JP6798759B2 - Rice ball molding transfer device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a rice ball forming transfer device, and relates to a technique for supplying a mounting member such as a plate or a tray for transferring the formed rice balls to a conveying means of the rice ball forming transfer device. It is a thing.

At conveyor belt sushi restaurants and the like, sushi balls molded by a sushi ball molding machine are transferred to a plate and then served with sushi types such as seafood and provided to customers. From the viewpoint of improving work efficiency, the transfer of the rice balls from the rice ball forming machine to the plate is often performed automatically by the mounting mechanism of the rice dish filling device without human intervention. ..

As a mechanism for arranging sushi balls in this sushi ball plate arranging device, for example, a belt conveyor for dish transfer is provided below the turntable for forming sushi balls, and the sushi balls at the sushi ball in the turntable hole. There is a drop-type sushi-laying mechanism that drops the rice on a plate carried by a belt conveyor directly below it. It should be noted that, for example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 11-056275 and Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 2011-139661 disclose a rice dish serving device provided with a filling mechanism based on this drop method.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-056275 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-139661

However, the rice bowl plate serving device provided with the above-mentioned drop-type serving mechanism has a problem that the molded rice balls are served exclusively on the plate, and sufficient consideration is not given to the serving on the tray. ..

An object of the present invention is to provide a technique for transferring a molded rice ball to a plate or a tray in a rice ball molding transfer device.

In order to solve the above problems, the rice ball forming transfer device of the present invention according to claim 1 is a rice ball forming means in which a part of a turntable for forming rice balls while rotating intermittently is exposed from the front surface. , Arranged on the side of the rice ball forming means, and arranged on the back side of the rice ball forming means in a state where the dish or tray on which the rice balls are placed is partially overlapped with the conveying means. A tray supply means for supplying the dish to the transport means, a tray supply unit provided by extending the transport means upstream from the dish supply means, and supplying the tray to the transport means. It is characterized by comprising a rice ball transfer means for gripping the rice balls molded by the rice ball forming means with a gripping means and transferring the rice balls to the dish or the tray on the transport means.

Further, the present invention according to claim 2 is in the rice ball forming transfer device according to claim 1, which is downstream of the tray supply unit and upstream of the rice ball transfer means to the transport means. It is characterized in that a tray detecting means for detecting the supplied tray is provided.

Further, according to the third aspect of the present invention, in the rice sushi rice forming transfer device according to the first or second aspect, the sushi rice forming means loosens the cooked rice and weighs and divides it into a predetermined weight to form a cooked rice mass. The rice lumps are pressed into the molding holes provided at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the turntable, and the rice lumps are pressed to form the rice balls. It is characterized by further including a member.

Further, according to the fourth aspect of the present invention, in the sushi ball molding transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 3, the sushi ball transfer means has a gripping position for gripping the sushi ball. It is characterized by comprising a moving means for reciprocating the gripping means along a line connecting the transfer position for transferring the rice balls.

Further, according to the fifth aspect of the present invention, in the rice ball forming transfer device according to any one of claims 1 to 4, the conveying means is located upstream of the dish or the tray in the conveying direction. The first transport means for transporting the dish or the tray to the transfer position of the rice ball by the rice ball transfer means, and the dish or the tray located downstream in the transport direction of the dish or the tray. The dish or the tray to which the rice balls are transferred by the loading means is provided with a second transport means for transporting the dish or the tray to the next step, and the first transport means has a length in the transport direction of the dish or the tray. It is characterized in that it is installed in a state where the profile pitch can be changed accordingly.

According to the present invention, in the rice sushi ball molding transfer device, the dishes can be supplied from the dish supply means to the transfer means, and the tray can be supplied from the tray supply unit to the transfer means. Balls can be transferred to either plates or trays.

