressing dies 421, 422, the pre-formed body B is restricted from moving in the lateral direction, and inevitably rises toward the center while rising. Be squeezed. As a result, the raised cooked rice rises about twice the height of the preform B, and surrounds the mold 463 of the pocket plug 46. In this state, compression is performed from both sides by the pair of concave surface moving dies 421 and 422, so that the intermediate molded body C having the hole 47 is formed. Since the hole is formed in this way, it is possible to prevent the cooked rice around and under the hole from being hardened as in the case where the hole is formed by pressing the stamp as in the related art.
Each of the concave-surface moving dies 421 and 422 has a shape obtained by halving an octagonal cross section as shown in the figure, and the advancing is stopped at a constant interval.
It is octagonal as shown in

Next, the structure of the secondary molding machine 5 will be described with reference to FIGS.
As shown in FIG. 6, the lifting piston device 51 of the secondary molding machine 5 is fixed to a support base 54 erected on the base 11. Since the tip of the piston rod 512 inserted into the piston cylinder 511 is fixed to the arm 551 of the machine frame 55 of the secondary molding machine 5, the secondary molding machine 5 is moved by the vertical movement of the piston rod 512 of the lifting piston device 51. Move up and down. Reference numeral 552 denotes a guide rod vertically attached to a lower portion of the machine frame 55, and slides vertically in a vertical guide hole (not shown) opened in the support base 54.

As shown in FIG. 10, the molding unit 52 of the secondary molding machine 5 includes a pair of concave-surface moving dies 521 and 522 having a pair of concave compression surfaces and a pair of flat-surface moving dies 523a having a pair of flat compression surfaces.
, 523b are provided to face each other.

As shown in FIG. 2, the pair of flat-movement pressing dies 523 a and 523 b are configured to be movable in opposite directions by the flat-movement pressing drive 56. That is, as shown in FIG. 8, the plane moving push-type driving device 56 includes a piston device 561 and a parallel opening / closing type air chuck 563 (SM).
CHL, parallel open / close type air chuck, MHL2 Series). The piston device 561 is fixed to the machine frame 569, and the tip of the piston rod 562 is fixed to the frame 568a. At the lower end of the frame 568a, a plane moving die 523a is vertically attached. On the other hand, if the rack 564a moves leftward due to the presence of the two racks 564a and 564b and the pinion 565 interposed therebetween and rotatably attached to the rotation shaft 566, the air chuck 563 moves the rack 564b rightward in the opposite direction. Moving.
The tip of the rack 564a is fixed to the frame 568a, and the tip of the rack 564b is
68b. 567 is a sliding rod fixed to the frame 568b,
It is configured to be slidable in a through hole provided in the machine frame 569. Then, the flat moving die 523a is attached to the frame 568a, and the flat moving die 5 is mounted on the frame 568b.
23b is attached. According to this configuration, when the piston rod 562 of the piston device 561 extends leftward, the frame 568a moves leftward, and the rack 564 fixed to the frame 568a.
a is moved to the left. The movement of the rack 564a rotates the pinion 565, and the rack 564b engaged with the pinion 564 moves rightward to move the frame 568b rightward. As a result, the plane moving pressing dies 523a and 523b move in the opposite directions, and become open. Conversely, when the piston rod 562 is contracted, the plane moving molds 523a and 523b move toward the center, and compress the intermediate formed body D therebetween.

FIG. 6 shows a state in which two secondary molding machines 5 are arranged in parallel. Therefore, the left concave moving die in the first lane I on the left side of the drawing is denoted by 521, the concave concave pressing die on the right is denoted by 522, and the right side of the first lane I is denoted by 522. The left concave moving die of the second lane II is denoted by 521 ', and the right concave concave pressing die is denoted by 522'. Left and right two piston devices 524, 524 'are provided for sliding the concave surface moving die.
The piston device 524 is used to slide the two concave moving stamps 521, 521 '. Piston device 524 'is used to slide two concave moving dies 522, 522'.
In order to simultaneously slide the two pressing dies, the piston rod 525 of the piston device 524 fixed to the machine frame 55 is fixed to the upper end of the concave moving pressing die 521 and the common crossbar 52 is fixed.
6 to a slide member 527 slidably mounted. When the concave moving die 521 'is also fixed to the slide member 527' and connected to the slide member 527 by the common horizontal connecting arm 528, the concave moving die 521 of the first lane I and the concave surface of the second lane II are moved by the piston device 524. The moving die 521 ′ can be simultaneously moved toward the center of the intermediate molded body D.
The concave moving die 522 of the first lane I and the concave moving die 522 'of the second lane II are connected in the same manner, and when the piston device 524' is driven, the concave moving die 522 and the concave moving die 5 are driven.
Reference numeral 22 'moves toward the center of the intermediate molded body D.
The intermediate compact D placed therebetween is compressed to form a secondary compact E.

