JP7304123B2 - Roller unit and sushi roll manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a roller unit and a sushi roll manufacturing apparatus, and more particularly to a sheet width when forming a food material such as boiled rice into a sheet and sending it out.

A roller unit provided in a sushi roll manufacturing apparatus or the like has a function of forming cooked rice (ingredient) into a sheet and feeding it out. Then, the fed sheet-shaped cooked rice is divided into predetermined lengths, and the divided sheet-shaped cooked rice is supplied onto a forming plate covered with, for example, plate-shaped seaweed to produce seaweed rolls.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Application Publication No. 2012-217364 filed by the applicant of the present invention, etc. can be cited as a conventional technique related to this type of sushi roll manufacturing apparatus.

JP 2012-217364 A

Here, since the sheet width cannot be adjusted with the above-described conventional roller unit, a roller unit corresponding to the sheet width is required when preparing a sheet of cooked rice. If there are recipes for different sheet widths, it is necessary to prepare a roller unit for each sheet width, which complicates the management of the apparatus.

In addition, since the conventional roller unit only prepares a sheet of cooked rice having a predetermined width, it is not possible to finely adjust the width of the sheet (about several millimeters).

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION It is an object of the present invention to provide a roller unit and a sushi roll manufacturing apparatus that can adjust the width of a food material to be formed into a sheet.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the roller unit of the present invention according to claim 1 includes a first roller pair arranged at a predetermined interval from each other, and a predetermined roller pair below the first roller pair. A second roller pair that is arranged at an interval and cooperates with the first roller pair to feed the food material in a sheet form, and the rotation shafts of the first roller pair and the second roller pair a pair of regulating means provided movably along and regulating the width of the foodstuff delivered by these roller pairs; and a frame supporting at least part of the rollers of the first roller pair and the second roller pair. and , wherein the pair of restricting means is a pair of restricting plates slidably attached to the frame .

According to a second aspect of the present invention, in the roller unit of the first aspect, the second roller pair is arranged with a narrower interval than the first roller pair. characterized by

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a roller unit according to the first or second aspect of the invention, wherein the pair of restricting means are movable so as to approach and separate from each other. .

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a roller unit according to any one of the first to third aspects, further comprising driving means for moving the pair of regulating means in directions toward and away from each other. , characterized in that

A fifth aspect of the present invention provides a roller unit according to any one of the first to fourth aspects , wherein the pair of regulating plates are symmetrically directed obliquely downward so as to approach each other. It is characterized by comprising a formed tapered surface.

According to a sixth aspect of the present invention, there is provided a roller unit according to the fifth aspect of the invention , further comprising a guide surface formed so as to bend and extend downward from the lower end of the tapered surface.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the apparatus for making sushi rolls according to claim 7 of the present invention includes a reservoir for storing cooked rice as a food material, and claims 1 to 6 for feeding out the cooked rice in the reservoir in the form of a sheet. a roller unit according to any one of the above; dividing means for dividing the sheet-shaped cooked rice sent out from the roller unit; and a forming plate on which a sheet of cooked rice is placed, and bending means for bending the forming plate so as to involve it.

According to the present invention, the pair of regulating means is movable along the rotation shafts of the first roller pair and the second roller pair, and the width of the sheet-like food material delivered by these roller pairs is It is designed to be regulated by a pair of regulating means. Therefore, it is possible to adjust the width of the food material that is formed into a sheet.