It is a top view of an example at the time of dish transfer of the rice ball molding transfer apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a perspective view which looked at the rice ball molding transfer apparatus of FIG. 1 from an oblique front. It is an enlarged perspective view of the main part of the rice ball molding transfer device of FIG. It is sectional drawing for one row of the stock part which constitutes the dish feeder of the rice ball forming transfer apparatus of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the part different from FIG. 4 for one row of the stock part which constitutes the dish feeder of the rice ball forming transfer apparatus of FIG. It is a main part perspective view which shows the internal structure of the transfer machine of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. It is sectional drawing of the main part of the grip part of the transfer machine of FIG. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the grip portion of the transfer machine shown in FIG. FIG. 6 is an exploded perspective view of a main part of the grip portion of the transfer machine shown in FIG. It is a top view of an example at the time of tray transfer of the rice ball forming transfer apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view which looked at the rice ball molding transfer apparatus of FIG. 10 from an oblique rear view. FIG. 5 is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 10 as viewed from the front. (A) is a plan view of a rice ball forming transfer device provided with a drop-type transfer mechanism examined by the present inventor, and (b) is a plan view of a main part of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. (A) is a plan view showing an arrangement example of a tray detection sensor of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 1, (b) is a side view of the tray detection sensor of FIG. 14 (a), (c), (d). ) Is a plan view of a tray detection sensor for explaining the tray detection principle. (A) is a perspective view of an example of a tray, (b) is a side view of the tray in the longitudinal direction of FIG. 15 (a), (c) is a side view of the tray in the short direction of FIG. 15 (a), (d). Is a side view of the plate. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the rice ball forming transfer apparatus of FIG. It is a top view of the rice ball forming transfer apparatus of FIG. 1 at the time of transporting a square plate. It is a perspective view which looked at the rice ball molding transfer apparatus of FIG. 17 from an oblique rear view.

Hereinafter, embodiments as an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the drawing for demonstrating the embodiment, the same components are in principle the same reference numerals, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted.

A structural example of the rice ball forming transfer device of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 1 to 16. First, FIG. 1 is a plan view of an example of the rice ball forming transfer device according to the present embodiment during dish transfer, and FIG. 2 is a perspective view of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 1 as viewed diagonally from the front, FIG. Is an enlarged perspective view of a main part of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG.

In the rice ball forming transfer device M of the present embodiment, the rice balls formed by the rice ball forming machine (rice ball forming means) 10 are supplied from the dish feeder 20 and transferred by the conveyor (conveyor means) 30. A mechanism for transferring by a transfer machine (rice ball transfer means) 40 onto a tray D supplied to a position or a tray T supplied from a tray supply unit 31 and conveyed to a transfer position by a transfer conveyor 30 is provided. ing. Here, the case where the rice ball forming machine 10, the dish feeder 20, the conveyor 30, the tray feeder 31, and the transfer machine 40 are all installed on a common base 50 is illustrated. However, it is not limited to this.

The rice ball forming machine 10 is a device for automatically forming rice balls R, and a hopper 12 for opening a charging lid 11 and charging rice (vinegared rice or the like) from an opening is installed above the rice ball forming machine 10. Below the hopper 12, the cooked rice supplied from the hopper 12 is loosened and weighed and divided into predetermined weights to form a cooked rice mass, which is then put into the molding hole 13a of the turntable 13 below (not shown). ) Is provided.

The lowermost turntable 13 is formed, for example, in the shape of a cylindrical plate, and is provided so as to be rotatable in one direction (for example, in a counterclockwise direction) with its circular upper surface facing upward. ing. A plurality of (for example, 10) forming holes 13a are formed on the circular upper surface of the turntable 13 at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction thereof. The cooked rice lumps put into the molding holes 13a are pressed by the molding lower mold in the molding holes 13a and the molding upper mold (molding member: not shown) above the molding holes 13a as the turntable 13 rotates. A roughly bale-shaped rice ball R is formed.

