JP7340873B2 - sliced food production system - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sliced food production system that produces sliced food by slicing food logs and then inserting the sliced food into a pocket of a packaging film.

For example, when producing sliced food by putting sliced ham into a concave pocket formed in a packaging film and sealing it, a cylindrical ham log with a length of 1 to 2 meters is rotated at a constant speed. By transferring the slices to the cutting blade, the slices are sliced to a certain thickness, stacked in a predetermined number, and then sent to the conveyor of the automatic loading device.

The unpackaged sliced food delivered to the conveyor is conveyed to a packaging machine, then placed in a pocket of a packaging film, and further sealed with a cover film to form a product.

In recent years, when producing sliced foods using the above-described process, a plurality of (for example, four) ham logs are sliced with one cutting blade in order to increase productivity. Further, in order to accurately insert the sliced ham into the pocket of the packaging film, the positions in the transport direction and the direction perpendicular thereto are adjusted and aligned, and then the sliced ham is transported to the packaging machine.

In the above-mentioned sliced food production system, the inventors first made continuous operation of the packaging machine possible by utilizing the difference between the sliced food production capacity of the slicer and the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine. (See Patent Document 1).

Specifically, firstly, by setting the sliced food production capacity of the slicer higher than the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine, the automatic loading device can transport the sliced food and transfer the sliced food onto the conveyor. Accumulation is performed in parallel to fill the conveyor with sliced food.

Second, after the conveyor is filled with sliced food, the sliced food production capacity of the slicer is made equal to the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine, so that the conveyor is filled with sliced food. The sliced food is transported to the packaging machine while being maintained.

While the supply of sliced food from the slicer is interrupted due to the replacement of food logs, the sliced food accumulated on the conveyor is transported to the packaging machine, and the supply of sliced food to the packaging machine is interrupted. This prevents the packaging machine from stopping.

Japanese Patent Application Publication No. 2020-66441

In the production system described in Patent Document 1 mentioned above, the automatic loading device is composed of a plurality of conveyors arranged in the conveyance direction. When such a configuration is adopted, when the sliced food is transferred between conveyors, the arrangement of food logs in the horizontal plane will be disrupted, and the greater the number of transfers, the greater the degree of misalignment, which will cause the slices in the packaging machine to become distorted. This prevents smooth loading of food.

In such cases, it is necessary to place a worker on the packaging machine and manually push the sliced food that fails to be placed into the pocket into the pocket.The conveyor's accumulation function can be used to improve the operating rate. Intentions are not fully utilized.

The present invention was made in view of these conventional problems, and provides a sliced food product that utilizes the accumulation function of the conveyor while minimizing the disorder in the arrangement of the sliced food product that occurs when the food is transferred between conveyors. The purpose is to provide a production system.

In order to achieve the above object, the sliced food production system according to the present invention slices a plurality of food logs arranged in parallel while transporting them, and then stacks the sliced pieces to produce a plurality of unpackaged sliced foods. A slicer that
a packaging machine that stores the plurality of sliced foods in each of a plurality of pockets formed in a packaging film and then seals the plurality of sliced foods with a cover film;
It is composed of a plurality of conveyors arranged between the slicer and the packaging machine, and after arranging the plurality of sliced foods produced by the slicer according to the position of the pocket of the packaging film, an automatic loading device that transports the packaging machine to the packaging machine and inputs it into each of the pockets;
The automatic feeding device arranges and accumulates a plurality of sliced foods received from the slicer in a fixed quantity per unit time in the same number as the plurality of logs in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, and also transfers them to the packaging machine. including a first conveyor conveying toward the
The conveyance speed of the first conveyor decreases as the number of sliced foods sent toward the packaging machine increases, and finally the conveyor is filled with sliced foods arranged at a minimum pitch,
The automatic feeding device includes a second conveyor that arranges the plurality of sliced foods transferred from the first conveyor into the pockets of the packaging film in the number to be fed at one time; and the second conveyor. a third conveyor that puts a plurality of sliced foods arranged in a row into individual pockets in synchronization with the movement of the packaging film,
When the second conveyor is empty, the first conveyor conveys the sliced food at the maximum speed, and when a predetermined number of sliced foods have been transferred to the second conveyor, the first conveyor transports the sliced food at the maximum speed. It is characterized by being decelerated to a slow predetermined constant speed .
Further, after the first conveyor is decelerated from its maximum speed to the predetermined constant speed that is lower than the maximum speed, and after the predetermined number of sliced foods are transferred from the second conveyor to the third conveyor, When a predetermined number of sliced foods are transferred to the second conveyor, it is preferable that the first conveyor is decelerated to a predetermined constant speed that is still slower.