1 is a perspective view showing a sushi roll manufacturing apparatus according to an embodiment of the present invention; FIG. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1; 2 is a perspective view of the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 with a front cover removed; FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view of a roller unit attached to the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. 2 is a perspective view of a roller unit attached to the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing a roller unit attached to the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 together with a pair of regulating plates with a wide gap. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing a roller unit attached to the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1 together with a pair of narrowly spaced regulation plates. FIG. 2 is a cross-sectional view of a main part of a roller unit attached to the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1; FIG. 7 is a front view of the roller unit of FIG. 6; It is a perspective view which shows the roller unit of FIG. 6 with the sheet-like cooked rice sent out from the said roller unit. FIG. 8 is a front view of the roller unit of FIG. 7; It is a perspective view which shows the roller unit of FIG. 7 with the sheet-like cooked rice sent out from the said roller unit.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION An embodiment as an example of the present invention will be described in detail below with reference to the drawings. In the drawings for describing the embodiments, in principle, the same components are denoted by the same reference numerals, and repeated description thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, in the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus M according to the present embodiment, cooked rice R (for example, cooked rice R mixed with seasonings such as vinegar and sugar), which is a food material, is stored. a hopper (storage unit) 1 that stores the rice, a rice disintegrating unit 2 that thaws the cooked rice R supplied from the hopper 1, and two pairs of rollers 5 (first roller pair) that disperse the cooked rice R 5a, a roller unit 4 that compresses and feeds out a sheet from top to bottom by a second roller pair 5b), and a division that divides the continuous sheet-like cooked rice R fed out by the roller unit 4 in a direction orthogonal to the conveying direction. A shutter (dividing means) 6 and a plate mounting portion 7 that reciprocates on a guide rail (not shown) extending in the front-rear direction are attached to move forward and backward, and the sheet-like cooked rice R divided by the split shutter 6 is placed thereon. and a shaped plate 8 on which it rests. In addition, a start button 9 that is pressed when making sushi rolls is arranged in front of the right side of the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus M. As shown in FIG. In addition, the start button 9 can be arranged at two positions, one in front of the right side and one in front of the left side of the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus M. In this case, the operation starts when two start buttons 9 are pressed simultaneously.

Further, the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus M is provided with a control section 10 composed of a microcomputer or the like for controlling the operation of the entire apparatus including the roller unit 4, the divided shutter 6, the plate mounting section 7, and the forming plate 8. FIG.

The above-described cooked rice unraveling unit 2 has a plurality of unraveling blades 3, and the rotation of the unraveling blades 3 loosens the cooked rice R from the hopper 1 and supplies it to the roller unit 4. As shown in FIG. The roller unit 4 includes a first roller pair 5a and a second roller pair 5b arranged vertically. Further, the distance between the rollers 5b-1 and 5b-2 forming the second roller pair 5b positioned below is greater than the distance between the rollers 5a-1 and 5a-2 forming the first roller pair 5a positioned above. The interval is narrower, and the cooked rice R is sent out while being compressed into a sheet by being rotationally driven by a drive means (not shown).

Even if the intervals between the rollers constituting the two roller pairs 5 (the first roller pair 5a and the second roller pair 5b) are the same, the second roller pair 5b positioned below may be wider. Further, in this embodiment, the number of roller pairs 5 may be three or more. In this case, the interval between the rollers forming each roller pair can be freely set. However, if the interval between the pair of rollers located below is narrower than that between the pair of rollers located above, the cooked rice R can be gradually compressed without being damaged, which is desirable.

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3, the roller unit 4 is detachably housed in a unit housing chamber 12 formed in the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus M. As shown in FIG. The unit storage chamber 12 opens forward, and when the front cover 13 is attached, the unit storage chamber 12 is closed to hide the roller unit 4 located inside. A detailed structure of the roller unit 4 will be described later.

A regulation groove (not shown) for regulating the front-to-rear position of the roller unit 4 is formed in the bottom surface of the unit storage chamber 12 so as to extend in the lateral direction. Therefore, by removing the front cover 13 and inserting the roller unit 4 into the unit storage chamber 12 from the front and fitting it into the restriction groove, the roller unit 4 is restricted from moving back and forth, and the lateral movement (of the roller pair 5) is restricted. axial direction).

The front cover 13 has an interlock function, and when the front cover 13 is mounted in the normal position, the magnetic field of a magnet (not shown) attached to the back side of the front cover 13 is detected by the magnetic sensor on the main body side of the apparatus. (not shown) and the operation is permitted by the control unit 10 .

A touch panel 11 having a liquid crystal display is provided on the front side of the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus M. As shown in FIG. By operating the touch panel 11, the user can set the width and thickness of the sheet-like cooked rice R, the length of the divided sheet-like cooked rice R, and the like. The rotational speed of the roller pair 5 and the splitting timing of the split shutter 6 are defined according to the setting details, whereby the continuous sheet-like cooked rice R having a predetermined cross-sectional area is volume-measured and sent out from the roller unit 4. , the sheet-shaped cooked rice R is divided by the dividing shutter 6 according to the setting contents.