Each forming hole 13a of the turntable 13 is formed, for example, in an elliptical shape or an oval shape in a plan view. Each molding hole 13a is arranged in a state in which the longitudinal direction thereof is along the radial direction of the turntable 13, and is arranged radially as a whole on the circular upper surface of the turntable 13. However, it is sufficient that the rice ball forming machine 10 can form the rice balls R by pressing the rice lumps, and the structure is not limited to the structure provided with the turntable 13 as in the present embodiment. Further, the shape of the rice ball R to be molded does not have to be a substantially bale shape as in the present embodiment, and may be, for example, a substantially spherical rice ball called Temari sushi.

A dish feeder 20 is provided on the back side of such a rice ball forming machine 10. For example, the stock portion 21 of the plate feeder 20 is provided with three rows of plate supply rows, and a plurality of plates D are stocked in a state of being stacked in the height direction in each plate supply row. .. The dishes D in each dish supply row of the stock section 21 are dropped onto the dish supply conveyor 22 one by one from the bottom by a dish take-out mechanism (not shown in FIGS. 1 to 3) described later, and the dish supply conveyor 22 is dropped. It is supplied to the first conveyor 30-1 of the conveyor 30 through 22.

In the stock unit 21, for example, three-colored plates D are stocked in each plate supply row in different colors so that the price of sushi provided to customers can be determined by the color of the plate D. The number of dish supply rows of the stock section 21 is not limited to three, but for example, the dish supply row of the stock section 21 is reduced by one row to be a supply row of another container such as a tray ( That is, if the number of rows is less than 3), the supply of the dish D may be insufficient. Therefore, from that viewpoint, the number of rows is preferably 3 or more. Further, although the plate D of the present embodiment is a round plate, it may be a plate D having another shape such as a square plate, and for example, a plate D having different shapes such as a round plate and a square plate may be used.

Here, FIGS. 4 and 5 show a cross-sectional view of one row of stock portions constituting the dish feeder of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. The above-mentioned dish taking-out mechanism 23 is installed in each of the dish supply rows of the stock section 21 constituting the dish feeder 20. As shown in FIG. 4, a pair of rollers 23a and 23b are installed in each dish taking-out mechanism 23 in a state in which they can rotate about a rotation axis. Grooves 23c and 23c extending along the axial direction (longitudinal direction) of the rollers 23a and 23b are formed at positions facing each other on the outer peripheral side surfaces of the pair of rollers 23a and 23b. The lowermost dish D of the stock portion 21 is held by a part of the outer peripheral edge thereof being fitted into the grooves 23c and 23c of the pair of rollers 23a and 23b, respectively. Further, the plate D one above the lowermost plate D is held in a state where a part of the back side of the outer peripheral edge thereof is on the upper outer circumference of the rollers 23a and 23b.

Further, a motor 23d is installed in each dish taking-out mechanism 23. As shown in FIG. 5, a gear 23e is connected to the rotating shaft 23d1 of the motor 23d. The gear 23e is connected to a gear 23f adjacent thereto via an idler gear (not shown) adjacent thereto. The gear 23f is connected to one end of one roller 23b (see FIG. 4) in the axial direction. Then, the roller 23b rotates in the same direction as the rotation direction of the motor 23d via the gear 23f, the idler gear, and the gear 23e.

The idler gear described above is integrally installed with the pulley 23g on the back side of the paper surface of FIG. 5 with the same shaft as the pulley 23g for the belt. The pulley 23g for the belt is mechanically connected to the pulley 23i via the belt 23h. The pulley 23i is connected to one end in the axial direction of the other roller 23a. The other roller 23a rotates in the direction opposite to the rotation direction of the motor 23d via the pulley 23i, the belt 23h, the pulley 23g, the idle gear, and the gear 23e.