In the sliced food production system according to the present invention, the sliced food production capacity of the slicer is set higher than the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine, and the sliced food is conveyed and accumulated in parallel on the first conveyor. By doing this, the conveyor is filled with sliced food,
After the first conveyor is filled with the sliced food, the state where the first conveyor is filled with the sliced food is maintained by making the production capacity of the slicer equal to the production capacity of the packaging machine. At the same time, it is preferable that the sliced food is transported to the packaging machine.

Further, while the supply of sliced food from the slicer is interrupted due to the replacement of the food raw wood, the sliced food accumulated on the first conveyor is transported to the packaging machine, and the sliced food is transferred to the packaging machine. It is preferable to prevent the operation of the packaging machine from stopping due to interruption of food transportation.

Furthermore, on the downstream side of the first conveyor, a plurality of small conveyors are arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction for adjusting the position in the conveyance direction of each of the plurality of sliced foods transferred from the first conveyor. Preferably, a position sensor is installed above each small conveyor to detect the position of the sliced food transported by the small conveyor.

Further, it is preferable that the number of sliced foods sent toward the packaging machine is calculated based on the output signal of the position sensor.

Further, the slicer includes at least a fourth conveyor that receives slice pieces and stacks them to produce sliced food, and a fifth conveyor that adjusts the position of the sliced food in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. is preferred.

In the sliced food production system according to the present invention, the conveyance path equipped with an accumulation function is basically composed of a single conveyor with variable conveyance speed, which prevents disturbances in the arrangement when transferring sliced foods. can be kept to a minimum. As a result, the sliced food can be smoothly loaded into the pockets of the packaging machine, and the need for operator assistance during the loading process can be significantly reduced.

1 is a schematic front view of an automatic feeding device and a packaging machine in a sliced food production system according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic plan view of the same. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view of a slicer in the sliced food production system. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the raw wood transfer station of the slicer seen from above. FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing the configuration of a control system of the sliced food production system. It is a figure explaining the operation|movement of putting the packaging film of a sliced food into a pocket. It is a figure explaining the conveyance operation of an automatic loading device.

Hereinafter, a sliced food production system according to an embodiment of the present invention will be described with reference to the drawings. In the following description, it is assumed that sliced food is produced by slicing a cylindrical food log.

The sliced food production system according to this embodiment includes three devices: a slicer 1, an automatic feeding device 2, and a packaging machine 3. 1 and 2 show a schematic structure of an automatic feeding device 2 and a packaging machine 3, and FIGS. 3 and 4 show a schematic structure of a slicer 1. Furthermore, FIG. 5 shows the configuration of the control system of the sliced food production system.

The slicer 1 slices food logs W (hereinafter abbreviated as "logs W"), stacks the slices to produce sliced foods S, and adjusts the position of the sliced foods in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction. . The packaging machine 3 stores the sliced food S in a pocket of a packaging film, and then seals the surface with the film. The automatic loading device 2 is composed of a plurality of conveyors placed between the slicer 1 and the packaging machine 3, and after adjusting the position of the sliced food produced by the slicer 1 in the transport direction, the automatic feeding device 2 transports the sliced food to the packaging machine 3. , automatically put into the packaging film pocket.

As shown in FIG. 5, the slicer 1, automatic feeding device 2, and packaging machine 3 are equipped with controllers 17, 24, and 34 that control their respective operations based on signals detected by position sensors and rotation sensors. control the operation of motors and actuators to drive conveyors and other components.

In addition, the controller 17 and the controller 24 and the controller 24 and the controller 34 communicate with each other and adjust the operation timing of the conveyor and other drive members so that the sliced food S produced by the slicer 1 is smoothly transported to the packaging machine 3. It is controlled so that

<Slicer configuration and functions>
First, the configuration of the slicer and the functions of each member will be explained. FIG. 3 shows the overall configuration of a slicer 1 that slices raw wood W into a predetermined width.

The slicer 1 includes a log transfer station 11, a slicing station 15, and an alignment/weighing station 16 installed on a base 10. The slicer 1 used in this embodiment has a function of slicing four logs W at the same time. The configuration and functions of each part will be explained below in the order of log transfer station 11, slicing station 15, and alignment/weighing station 16.

FIG. 4 is a view of the log transfer station 11 seen from above. The log transfer station 11 includes a guide section 111 and a log transfer mechanism 110 that is installed on the guide section 111 and that transfers the four logs W in the axial direction of the logs.

Of these, the log transfer mechanism 110 includes first transfer means 120A to 120D that transfer each of the four logs W arranged in parallel, and a second transfer device that transfers the four first transfer means 120A to 120D all at once. means 130.

On the other hand, the guide part 111 is installed obliquely on the base 10 by the supports 101 and 102, and the guide part 111 has four pieces of wood each having a boat-bottom cross section, each of which accommodates each of the four cylindrical logs W. Support lanes 112 are formed.