Incidentally, the divided cooked rice R is dropped and placed on the forming plate 8 which has been moved to the retracted position on which plate seaweed is set, for example. Then, after the forming plate 8 moves to the forward position and the desired ingredients are placed on the cooked rice R, the forming plate 8 can The front and back of the roll rises and joins together at the top to create seaweed rolls.

As shown in FIG. 3, the molded plate 8 has a structure in which a plurality of rectangular plate-like members 8a made of metal whose surfaces are coated with, for example, fluorine resin or the like are connected to each other via hinges 8b so as to be freely bendable. have.

A part (one sheet in this embodiment) of the plate-like member 8a-1 located inside the molding plate 8 is fixed to the plate mounting portion 7 by screws 18 and a washer plate 15. As shown in FIG. In addition, the plate-like member 8a other than that has its bottom surface supported by the plate mounting portion 7, and the forming plate 8 as a whole is in an unfolded state. The plate members 8a other than the fixed plate member 8a-1 can be bent upward.

Projecting pieces 7a formed on the plate mounting portion 7 protrude from below the forming plate 8 so as to be positioned forward and backward with respect to the moving direction. Further, projecting pieces 15a, which are bent portions of the above-described washer plate 15, are erected at positions on the left and right with respect to the moving direction of the molding plate 8. As shown in FIG. The area of the forming plate 8 surrounded by these projecting pieces 7a and 15a becomes the area on which the sheet-like cooked rice R is placed, and functions as a positioning for the worker when placing the plate seaweed.

As shown in FIG. 2, below the forming plate 8 located at the forward end, the forming plate 8 mounted on the plate mounting portion 7 is pushed up by a roller-shaped projecting portion 16a and bent so as to involve the forming plate 8. A push-up roller unit (bending means) 16 is arranged. The push-up roller unit 16 is driven by the drive motor 17 to bend the molding plate 8 .

Next, the roller unit 4 provided in the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus M of the present embodiment will be described with reference to FIGS. 4 and 5. FIG. 4 is an exploded perspective view of a roller unit attached to the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the roller unit attached to the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus of FIG.

In these drawings, the roller unit 4 is composed of the aforementioned two roller pairs 5 (first roller pair 5a, second roller pair 5b) and a frame 14 that supports these roller pairs 5. there is

The frame 14 consists of two side wall plates 14a positioned on both sides, and three cross sections of front and rear parts and a bottom part that are bridged between these side wall plates 14a and fitted with the side wall plates 14a at both ends in the width direction. plate 14b.

Each side wall plate 14a has a bearing portion 14a-1 which is rotatably fitted with one roller 5a-1 of the first roller pair 5a located upstream in the feeding direction of the cooked rice R and is open upward. A bearing portion 14a-2, in which the other roller 5a-2 is rotatably fitted, is formed with an opening in the lateral direction.

Furthermore, each side wall plate 14a is provided with a bearing portion 14a-3 which is rotatably fitted with one roller 5b-1 of the second roller pair 5b located downstream in the delivery direction of the cooked rice R and which is laterally opened. It is formed by A curved notch portion 14a-4 is formed in the front portion of the side wall plate 14a, and is supported by a shaft joint (not shown) that transmits the driving force of the driving means, and is spaced from the roller 5b-1. The other adjustable roller 5b-2 is located. 5, illustration of the roller 5b-2 shown in FIG. 4 is omitted. 5 additionally shows regulation plates 20a and 20b (to be described later) with respect to FIG.

As described above, the roller 5b-2 is not supported by the frame 14, and has a structure in which the distance between the roller 5b-1 and the roller 5b-1 can be adjusted. is set to a desired thickness, the roller 5b-2 is moved to a position corresponding to the setting to adjust the distance from the roller 5b-1. However, the roller 5b-2 may also be supported by the frame .

As shown in FIGS. 5, 6 and 7, the roller unit 4 regulates the width of the cooked rice R sent out in the form of a sheet by the first roller pair 5a and the second roller pair 5b. A pair of regulating plates (regulating means) 20a and 20b are provided.

As shown in these drawings and as shown in detail in FIG. 8, the regulating plates 20a and 20b have surfaces facing each other (tapered surfaces 20a-1 and 20b-1 and guide surfaces 20a-2 and 20b-2). ) are formed and are movable toward and away from each other along the rotation axis of the first roller pair 5a and the second roller pair 5b. In other words, engaging projections 21 are formed on both sides of the regulating plates 20a and 20b in the moving direction, and the engaging projections 21 fitted inside the transverse plates 14b in the front and rear portions of the frame 14 are movable. A long groove 14ba extending in the horizontal direction is formed. As a result, the engagement projection 21 moves along the long groove 14ba, thereby allowing the regulation plates 20a and 20b to slide relative to the frame 14. As shown in FIG.