In such a dish taking-out mechanism 23, when the pair of rollers 23a and 23b are rotated in the directions facing each other by the rotation control of the motor 23d, the grooves 23c and 23c of the respective rollers 23a and 23b face downward. It is possible to drop the lowermost plate D held by the 23c and 23c onto the plate supply conveyor 22. When each of the pair of rollers 23a and 23b is further rotated in the same direction as described above by the rotation control of the motor 23d, the dish D one above the lowermost dish D that has fallen is grooved 23c and 23c. It is supposed to be held by.

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the transport conveyor 30 is a mechanism unit for transporting the dish D supplied from the dish feeder 20 and the tray T supplied from the tray supply section 31, and is a dish feeder. It is arranged on the side of the rice ball forming machine 10 so as to overlap with one dish supply row of 20.

The transfer conveyor 30 is located on the upstream side in the transfer direction and conveys the dishes D and tray T to the transfer position of the rice ball R by the transfer machine 40, and the first conveyor (first transfer means) 30-1. A second conveyor (second) that transports the dishes D and tray T on which the rice balls R have been transferred by the transfer machine 40 to the next process (for example, the process of serving sushi seeds) located on the downstream side in the transport direction. (Transporting means) 30-2 and the like.

The first conveyor 30-1 includes an edgeless transport belt B that moves along the transport direction of the dishes D and the tray T. On the upper surface of the transfer belt B, a plurality of protrusions (profiles) for determining the positions of the dishes D and the tray T when the dishes D and the tray T are placed on the transfer belt B are formed along the longitudinal direction of the transfer belt B. It is formed. The plurality of positioning protrusions are formed at intervals (profile pitches) that match the lengths of the dishes D and trays T in the transport direction. Since this profile pitch changes according to the length of the dish D and the tray T in the transport direction, the first conveyor 30-1 changes the profile pitch according to the length of the dish D and the tray T in the transport direction. It is set so that the entire first conveyor 30-1 or the transport belt B can be replaced so as to be possible. The first conveyor 30-1 is driven by, for example, a brushless motor. However, the driving of the first conveyor 30-1 is not limited to the brushless motor, as long as the dish D and the tray T conveyed on the first conveyor 30-1 are driving means capable of positioning control. ..

Next, as shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the transfer machine 40 conveys the rice balls R formed by the rice ball forming machine 10 to the transfer position by the first conveyor 30-1 of the transfer conveyor 30. It is a mechanism unit for transferring to the plate D or tray T, and includes a grip portion 41 for transferring the rice ball R to the plate D or tray T. The grip portion 41 is provided with a chuck (grasping means) 41a for gripping the rice ball R. The chuck 41a can be opened / closed and raised / lowered, and can be swiveled in the forward and reverse directions along the horizontal plane.

Here, FIG. 6 is a perspective view of a main part showing the internal structure of the transfer machine of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of the grip portion of the transfer machine of FIG. FIG. 9 shows an exploded perspective view of a main part of the grip portion of the transfer machine of FIG. As shown in FIGS. 6 to 8, the pair of chucks 41a are supported by the support 41b in a state where they can be opened and closed. The opening and closing of the chuck 41a is performed by an opening / closing motor 41c arranged above the chuck 41a and a tension spring (not shown). That is, the opening / closing shaft 41e is connected to the cam 41d directly connected to the rotating shaft of the opening / closing motor 41c. The opening / closing shaft 41e moves up and down by the rotation of the cam 41d. When the opening / closing shaft 41e moves downward, the chuck opening / closing plate 41f above the chuck 41a is pushed down to open the chuck 41a. On the other hand, a tension spring is interposed between the left and right chucks 41a, and the left and right chucks 41a are closed when the pressing force on the chuck opening / closing plate 41f by the opening / closing shaft 41e disappears.

Further, as shown in FIGS. 6, 7 and 9, the pair of chucks 41a are supported by the grip portion 41 in a state where they can move up and down (up and down). The chuck 41a is moved up and down by transmitting the rotational power of the lifting motor 41g to the crank 41i via the gear 41h. That is, when the rotation shaft of the elevating motor 41g rotates, the crank 41i moves up and down, so that the support 41b and the pair of chucks 41a mechanically connected to the crank 41i move up and down.