The configuration and function of the first transfer means 120A to 120D and the gripper 140 attached to each tip will be explained. Note that since the configurations and functions of the first transfer means 120A to 120D do not change, the first transfer means 120A will be described below as a representative of these.

The rod 122 protruding from the housing 121 of the first transfer means 120A can be moved forward and backward by a linear actuator housed within the housing 121. The rod 122 is made of a metal rod, and an air hole for supplying air to an air cylinder built into the gripper 140 is formed inside in the axial direction.

The rod 122 is connected to the gripper 140 via an air supply connector (not shown), and air supplied from the housing 121 side through the air hole of the rod 122 is supplied to the air cylinder in the gripper 140. be done.

Although not shown, two pairs of opposing claws are arranged at the front part of the gripper 140 so as to be perpendicular to each other, and the claws are rotated by driving an air cylinder housed inside, and the rear end of the raw wood W is rotated. grip the part. The first moving means 120A drives a linear actuator in the housing 121 using the controller 17 (see FIG. 5) to move the rod 122 forward or backward.

On the other hand, as shown in FIG. 4, the second transfer means 130 is composed of a ball screw 131 and a linear guide 132 installed on both sides of the guide section 111, and a flat table 133 installed so as to straddle these. has been done. The table 133 is connected to a nut (not shown) of the ball screw 131, and when the ball screw 131 is rotated by the motor 134, the table 133 moves toward the cutting blade 151 (toward the left side when facing the page of FIG. 4). do.

The four first transfer means 120A to 120D are fixed to the lower surface of the table 133 via attachment members (not shown), and when the table 133 is transferred toward the cutting blade 151, the first transfer means 120A to 120D are also transported together with the table 133.

The reason why the positions of the first transport means 120A to 120D can be adjusted with respect to the second transport means 130 is to accommodate differences in the lengths of logs W. Generally, the lengths of logs W are irregular, and if the first transport means 120A to 120D are not present, the difference in length cannot be absorbed.

When starting slicing the raw wood W, the positions of the first transport means 120A to 120D relative to the second transport means 130 are adjusted so that the tip positions of the four logs W to be sliced coincide. Thereafter, by repeating slicing with the cutting blade 151 while moving the second transport means 130 forward, the log can be sliced without waste. The amount of transfer by the second transfer means 130, that is, the thickness of the sliced piece, can be adjusted by the controller 17 (see FIG. 5).

Next, the configuration and functions of the slice station 15 will be explained. In FIG. 3, the slicing station 15 supported by the pillar 102 includes a disc-shaped cutting blade 151 that slices the raw wood W, and a cutting blade drive member 152 that rotates the cutting blade 151 while rotating around its axis.

The cutting blade driving member 152 is used to rotate the cutting blade 151 while revolving around it, thereby slicing the raw wood W transported on the support lane 112 into a constant thickness. Therefore, the rotating shaft 153 of the cutting blade 151 is rotatably supported at one end of the rotating plate 154 at a predetermined distance from the rotating shaft of the cutting blade driving member 152. By repeating the above-mentioned operation in synchronization with the transport of the raw wood W, slice pieces are continuously produced.

Note that there are two types of transportation of logs in synchronization with cutting: continuous transportation and intermittent transportation. Generally, continuous transfer is used when the thickness of the slice is thin, and intermittent transfer is used when the thickness of the slice exceeds a predetermined value.

At the position where the slices sliced by the cutting blade 151 fall, there is installed an alignment/weighing station 16 that receives the slices and conveys them to the automatic feeding device 2 on the downstream side.

The alignment/weighing station 16 includes an alignment conveyor 161, a transport conveyor 162, and a position adjustment conveyor 163. The conveyors 161 to 163 are configured by a flat belt wound around a pair of pulleys arranged at a predetermined interval, and the rotational force of a drive motor is transmitted to the shaft of one of the pulleys.

As described above, when four cylindrical logs W are prepared and the logs W are transferred continuously or intermittently using the log transfer mechanism 110, the logs W are sequentially sliced to a predetermined thickness from the tip, Circular slices are made. The raw wood W is inclined so that the right side is up and the left side is down when facing the plane of the paper, and the slice pieces sliced by the cutting blade 151 fall onto the alignment conveyor 161.

If slicing is repeated with the alignment conveyor 161 stationary, a plurality of slices will be stacked on the conveyor in an overlapping state. On the other hand, when slicing is repeated while slightly moving the alignment conveyor 161, the slice pieces are stacked on the conveyor in a shifted state (in a scale row). The form in which the slice pieces are arranged is determined depending on the state in which they are mounted on the packaging film.