As shown in FIG. 2, the press member 53 has a piston rod 532 of a piston device 531 fixed to the machine frame 55, and is fixed to an arm 533. Both ends of the arm 533 are fixed to two vertical guide bars 534, 534. At the lower ends of the two guide bars 534, 534, a disk-shaped press platen 535 is attached. When the piston rod 532 is extended, the press platen 535 descends, and the tool G is put thereinto. Pressing and shaping the upper surface of the molded product D formed by placing the cooked rice H thereon and forming the secondary molded product E as a final product, and moving the intermittent belt conveyor 6 in the next step to form the secondary molded product Take out E.

Next, a method for simultaneously producing a round rice ball and a triangular rice ball will be described with reference to FIG.
Lane I is a lane for producing round rice balls, and lane II is a lane for producing triangle rice balls. In each lane, on the base 11 erected at a constant interval on the intermittent belt conveyor 6, the casings 3, 3 ′, the primary molding machines 4, 4 ′, the secondary molding machines 5, 5, '
Are arranged in a line.

The concave moving die 421 of the primary molding machine 4 of the lane I uses an indented die obtained by halving an octagon to mold an octagonal intermediate molded body C. In the next step, the tool is manually inserted into the tool hole 47 of the intermediate molded body C. In the next step, the supplementary cooked rice H is put on the ingredient G by hand to produce the intermediate molded body D. First, the plane-moving pressing dies 523a and 523b of the secondary molding machine 5 are advanced to compress the intermediate molded body D to the width of the concave-surface moving pressing dies 521 and 522. In the next step, the concave-surface moving pressing dies 521 and 522 which are depressed in a semicircular shape are advanced to a position where they come into contact with each other, and a circular rice ball E is formed.

The concave moving die 421 'of the primary molding machine 4' of Lane II uses a concave die 421 ', 422' obtained by dividing the deformed octagon in half to mold the deformed octagonal intermediate molded body C '. In the intermediate molded body C ′, the right half is larger than the left half. In the next step, the tool G is manually inserted into the tool hole 47 of the intermediate molded body C. In the next step, the supplementary cooked rice H is put on the ingredient G by hand to produce the intermediate molded body D. In the next step, the plane moving die 523a ', 523 of the secondary molding machine 5'
b 'is advanced to compress the width of the concave moving die 521', 522 'recessed in an equilateral triangle, and then the concave moving die 521', 522 'is advanced until they come into contact with each other to remove the triangular rice ball E'. create.

Piston device 353 for opening / closing shutter of bulk casing 3, piston device 333 for cutting shutter, piston device 41 for lifting / lowering of primary molding machine 4, piston device 43 for molding unit
An air piston that uses air pressure is used for the piston device 461 for the pocket plug, the piston device 51 for raising and lowering the secondary molding machine, the piston devices 524 and 561 for the molding unit, and the piston device 531 for the press. . These 9 types and 11 air pistons are connected to an air compressor by an air pipe. A control panel 7 for controlling the operation of each air piston is provided between these air pipes.

FIG. 9 is an explanatory diagram of a control panel for controlling the operation of the air piston.
The control panel 7 includes an auto breaker 71, an electromagnetic contactor 72, a power supply 73, a sequencer 74, a terminal block 75, and an electromagnetic valve arrangement panel 76.
The solenoid valve arrangement board 76 includes a manually operated solenoid valve switch 761 for driving the nine piston devices. Of course, the opening and closing of these solenoid valves can be automatically controlled by the sequencer 74 in accordance with the onigiri manufacturing process.

DESCRIPTION OF REFERENCE NUMERALS 1 Pre-formed body cutting machine 2 Rice transporter 3 Mesh casing 32 Cutting shutter 34 Opening and closing shutter 4 Primary molding machine 42 Molding unit 46 Pocket plug 5 Secondary molding machine 52 Molding unit 53 Press member 56 Lump B Preformed body C Intermediate formed body D Dish-filled intermediate formed body E Rice balls of secondary formed body

Claims (17)