Further, as shown in FIG. 7, the pair of chucks 41a are supported by the grip portion 41 in a state where they can rotate along the horizontal plane. The swivel mechanism of the chuck 41a is configured to support the chuck 41a of the grip portion 41 and rotate the rods 41j arranged in the vertical direction by the swivel motor 41k. That is, the chuck 41a and the rod 41j supporting the chuck 41a are supported by the grip portion 41 in a state of being rotatable in a horizontal plane. A swivel motor 41k is installed on the outer circumference of the rod 41j. The swivel motor gear 41m connected to the rotation shaft of the swivel motor 41k is mechanically engaged with the swivel driven gear 41n attached to the upper outer periphery of the rod 41j, and when the swivel motor 41k rotates, the swivel motor gear 41m and the swivel motor gear 41m The rotational power is transmitted to the rod 41j via the turning driven gear 41n, and the rod 41j rotates about the axis along the horizontal plane. Here, a pair of chucks 41a are located at the turning center of the rod 41j. The swivel motor 41k and various gears move up and down together with the up and down of the chuck 41a. Further, the rod 41j is formed in a hollow shape, and the opening / closing shaft 41e described above is installed in the hollow in a state where it can move up and down. However, the swivel mechanism is not limited to this.

Further, the grip portion 41 slides on the rail (moving means) 44 by the belt (moving means) 43 which is rotated in two forward and reverse directions by the motor (moving means) 42 (see FIG. 6), whereby the sushi rice balls are formed. It is possible to linearly reciprocate along a line connecting the gripping position of the rice ball R in the molding machine 10 and the transfer position of the rice ball R to the dish D or tray T conveyed to the first conveyor 30-1. It is possible. The motor 42 of the grip portion 41 is composed of a servo motor. However, the motor 42 is not limited to the servomotor as long as the grip portion 41 can be positioned and controlled.

As described above, according to the rice ball forming transfer device M of the present embodiment, the rice ball R is transferred by the transfer machine 40 to the dishes D and trays T to be conveyed to the first conveyor 30-1 (conveyor conveyor 30). It is configured to be mounted. Therefore, the rice ball forming machine 10 can be made versatile, and it is not only used as a component of the rice ball forming transfer device M for transferring the rice ball R to the plate D or the tray T, but also independently. Can also be used. Further, even if there is a dent or the like in the center of the width direction of the tray T along the transport direction of the tray T, the rice ball R can be transferred to the tray T while avoiding it.

Next, the tray supply unit 31 described above will be described with reference to FIGS. 10 to 15. 10 is a plan view of an example of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 1 during tray transfer, FIG. 11 is a perspective view of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 10 as viewed diagonally from the rear, and FIG. 12 is a view of the rice dish of FIG. It is an enlarged perspective view of the main part which looked at the ball molding transfer apparatus from the front.

The first conveyor 30-1 extends upstream from the dish feeder 20. That is, the upstream side of the first conveyor 30-1 intersects with one dish supply row of the dish feeder 20, and further projects rearward from the back surface of the dish feeder 20. A tray supply unit 31 is provided in the extending portion of the first conveyor 30-1.

The tray supply unit 31 is a component that supplies the tray T on which the rice balls R formed by the rice ball forming machine 10 are placed to the conveyor 30. As a result, the tray T can be supplied to the conveyor 30 without reducing the number of dish supply rows of the dish feeder 20. That is, the tray T can also be supplied to the conveyor 30 as required without causing a shortage of the dish D. Therefore, the rice ball molding transfer device M of the present embodiment can transfer the molded rice ball R to either the dish D or the tray T. Here, a tray T having a long flat surface is illustrated.