The unpackaged sliced foods S stacked on the alignment conveyor 161 are transferred to the transport conveyor 162 in order to free up space on the conveyor in preparation for the next slice. Since the alignment conveyor 161 and the conveyance conveyor 162 have the same conveyance speed, are installed adjacent to each other, and have approximately the same height of conveyance surfaces, smooth transfer of the sliced foods S is possible.

The sliced food S is further transferred to the position adjustment conveyor 163 in order to adjust its position in the direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. In the packaging machine 3 installed downstream, the sliced foods S are packaged in four rows in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction. Therefore, four rows of pockets for storing the sliced foods S are formed at equal positions in the packaging film in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction.

When slicing four logs W with the slicer 1, due to the restriction of cutting the four logs W using a single cutting blade 151, the four slices fall onto the alignment conveyor 161 and are stacked into four slices. The pitch between the food products is narrower than the pitch of the pockets formed in the film. For this reason, it is necessary to widen the pitch between the sliced foods S using the position adjustment conveyor 163 and to match the pitch between the sliced foods S to match the position of the pockets of the film.

In this embodiment, the position adjustment conveyor 163 is composed of four small conveyors divided in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and while being conveyed by the small conveyors, each position of the sliced food S is adjusted in the conveyance direction. It is shifted in a direction perpendicular to , so that it matches the position of the film pocket.

A weighing device 164 is installed at the bottom of each of the four small conveyors constituting the conveyor 163, and measures the weight of the sliced food S placed on the small conveyor together with the weight of the small conveyor. The weighing data from the weighing device 164 is transmitted to the controller 17. Since the weight of the small conveyor is known, the weight of the sliced food S to be conveyed can be measured by subtracting the weight of the small conveyor from the measured value.

The sliced food S is obtained by slicing a long cylindrical raw wood W with a constant thickness. The thickness of the ham log W is almost the same, but it becomes slightly thinner near both ends. Therefore, when this portion is sliced, a sliced food product having a small diameter and a weight outside the standard is produced. Such non-standard sliced food is delivered to the automatic feeding device 2 and then collected in a discharge box.

The operations of the support station 11, slicing station 15, and alignment/weighing station 16 are controlled by a program stored in the memory of the controller 17. As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 17 adjusts the operation timing of the motor 191 and actuator 192 that drive each member based on the output signals of the position sensor 181 and rotation sensor 182 installed on each member, and Achieve the operation of

The four unpackaged sliced foods S produced by the above-mentioned process are transferred to the conveyor 211 of the automatic feeding device 2 (see FIG. 1) and transported to the packaging machine 3, and then each is wrapped in a packaging film. It is placed in the four pockets P of F, and then sealed with a cover film.

<Configuration and functions of automatic loading device and packaging machine>
Next, the configuration and functions of the automatic loading device 2 and the packaging machine 3 will be explained with reference to FIG. 1, FIG. 2, and a new FIG. 6. FIG. 6 is a diagram illustrating the operation of loading the sliced food S into the pocket P of the packaging film F by the automatic loading device 2.

The automatic loading device 2 is composed of seven conveyors 211 to 217. The configuration of each conveyor is similar to the conveyors 161 to 163 of the slicer 1.

In FIG. 2, a casing 22 arranged along conveyors 211 to 217 houses a motor that rotationally drives these conveyors and an actuator that turns the end of the conveyor 215 up and down. Although omitted in the figure to avoid complexity, a member that transmits the rotation of the motor to the pulleys and a member that moves the end of the conveyor 215 up and down are arranged between the pulleys of the conveyors 211 to 217 and the housing 22. has been done.

The role of each conveyor constituting the automatic feeding device 2 will be explained along the flow of the sliced food S. The conveyor 215 is used to distribute the sliced food S delivered from the conveyor 163 of the slicer 1 to either the conveyor 211 or 216. When the conveyor 211 is selected, the sliced food S is conveyed to the packaging machine 3.

Conveyors 216 and 217 installed on the base 20 are used to discharge non-standard sliced food S from the conveyance path. The sliced food S that is determined to be out of specification by the weighing device 164 of the slicer 1 is delivered to the conveyor 216 by rotating the conveyor 215 downward. As shown in FIG. 2, the sliced food S delivered to the conveyor 216 is transported in a direction perpendicular to the transport direction, transferred to the conveyor 217, and then stored in a discharge box (not shown).

Among the conveyors constituting the automatic feeding device 2, the long conveyor 211 has both the function of conveying the sliced food S to the packaging machine 3 and the function of accumulating (storing) the sliced food S on the conveyor.

As described above, in this embodiment, the continuous operation of the packaging machine 3 is made possible by utilizing the difference between the sliced food production capacity of the slicer 1 and the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine 3. .