The regulating plates 20a and 20b have tapered surfaces 20a-1 and 20b-1 that are symmetrically formed obliquely downward so as to approach each other, and bent from the lower ends of the tapered surfaces 20a-1 and 20b-1. It has guide surfaces 20a-2 and 20b-2 formed to extend downward, and is shaped to close the gaps on both axial sides of the rollers 5a-1, 5a-2 and 5b-1.

Further, the shape of the portions of the regulating plates 20a and 20b facing the rollers 5a-1, 5a-2 and 5b-1 is such that the gaps between the rollers 5a-1, 5a-2 and 5b-1 are as small as possible. As shown in FIG. 8, it has an arc shape along the rollers 5a-1, 5a-2 and 5b-1.

As a result, the cooked rice R introduced into the roller unit 4 from the hopper 1 through the cooked rice disintegrating section 2 is conveyed while being compressed into a sheet by the first roller pair 5a and the second roller pair 5b. Then, the width is gradually narrowed by the tapered surfaces 20a-1 and 20b-1 corresponding to the gap between the regulating plates 20a and 20b, and the width is gradually narrowed by the guide surfaces 20a-2 and 20b-2. is maintained and sent out.

That is, as shown in FIG. 9, when the regulating plate 20a and the regulating plate 20b are set at a relatively wide interval W1, the cooked rice R introduced into the roller unit 4 is distributed according to the interval. The width is narrowed to form a sheet having the width (relatively wide width) shown in FIG. 10 and sent out. In addition, as shown in FIG. 11, when the regulation plate 20a and the regulation plate 20b are set at a relatively narrow interval W2, the cooked rice R introduced into the roller unit 4 is distributed according to the interval. The width is narrowed to form a sheet having a width (relatively narrow width) shown in FIG. 12 and sent out.

Assuming that the maximum distance between the regulation plates 20a and 20b in this embodiment is the distance W1 shown in FIG. 9 and the minimum distance is the distance W2 shown in FIG. 11, the distance is set between the distance W1 and the distance W2. As a result, the cooked rice R is sent out in a sheet shape having a width corresponding to the interval between them. That is, the width of the sheet-like cooked rice R can be freely set between the interval W1 and the interval W2.

In the present embodiment, the guide surfaces 20a-2 and 20b-2 are slightly inclined downward and inward, but they may face straight downward. Also, the regulation plates 20a and 20b may be configured by only the tapered surfaces 20a-1 and 20b-1 without such guide surfaces 20a-2 and 20b-2. However, if the guide surfaces 20a-2 and 20b-2 are provided, the sheet width formed by the tapered surfaces 20a-1 and 20b-1 is maintained by the guide surfaces 20a-2 and 20b-2, thereby forming a habit. Therefore, the cooked rice R molded into a sheet shape is less likely to lose its shape.

Here, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 described above, in the present embodiment, a mechanism is provided for moving the regulation plates 20a and 20b in directions toward and away from each other. That is, a motor (driving means) 22 capable of forward and reverse rotation, a conversion box 23 that converts the rotary motion of the motor 22 into reciprocating linear motion, and the reciprocating linear motion converted by the conversion box 23 is used to control plates 20a, 20a, and 20b. Drive plates 24a, 24b are provided to move 20b. In the conversion box 23, there are a speed reduction mechanism coupled to the output shaft of the motor 22, a pinion gear rotated by the motor 22 via the speed reduction mechanism, and a pair of rack gears arranged vertically in parallel while meshing with the pinion gear. is provided. The restriction plates 20a and 20b are moved by driving plates 24a and 24b fixed to the rack gear.

Note that the regulation plates 20a and 20b may be manually moved without providing such a mechanism. However, in the case of manual operation, it is desirable to provide fixing means for fixing the regulation plates 20a and 20b at the set positions.