Here, FIG. 13 (a) is a plan view of a rice ball forming transfer device provided with a drop-type transfer mechanism examined by the present inventor, and FIG. 13 (b) is a key point of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. The plan view of the part is shown.

In the rice bowl plate serving device 100 shown in FIG. 13 (a), a conveyor 101 for transporting the plate D on which the rice ball R is placed is provided below the rice ball forming machine 102 and molded by the rice ball forming machine 102. The sushi rice ball R is dropped and placed on the plate D. However, in the case of this configuration, the rice ball forming machine 102 becomes expensive and the workability when replenishing cooked rice decreases. Further, a container other than the dish D, such as a tray, cannot be supplied to the conveyor 101. Further, since the transport conveyor 104 is arranged on the side of the rice ball forming machine 102 substantially in parallel with the dish feeder 103, the length L0 in the longitudinal direction (left-right lateral direction in FIG. 13) of the rice ball dish filling device 100. However, it is longer than the length L1 in the longitudinal direction (horizontal and horizontal directions of FIG. 13) of the rice ball forming transfer device M of the present embodiment of FIG. 13 (b).

On the other hand, in the present embodiment, the first conveyor 30-1 (conveyor conveyor 30) is arranged on the side surface of the rice ball forming machine 10 in a state of being crossed with one dish supply row of the dish feeder 20. By transferring the rice ball R formed by the rice ball forming machine 10 to the plate D or the tray T by the transfer machine 40, the rice ball forming machine 10 can be lowered, as described above. It does not cause a decrease in workability.

Further, by providing the tray supply unit 31, the tray T can also be supplied to the conveyor 30 according to the request. Moreover, since the transport conveyor 104 shown in FIG. 13A can be eliminated, the length L1 in the longitudinal direction (horizontal and horizontal directions of FIG. 13) of the rice ball forming transfer device M according to the present embodiment can be shortened. it can. Therefore, as shown in FIG. 13B and the like, the tray supply unit 31 is provided by partially projecting (extending) the first conveyor 30-1 to the upstream side of the dish feeder 20. , The length of the rice ball forming transfer device M in the longitudinal direction does not become significantly long. For this reason, the work space where the rice ball forming transfer device M is installed is not narrowed, so that the workability is not significantly reduced.

Next, FIG. 14A is a plan view showing an arrangement example of the tray detection sensor of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 14B is a side view of the tray detection sensor of FIG. 14A. 14 (c) and 14 (d) are plan views of a tray detection sensor for explaining the tray detection principle. In FIGS. 14 (a), 14 (c), and 14 (d), the tray detection sensor is hatched to make the drawings easier to see.

In the rice ball forming transfer device M of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 1, 10 and the like, in the first conveyor 30-1, it is downstream of the tray supply unit 31, and the transfer machine 40 (shale). As shown in FIGS. 14A and 14B, for tray detection for detecting that the dish D or tray T has been supplied onto the first conveyor 30-1 upstream of the transfer position of the ball R). A sensor (tray detecting means) 32 is provided.

The tray detection sensor 32 is composed of, for example, a transmissive optical sensor including a light emitting unit 32a and a light receiving unit 32b. As shown in FIG. 14A, the light emitting unit 32a and the light receiving unit 32b are arranged near the outer periphery of the outer periphery of the first conveyor 30-1 when viewed in a plane, and as shown in FIG. 14B, the side surfaces thereof. Seen from the side, the dishes D and trays T on the first conveyor 30-1 are arranged above and below the dishes D and trays T so as to sandwich them. The light emitting portion 32a and the light receiving portion 32b of the tray detection sensor 32 are placed in the width direction of the tray T or the like (the width direction orthogonal to the transport direction of the first conveyor 30-1) so as to sandwich the tray T or the like between them. ), And may be arranged substantially horizontally with respect to the upper surface of the first conveyor 30-1.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 14C and 14D, when the rectangular tray T is supplied, the detection light by the tray detection sensor 32 is blocked earlier than the round plate D, and the plate Since the detection light is blocked for a longer time than D, it is possible to automatically detect that the tray T has been supplied. The same applies when the light emitting portion 32a and the light receiving portion 32b of the tray detection sensor 32 are arranged horizontally with the tray T sandwiched between them. Of course, the supply of the tray T may be input from the input unit of the rice ball forming transfer device M each time the tray T is supplied. However, the tray detection sensor 32 is not limited to the transmission type optical sensor and can be changed in various ways. For example, a reflection type optical sensor may be used.