That is, while the supply of sliced food S from the slicer 1 is interrupted due to the replacement of the raw wood W, the sliced food S accumulated on the conveyor is transported to the packaging machine 3, and the sliced food S to the packaging machine 3 is This prevents the operation of the packaging machine 3 from stopping due to supply interruption.

In this embodiment, as the conveyor 211, a conveyor that can supply the accumulated sliced food S to the packaging machine 3 without interruption while the raw wood W is being replaced is used, and by making the conveyance speed of the conveyor variable, The time required to transport sliced foods is shortened to prevent a drop in operating efficiency. Note that the accumulation function of the conveyor 211 will be described in detail later with reference to the drawings.

Downstream of the conveyor 211, four small conveyors 212 are arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction, and the position of each sliced food S is adjusted based on the detection signal of the position sensor 23 installed above. After arranging the four rows of sliced foods S so that they are aligned in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction, they are delivered to the conveyor 213 on the downstream side.

In this embodiment, a total of 20 sliced foods S arranged in five rows on the conveyor 214 are put into a pocket P of a packaging film F in one operation. As a preparatory operation for this purpose, 20 sliced foods S in the same arrangement as the pockets P are prepared on the upstream conveyor 213 and transferred to the feeding conveyor 214.

By adjusting the mutual speeds of the conveyor 212 and the conveyor 213, 20 sliced products S are arranged on the conveyor 213, the pitch of which matches the packaging film pocket in the conveying direction and the direction perpendicular thereto.

The sliced foods S arranged on the conveyor 213 in 5 rows in the transport direction and in 4 rows in the direction orthogonal to the transport direction are delivered to the downstream conveyor 214 while maintaining their respective postures and mutual pitches, and The packaging film F is put into the pocket P in synchronization with the movement of the packaging film F.

Referring to FIG. 6, the operation of putting the packaging film F of the sliced food product S into the pocket P will be described. As shown in FIGS. 6(a) to 6(c), the downstream end of the conveyor 214 is formed into a wedge shape by using a pulley with a small diameter, and the sliced food S conveyed by the conveyor 214 is It is configured so that it can be easily inserted into the pocket P of the film F.

As shown in FIG. 6(a), when the conveyor 214 and the film F are moved synchronously with the position of the film F in the transport direction adjusted, as shown in FIGS. 6(b) and 6(c), The sliced food S sent out from the end of the conveyor 214 is put into the pocket P of the film F and stored in the pocket.

The operations of the conveyors 211 to 217 constituting the automatic loading device 2 are controlled by a program stored in the memory of the controller 24. As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 24 operates a motor 261 that rotationally drives each conveyor and an actuator 262 that moves vertically and horizontally based on output signals from a position sensor 251 and a rotation sensor 252 arranged on each conveyor. The timing is adjusted to achieve the operations described above.

Next, the configuration and functions of the packaging machine 3 will be explained. In addition, since the configuration of the packaging machine 3 is not directly related to the production system of the present invention, the explanation will be kept to the minimum necessary.

As shown in FIG. 1, a conveying member 31 for packaging film F is installed on a base 30, and a molding member 32 is installed on the top. The molding member 32 heat-molds a synthetic resin film sent out from a roller (not shown) to form a pocket P in which the sliced food S is accommodated. Note that members 321 and 322 placed before and after the molded member 32 are protective covers that cover the film.

The film F in which the pocket P is formed and the sliced food S is stored therein is transported downstream (left side as viewed from the paper) by the transport member 31, and is deaerated by the sealing member 33. , the upper surface of the pocket P is sealed with a film not shown. Thereafter, the production date and the like are printed on the surface of the film, and the film is further cut and separated into individual sliced food products S to form the final product.

The operations of the conveyance member 31, molding member 32, and sealing member 33 that constitute the packaging machine 3 are controlled by a program stored in the memory of the controller 34. As shown in FIG. 5, the controller 34 operates a motor 361 and an actuator 362 that drive each member based on output signals from a position sensor 351 and a rotation sensor 352 installed on the conveying member 31, molding member 32, and sealing member 33. The above-mentioned operation is realized by adjusting the operation timing of.

<Conveyor accumulation function>
Next, the accumulation function of the conveyor 211 will be explained.

As described above, the sliced food production system according to the present invention enables continuous operation of the packaging machine by utilizing the difference between the sliced food production capacity of the slicer 1 and the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine 3. This has significantly improved the operating rate of the production system.

Here, the "production capacity of sliced foods in a slicer" is defined as the number of sliced foods per unit time that are produced by slicing raw food logs and stacking them. In addition, "the production capacity of sliced food in a packaging machine" is defined as the number of unpackaged sliced foods per unit time that are sealed with the film after being put into the pockets of the packaging film.