As described above, according to the roller unit 4 of the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus M of the present embodiment, the regulation plate 20a and the regulation plate 20b rotate along the rotation axes of the first roller pair 5a and the second roller pair 5b. The width of the sheet-like cooked rice R delivered by these roller pairs 5a and 5b is regulated by regulating plates 20a and 20b. Therefore, it is possible to freely adjust the width of the cooked rice R formed into a sheet.

As a result, it is sufficient to prepare one roller unit 4 even when sheets of cooked rice R having different widths are to be produced, so that the management of the apparatus can be facilitated. Also, the width of the sheet-like cooked rice R can be finely adjusted.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed in this specification are illustrative in all respects and are limited to the disclosed technology. isn't it. That is, the technical scope of the present invention should not be construed in a restrictive manner based on the description of the above embodiments, but should be construed according to the description of the scope of claims. All modifications are included as long as they do not deviate from the description technology and equivalent technology and the gist of the claims.

For example, in the present embodiment, the pair of regulating plates 20a and 20b are moved to move toward and away from each other along the rotation axes of the first roller pair 5a and the second roller pair 5b. However, they may move individually, or one may be fixed and only the other may move. However, if it is possible to move toward and away from each other, regardless of the sheet width of the cooked rice R, the center position in the width direction of the sheet-like cooked rice R to be sent out can be made the same.

In addition, although the regulation plates 20a and 20b are shown as an example of the regulation means in the present embodiment, the regulation means is not limited to this. For example, the restricting means may be flanges formed on the entire circumferences of the rollers 5a-1, 5a-2, and roller 5b-1 so as to be movable in the axial direction.

In the above description, the case where cooked rice is applied as the food material and the roller unit of the present invention is applied to the sushi roll manufacturing apparatus is shown, but the present invention is not limited to this. In other words, it can be widely applied to a roller unit for forming various foodstuffs into sheets.

1 hopper (reservoir)
2 Cooked rice unraveling unit 3 Unraveling blade 4 Roller unit 5 Roller pair 5a First roller pair 5a-1, 5a-2 Roller 5b Second roller pair 5b-1, 5b-2 Roller 6 Divided shutter (dividing means)
7 Plate mounting portion 8 Forming plate 11 Touch panel 12 Unit storage chamber 13 Front cover 14 Frame 14a Side wall plates 14a-1 to 14a-3 Bearing portion 14a-4 Notch portion 14b Crossing plate 14ba Long groove 16 Push-up roller unit (bending means)
17 drive motors 20a, 20b regulation plate (regulation means)
20a-1, 20b-1 Tapered surfaces 20a-2, 20b-2 Guide surface 21 Engagement protrusion 22 Motor (driving means)
23 Conversion boxes 24a, 24b Drive plate M Sushi roll manufacturing device R Cooked rice (ingredient)
W1 interval W2 interval

Claims (7)

a first pair of rollers spaced apart from each other;
A second roller pair arranged at a predetermined interval below the first roller pair and cooperating with the first roller pair to feed the food material in a sheet form;
a pair of regulating means provided movably along the rotation shafts of the first roller pair and the second roller pair and regulating the width of the foodstuff delivered by these roller pairs;
a frame that supports at least some of the rollers of the first roller pair and the second roller pair;
has
The pair of regulating means is a pair of regulating plates slidably attached to the frame,
A roller unit characterized by: the second pair of rollers are spaced closer together than the first pair of rollers;
2. The roller unit according to claim 1, wherein: the pair of restricting means are movable toward and away from each other;
3. The roller unit according to claim 1, wherein: further comprising driving means for moving the pair of restricting means in directions toward and away from each other;
4. The roller unit according to any one of claims 1 to 3, characterized in that: The pair of regulation plates have tapered surfaces that are symmetrically formed obliquely downward so as to approach each other.
The roller unit according to any one of claims 1 to 4, characterized in that: Further comprising a guide surface formed to bend and extend downward from the lower end of the tapered surface,
6. The roller unit according to claim 5, characterized in that: a storage unit in which cooked rice, which is a food material, is stored;
The roller unit according to any one of claims 1 to 6, which feeds out the cooked rice in the storage section in a sheet form;
a dividing means for dividing the sheet-shaped cooked rice delivered from the roller unit;
a forming plate on which the sheet-like cooked rice divided by the dividing means is placed, wherein a plurality of plate-like members are connected to each other so as to be bendable;
bending means for bending the molding plate so as to involve it;
A sushi roll manufacturing apparatus comprising:

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