A pre-formed body forming step of cutting out a piece of cooked rice from cooked rice chunks into a rectangular plate having a plane area larger than the final product of the rice ball without applying pressure, and forming a pre-formed body;
In a state where a mold for forming a hole is present above the center of the preform, the preform is compressed from both ends in the longitudinal direction of the preform by a pair of concave surface moving pressing dies toward the center. An intermediate molded body forming step of forming an intermediate molded body having a tool hole by being raised around a mold for forming the component hole,
A tool insertion step of inserting a tool into a tool hole of the intermediate molded body,
A secondary molded body forming step of forming a secondary molded body by compressing the intermediate molded body from the four sides in the center direction into which the above-mentioned tool is inserted, and finishing the shape of the rice ball by pressing the upper surface of the secondary molded body A method for producing rice balls, comprising a step. A preform cutout machine that cuts rice balls for one rice ball into a predetermined shape without applying pressure to form a preform, and forms an intermediate hole by compressing and forming the preform. A primary molding machine to be formed and a secondary molding machine that compression-molds the intermediate molded body to form a rice ball of a final product are arranged in a line, and an intermittent belt conveyor that conveys each molded body intermittently is provided below. In the onigiri production equipment,
The above preform cutting machine is a rice cooker for loosening and transferring cooked rice, and a round casing having a rectangular cross section for receiving cooked rice transferred from the cooked rice cooker and having a shape larger than the surface area of the rice ball of the final product. The casing has an opening / closing shutter for opening and closing the outlet at a lower outlet, and a cutting shutter for cutting a fixed amount of cooked rice and forming a rectangular plate-shaped preform at an upper portion thereof. Onigiri making equipment. The cooked rice transporter is a hopper for feeding cooked cooked rice, a disintegrating wheel for scraping the fed cooked rice, a feed conveyor for transferring cooked rice from the hopper to the opening of the measuring casing, and a cooked rice on the feed conveyor. , A level sensor provided near the opening of the casing, and a control for adjusting the rotation speed of the feed conveyor by the output of the level sensor. A feed device for adjusting the rotation speed of the feed conveyor in accordance with the output of the level sensor so that the amount of cooked rice in the sample casing is always constant and supplied from the feed conveyor to the sample casing. 3. The rice ball production apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the amount of cooked rice is adjusted. The opening and closing shutter comprises two shutter members slid in a horizontal direction, and the two shutter members are slid in opposite directions by a link mechanism rotated by a piston device. Item 2. An onigiri production device according to item 2. The two shutter members are provided so as to slide in the direction of the short side of the rectangular cross section of the mesh casing, and on the upper surface thereof, a number of linear ridges extending in the sliding direction are provided. An onigiri production apparatus according to claim 4, characterized in that: The cutting shutter is composed of two horizontally slidable shutter members attached to the casing at a position higher by a predetermined length than the opening and closing shutter,
3. The rice ball manufacturing apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the two shutter members are slid in opposite directions by a link mechanism rotated by a piston device. The two shutter members are provided so as to slide in the short side direction of the rectangular cross section of the mesh casing, and both shutter members are controlled so as to stop with a slight gap in a closed state, 7. An onigiri manufacturing apparatus according to claim 6 , wherein a plurality of linear ridges extending in the sliding direction are provided on the upper and lower surfaces. The primary molding machine is a piston device for vertically moving the primary molding machine, a molding unit for forming the intermediate molded body by compressing the rectangular plate-shaped preform toward the center from both sides in the longitudinal direction. 3. An onigiri production apparatus according to claim 2 , further comprising a pocket plug which has a molding die for forming a hole in said intermediate molded body at a tip thereof and moves up and down. A molding unit for forming an intermediate molded body of the primary molding machine is provided with a pair of concave-shaped moving pressing dies which are provided to face both ends in the longitudinal direction of the preformed body and slide in the center direction of the preformed body, and a preformed body. 9. An onigiri production apparatus according to claim 8, comprising a pair of flat fixing dies which are erected on both sides thereof in the longitudinal direction. The molding die of the pocket plug is controlled so as to descend to a surface position of a preform located in a molding unit of a primary molding machine before the concave surface moving die is driven. An onigiri production apparatus according to claim 9 . 9. The rice ball manufacturing apparatus according to claim 8, wherein the mold for the pocket plug has a cooling chamber in the inside thereof that is cooled by a refrigerant. The secondary molding machine is a piston device for vertically moving the secondary molding machine, two pairs of molding units for compressing the intermediate molded body from four directions toward the center to form a final rice ball shape, and 9. The rice ball production apparatus according to claim 2, further comprising a press member that moves up and down to press the rice ball on to adjust the shape of the rice ball. 13. The pair of molding units of the secondary molding machine, comprising a pair of opposed rice ball half-recessed concave moving dies and a pair of opposed flat moving dies. Rice ball production equipment. 14. The rice ball manufacturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a stamp having a compression surface depressed in a semicircular shape is used as the concave surface moving stamp. 14. The rice ball manufacturing apparatus according to claim 13, wherein a stamping die having a compression surface depressed in a substantially right triangle is used as the concave surface moving stamping die. Piston device for opening and closing shutter of the above-mentioned casing, piston device for cutting shutter,
Air piston devices are used for the lifting piston device of the primary molding machine, the piston device for the molding device, the piston device for the pocket plug, the lifting piston device for the secondary molding machine, the piston device for the pair of molding units, and the piston device for the press. 3. The method according to claim 2, wherein
An onigiri production apparatus according to any one of claims 8 and 12. 13. An onigiri production apparatus, wherein the onigiri production apparatuses according to claim 2, 8, and 12 are provided in a double row.

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