As described above, the sliced food production capacity of the slicer 1 is set higher than the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine 3 (for example, about 10%). Therefore, if the production of sliced food is continued in this state, the conveyor of the automatic feeding device 2 will overflow with sliced ham S, and the driving of the slicer 1 will have to be stopped.

Therefore, in this embodiment, attention is paid to the accumulation function of the conveyor, and the sliced food produced by the extra production capacity of the slicer 1 is accumulated on the conveyor 211. That is, the conveyor 211 carries out unpackaged sliced food and accumulates it on the conveyor in parallel, so that the conveyor is filled with the sliced food.

After the conveyor is filled with the sliced food, the sliced food production capacity of the slicer 1 is made equal to the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine 3, so that the conveyor is filled with the sliced food. The sliced food is transported to the packaging machine 3 while being maintained.

Furthermore, while the supply of sliced food from the slicer 1 is interrupted due to the replacement of the raw wood W, the sliced food accumulated on the conveyor is transported to the packaging machine 3, and the supply of sliced food to the packaging machine 3 is stopped. This prevents the operation of the packaging machine 3 from stopping due to interruption.

In this embodiment, the conveyor 211 whose conveyance speed is variable is used as a means for realizing the above-mentioned operation, and when the number of sliced foods to be sent to the packaging machine 3 is small, the conveyance speed of the conveyor 211 is increased. We are trying to save time.

That is, the conveyor 211 is driven at the fastest speed until the conveyor 213 is filled with one set of 20 sliced foods S, and then the speed of the conveyor 211 is gradually reduced to reduce the amount of food to the conveyor 211. The number of accumulated sliced foods is increased, and finally the conveyor 211 is filled with the sliced foods.

The operation of the automatic loading device 2 will be described below with reference to FIG. 7. FIGS. 7A to 7F are diagrams for explaining the transport operation of the sliced food S from the conveyor 215 to the transport member 31 of the packaging machine 3. In the figure, the circle on the conveyor indicates the sliced food S. Moreover, the gray circle on the conveying member 31 indicates that the sliced food S is stored in the pocket P of the packaging film F.

When the production system starts operating and producing the sliced food S, the sliced food S sliced by the slicer 1 and stacked on the conveyor 161 is aligned (adjusted in position) in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction by the conveyor 163. ), then delivered to the conveyor 215 of the automatic input device 2.

At this time, the weight of the sliced food S is measured by the scale 164. As described above, the diameter of the tip of the raw wood W is slightly smaller, and the weight of the produced sliced food product is less than the standard value. The measurement result of the measuring device 164 is notified to the controller 24 of the automatic dosing device 2 via the controller 17.

Upon receiving the notification from the controller 17, the controller 24 turns the rear end of the conveyor 215 downward when the sliced food S is delivered from the conveyor 163 to the conveyor 215, and delivers the sliced food S to the conveyor 216. The substandard sliced food delivered to the conveyor 216 is further delivered to the conveyor 217, and finally stored in a discharge box (not shown).

As the slicer 1 progresses in slicing the log W and the diameter of the log becomes thicker, the sliced food S satisfies the standard value when measured by the scale 164. The weighing result of the weighing device 164 is notified to the controller 24 via the controller 14, and the sliced food S is transferred from the conveyor 215 to the conveyor 211 and conveyed to the downstream side.

The controller 24 of the automatic feeding device 2 constantly monitors the output signal of the position sensor 23 installed above the conveyor 212, aligns the four rows of sliced foods S in the horizontal direction based on the output signal, and controls the conveyor 213. Count the number of sliced foods S that have passed.

Note that a camera may be installed above the conveyor 212 instead of the position sensor as a means for detecting the position of the sliced food. In that case, the controller 24 extracts position data of the sliced food from the captured image of the camera, and adjusts the position and counts the sliced food based on the data.

With reference to FIG. 7, the conveyance process of the sliced food S will be explained. As shown in FIG. 7A, at the beginning of conveyance of the sliced food S by the conveyor 211, there is no sliced food S on the downstream side of the conveyor 213. In this state, the controller 24 drives the conveyor 211 at the highest speed to reduce the conveyance time, and conveys the sliced food S to the downstream side. At this point, the pitch between the sliced foods S on the conveyor 211 is the maximum value P1.

As shown in FIG. 7B, when the position sensor 23 confirms that the 20 sliced foods S have passed, the controller 24 reduces the speed of the conveyor 211 to 1/2. At this point, the pitch between the sliced foods S is maintained at P1.

As shown in FIG. 7(c), after the first set of 20 sliced foods S is transferred from the conveyor 213 to the conveyor 214, the second set of 20 sliced foods S starts to be arranged on the conveyor 213. be done. At this point, the speed of the conveyor 211 is 1/2 of the maximum speed, and the function of accumulating the sliced food is hardly exhibited.