Next, FIG. 15 (a) is a perspective view of an example of the tray, FIG. 15 (b) is a side view of the tray in the longitudinal direction of FIG. 15 (a), and FIG. 15 (c) is the tray of FIG. 15 (a). A side view in the short direction, FIG. 15 (d) is a side view of the plate.

Comparing FIGS. 15 (a) and 15 (b) with FIG. 15 (d), even if the tray T and the dish D have different dimensions and shapes, as shown in FIGS. 15 (c) and 15 (d), the tray When the width Wt of T and the width Wd of the plate D are close to each other and the guide width of the first conveyor 30-1 is close, the tray T and the plate D can be used only by setting at the input portion of the rice ball forming transfer device M. Is possible. However, if the difference in length (profile pitch) in the transport direction is large between the tray T and the plate D, or if the difference in width between the tray T and the plate D is large, replace the conveyor unit of the first conveyor 30-1. It can be dealt with by doing.

Next, FIG. 16 is a block diagram showing a control system of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG.

The control unit C constituting the rice ball forming transfer device M controls the operations of the rice ball forming machine 10, the dish feeder 20, the first conveyor 30-1, the second conveyor 30-2, and the transfer machine 40. This is a control circuit that executes control of transferring the rice ball R to the plate D or tray T on the conveyor 30 by the transfer machine 40.

For example, an input unit (not shown) 60 composed of a touch panel type liquid crystal display unit is electrically connected to the control unit C. Then, the operator operates the input unit 60 to input a desired command (such as the number of sushi balls R arranged on one plate D and how to arrange them), so that the sushi ball molding transfer device M inputs. The operation is executed according to the contents.

Further, the control unit C controls the plate taking-out mechanism 23 (see FIGS. 4 and 5) of the plate feeder 20 to sequentially load the plates D stocked in the stock unit 21 of the plate feeder 20 from the bottom. The control of dropping the dishes one by one onto the dish supply conveyor 22 is executed.

Further, the control unit C controls the drive motor of the first conveyor 30-1 to execute control for transporting the dishes D and trays T of the first conveyor 30-1 to appropriate positions. .. Further, the control unit C determines whether the container supplied to the first conveyor 30-1 is the dish D or the tray T based on the information from the tray detection sensor 32 electrically connected to the control unit C. It is possible to recognize it automatically. Of course, as described above, the supply of the tray T may be input by the input unit 60.

Further, the control unit C controls the motor 42 of the transfer machine 40 to move the chuck 41a of the grip unit 41 to an appropriate position. Further, the control unit C controls the swivel motor 41k (see FIG. 7) that swivels the chuck 41a of the transfer machine 40 along the horizontal plane, so that the rice ball R is placed at an appropriate position on the dish D and the tray T. It is designed to execute the control to transfer. Therefore, the rice ball R can be flexibly and easily transferred to the plate D or the tray T.

Next, FIG. 17 is a plan view of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 1 when the square plate is conveyed, and FIG. 18 is a perspective view of the rice ball forming transfer device of FIG. 17 as viewed diagonally from the rear.