As shown in FIG. 7(d), when the alignment of the second set of 20 sliced foods S is completed on the alignment conveyor 213, the speed of the conveyor 211 is reduced to 1/4 of the maximum speed. At this point, the pitch between the sliced foods S is P1/2, and shortening the conveyance time is prioritized over the accumulation function of the conveyor.

As shown in FIG. 7(e), after the speed of the conveyor 211 is reduced to 1/4 of the maximum speed, the pitch between the sliced foods S on the conveyor becomes the minimum at P1/4, and then the conveyor 211 is reduced to 1/4 of the maximum speed. Maintain 1/4 speed. At this point, the pitch between the sliced foods S on the conveyor is a mixture of P1/2 and P1/4, and the accumulation function is increasing.

As shown in FIG. 7(f), after the speed of the conveyor 211 is reduced to 1/4 of the maximum speed, the conveyor is filled with the sliced food S at the minimum pitch of P1/4, and the accumulation function is at the maximum. Become.

In the state shown in FIG. 7(f), if the production capacity of the slicer is higher than the production capacity of the packaging machine, the sliced foods will collide when transferred from the conveyor 215 to the conveyor 211, preventing normal conveyance. It will be done.

When the top of the conveyor 211 is filled with the sliced food S, the controller 24 of the automatic feeding device 2 notifies the controller 17 of the slicer 1 of this fact. Upon receiving the notification signal, the controller 17 reduces the production capacity of the sliced food product to match the production capacity of the packaging machine 3.

If the production capacity of the sliced food matches the production capacity of the packaging machine 3, the sliced food S will not collide when being transferred from the conveyor 215 to the conveyor 211. Conveyance of the sliced food S to the packaging machine 3 is continued while driving at a high speed.

As the production of the sliced food S in the slicer 1 progresses and the slice approaches the rear end of the log W, the diameter of the sliced piece becomes smaller, so the weight of the produced sliced food S becomes lighter than the standard value.

When the sliced food S is conveyed by the conveyor 163, the measuring device 164 detects that the weight of the sliced food is lighter than the standard value, and the controller 24 of the automatic feeding device 2 is notified via the controller 17.

As in the case of the front end of the log W, the conveyor 215 is switched to the lower position, and the sliced food S is delivered to the conveyor 216 and finally stored in a discharge box (not shown).

Thereafter, the log W of the slicer 1 is removed from the support lane 112, and a new log W is attached to the support lane 112 (see FIG. 3). Currently, the exchange of raw wood W is automated and can be completed in just over 10 seconds. While the raw wood W is being replaced, the operation of the slicer 1 is stopped.

After discarding the substandard sliced food S using the conveyors 215 and 216, the supply of the sliced food from the slicer 1 is stopped. If this continues, the supply of sliced food to the packaging machine 3 will be stopped until a new sliced food S is supplied from the slicer 1. To avoid this, the automatic feeding device 2 transports the sliced food S accumulated on the conveyor 211 to the packaging machine 3.

By adjusting the length of the conveyor 211 to increase the number of sliced foods accumulated on the conveyor, it is possible to continue supplying the sliced foods S to the packaging machine 3 while the supply of the sliced foods S from the slicer 1 is interrupted. Therefore, it is possible to prevent the operation of the packaging machine 3 from stopping.

Therefore, the length of the conveyor 211 may be set so that the time for conveying the sliced food S accumulated on the conveyor to the packaging machine 3 is longer than the time for replacing the raw wood W in the slicer 1. After the raw wood W is replaced in the slicer 1, the accumulation and conveyance of the sliced food by the conveyor 211 shown in FIGS. 7(a) to (f) are repeated.

As described above, in the sliced food production system according to the present invention, the sliced food production capacity of the slicer 1 is set higher than the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine 3, and the sliced food production capacity of the automatic feeding device 2 is set higher than that of the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine 3. By performing the accumulation in parallel, it is possible to prevent the operation of the packaging machine 3 from stopping when the raw wood is replaced, and it is possible to improve the operating rate of the sliced food production system.

Furthermore, the conveyance path with an accumulation function is basically composed of a single conveyor with variable conveyance speed, and unlike when the conveyance path is constituted by multiple conveyors, logs can be transferred and loaded. At the same time, the arrangement of food logs is not disturbed. As a result, the sliced food can be smoothly loaded into the packaging machine, and the need for operator assistance during loading work can be significantly reduced.

Note that in the embodiment described above, the conveyance speed of the conveyor constituting the automatic loading device is controlled to be reduced by 1/2 from the maximum speed in accordance with the number of sliced foods sent toward the packaging machine. , but not limited to this value. Based on experimental results, a conveyance speed that achieves both high-speed conveyance and accumulation function may be selected.