In the rice ball forming transfer device M of the present embodiment, as shown in FIGS. 17 and 18, for example, a square dish Ds having a square planar shape can be supplied from the tray supply unit 31. In this case as well, as shown in FIGS. 15 (c) and 15 (d), the profile pitch and the width (the length in the direction intersecting the transport direction) are almost the same between the square plate Ds and the round plate D. It is possible to use both the square plate Ds and the plate D only by setting at the input unit 60 of the rice ball forming transfer device M without exchanging the 1 conveyor 30-1.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed in the present specification are exemplary in all respects and are limited to the disclosed techniques. It's not a thing. That is, the technical scope of the present invention is not limitedly interpreted based on the description in the above-described embodiment, but should be interpreted only in accordance with the description of the claims, and the scope of claims. All changes are included as long as they do not deviate from the gist of the claims and claims.

In the above description, the case where the apparatus of the present invention is applied to the rice ball forming transfer device has been described, but the present invention is not limited to this, and various applications can be applied. For example, the apparatus is formed by a rice ball forming machine. It can also be applied to a gunkanmaki molding transfer device that transfers a gunkanmaki with seaweed wrapped around the outer peripheral side of a rice ball to a plate or tray.

10 Shari ball molding machine 11 Input lid 12 Hopper 13 Turntable 13a Molding hole 20 Dish feeder 21 Stock section 22 Dish supply conveyor 23 Dish take-out mechanism 23a, 23b Roller 23c Groove 23d Motor 23d1 Rotating shaft 23e, 23f Gear 23g Pulley 23h Belt 23i Pulley 30 Conveyor 30-1 First conveyor 30-2 Second conveyor 31 Tray supply unit 32 Tray detection sensor 40 Transfer machine 41 Grip unit 41a Chuck 41b Support 41c Open / close motor 41d Cam 41e Open / close shaft 41f Chuck open / close plate 41g Lifting motor 41h Gear 41i Crank 41j Rod 41k Swivel motor 41m Swivel motor Gear 41n Swivel driven gear 42 Motor 43 Belt 44 Rail 50 Base base 60 Input unit M Shari ball molding transfer device B Conveyor belt C Control unit D, Ds Dish T tray R Shari ball

Claims (5)

A rice ball forming means in which a part of the turntable that forms rice balls while rotating intermittently is exposed from the front , and
A transport means that is arranged on the side of the rice ball forming means and conveys a plate or tray on which the rice balls are placed.
A dish supply means that is arranged on the back side of the rice ball forming means in a state of being partially overlapped above the transport means and supplies the dish to the transport means.
A tray supply unit provided by extending the transport means upstream from the dish supply means and supplying the tray to the transport means.
The rice ball transferring means for gripping the rice balls molded by the rice ball forming means with the gripping means and transferring the rice balls to the dish or the tray on the conveying means.
A rice ball forming transfer device characterized by being provided with. The sushi rice according to claim 1, wherein a tray detecting means for detecting the tray supplied to the transporting means is provided downstream of the tray supply unit and upstream of the sushi rice ball transferring means. Ball molding transfer device. The rice ball forming means
The cooked rice is loosened, weighed and divided into predetermined weights to form a cooked rice mass, and the cooked rice is put into molding holes provided at predetermined intervals along the circumferential direction of the turntable.
A molding member that molds the rice balls by pressing the rice lumps that have been put into the molding holes, and
The rice ball forming transfer device according to claim 1 or 2, further comprising . The rice ball transfer means includes a moving means for reciprocating the gripping means along a line connecting a gripping position for gripping the rice ball and a transfer position for transferring the rice ball. The rice ball forming transfer device according to claim 1, 2 or 3. The transport means
A first transport means that is located upstream of the dish or the tray in the transport direction and transports the dish or the tray to the transfer position of the rice balls by the rice ball transfer means.
A second transport means for transporting the dish or tray located on the downstream side of the dish or tray in the transport direction and having the rice balls transferred by the rice ball transfer means to the next process.
With
Any one of claims 1 to 4, wherein the first transport means is installed in a state in which the profile pitch can be changed according to the length of the dish or the tray in the transport direction. The rice ball molding transfer device described in the section.

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