In addition, in the embodiment described above, the conveyance path with the accumulation function was configured with one conveyor with variable conveyance speed, but if it is desired to enhance the accumulation function, the conveyance path may be arranged in two stages, upper and lower. It may be configured with two conveyors, and by vertically rotating the conveyors arranged on the upstream side and the downstream side, it is possible to select one of the conveyance paths.

Further, in the above-described embodiment, a case has been described in which a circular cylindrical food log is sliced to produce a circular sliced food, but the shape and material of the produced food are not limited thereto. For example, a cylindrical food log can be sliced diagonally to produce an elliptical sliced food, or a prismatic food log can be sliced to produce a rectangular sliced food.

F Packaging film P Pocket S Sliced food W Log 1 Slicer 2 Automatic loading device 3 Wrapping machine 11 Log transfer station 15 Slice station 16 Alignment/weighing station 17, 24, 34 Controller 22 Housing 23 Position sensor 31 Conveying member 32 Molding member 33 Sealing member 110 Log transport mechanism 120A to 120D First transport means 130 Second transport means 140 Gripper 151 Cutting blade 152 Cutting blade drive member 161 to 163, 211 to 217 Conveyor 164 Weighing instrument

Claims (7)

A slicer that slices a plurality of food logs arranged in parallel while transporting them, and then stacks the slice pieces to produce a plurality of unpackaged sliced foods;
a packaging machine that stores the plurality of sliced foods in each of a plurality of pockets formed in a packaging film and then seals the plurality of sliced foods with a cover film;
It is composed of a plurality of conveyors arranged between the slicer and the packaging machine, and after arranging the plurality of sliced foods produced by the slicer according to the position of the pocket of the packaging film, an automatic loading device that transports the packaging machine to the packaging machine and inputs it into each of the pockets;
The automatic feeding device arranges and accumulates a plurality of sliced foods received from the slicer in a fixed quantity per unit time in the same number as the plurality of logs in a direction perpendicular to the conveying direction , and also transfers them to the packaging machine. including a first conveyor conveying toward the
The conveyance speed of the first conveyor decreases as the number of sliced foods sent toward the packaging machine increases, and finally the conveyor is filled with sliced foods arranged at a minimum pitch,
The automatic feeding device includes a second conveyor that arranges the plurality of sliced foods transferred from the first conveyor into the pockets of the packaging film in the number to be fed at one time; and the second conveyor. a third conveyor that puts a plurality of sliced foods arranged in a row into individual pockets in synchronization with the movement of the packaging film,
When the second conveyor is empty, the first conveyor conveys the sliced food at the maximum speed, and when a predetermined number of sliced foods have been transferred to the second conveyor, the first conveyor transports the sliced food at the maximum speed. A sliced food production system characterized in that the speed is reduced to a slow predetermined constant speed . After the first conveyor is decelerated from its maximum speed to the predetermined constant speed that is lower than the maximum speed, the predetermined number of sliced foods are transferred from the second conveyor to the third conveyor, and then the second conveyor is decelerated again. The sliced food system according to claim 1, wherein when a predetermined number of sliced foods are transferred to the first conveyor, the first conveyor is decelerated to an even slower predetermined constant speed. The sliced food production capacity of the slicer is set higher than the sliced food production capacity of the packaging machine, and the first conveyor transports and accumulates the sliced food in parallel, so that the sliced food is distributed on the conveyor. meet,
After the first conveyor is filled with the sliced food, the state where the first conveyor is filled with the sliced food is maintained by making the production capacity of the slicer equal to the production capacity of the packaging machine. The sliced food production system according to claim 1, wherein the sliced food is transported to the packaging machine. While the supply of sliced food from the slicer is interrupted due to the replacement of the raw food wood, the sliced food accumulated on the first conveyor is conveyed to the packaging machine, and the sliced food is transferred to the packaging machine. The sliced food production system according to claim 2, which prevents the operation of the packaging machine from stopping due to interruption of conveyance. On the downstream side of the first conveyor, a plurality of small conveyors are arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the conveyance direction for adjusting the position in the conveyance direction of each of the plurality of sliced foods transferred from the first conveyor. ,
The sliced food production system according to claim 1 , further comprising a position sensor installed above each small conveyor to detect the position of the sliced food transported by the small conveyor. The sliced food production system according to claim 5, wherein the number of sliced foods sent toward the packaging machine is calculated based on an output signal of the position sensor. The slicer includes at least a fourth conveyor that receives slice pieces and stacks them to produce sliced food, and a fifth conveyor that adjusts the position of the sliced food in a direction orthogonal to the conveyance direction. Item 7. The sliced food production system according to any one of Items 1 to 6.

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