JPH0471495B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to the removal of tea leaves from a rotary barrel type tea making machine such as a tea rolling machine.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, when extracting tea leaves from a rotary barrel type tea machine, when the appropriate tea processing is completed and a discharging signal is issued, the rotation of the barrel is first slowed down to a low speed, and the position of the dispensing port is set to be effective for discharging the tea leaves inside. When the range is reached, the take-out door is opened, and the tea leaves are allowed to fall downward while the body is rotated forward at low speed. When the take-out port exceeds the effective range, the take-out door is closed, and the tea leaves are rotated forward at low speed, and the take-out door is opened again. The operation of opening the take-out door when it reaches the effective range, and closing the take-out door when the take-out port exceeds the effective range again is repeated over and over again.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

However, as can be seen from the fact that the above-mentioned conventional extractor requires repeating the extracting operation two or three times, the tea leaves cannot be removed completely, and the extractor door must be opened and closed each time, which is time consuming. Moreover, since the take-out door had to be closed several times before the tea leaves in the barrel were completely taken out, tea leaves could sometimes get caught between the take-out door and the barrel.

In addition, in conventional equipment, one motor was used for both the main shaft and the cylinder, and the ratio of cylinder to main shaft was 1:2. In some cases, the tea leaves that were caught between the kneading spatula and the inner wall of the body were left behind without facing the outlet.

In other words, the time that the extraction door is open is about one-third of the rotation period of the cylinder, so if the main shaft rotation speed is only twice that of the cylinder, the main shaft cannot rotate once relative to the extraction opening during that time. As a result, there is a kneading spatula that does not face the outlet, and the tea leaves that are sandwiched between the kneading spatula and the inner wall of the body become residual leaves. Furthermore, if the kneading spatula holding the tea leaves faces the outlet just before the take-out door closes, the tea leaves will be caught between the take-out door and the body.

If the tea leaves get caught between the take-out door and the barrel and the handle is rotated without the take-out door being fully closed, the machine may malfunction or the take-out door may open during rotation, which is very dangerous. .

Furthermore, if tea leaves remain in the barrel, the remaining tea leaves will be mixed with the next tea leaves and will be subjected to the same process twice, which will reduce the quality of the next tea leaves.

Note that the device shown in Japanese Utility Model Publication No. 48-3679 is a device in which the rotation of the barrel can be changed to freely swing back and forth to take out the tea leaves inside the barrel. 13 and the connecting teeth 14, which rotate in forward and reverse directions, mesh with each other, so the extremely large kinetic energy of the rotation of the barrel is directly applied to the clutch 13, the connecting teeth 14, and other parts, which reduces the durability of the machine. In reality, such a device remained at the conceptual stage due to problems. Furthermore, in order to mechanically rotate the barrel forward and backward, a large number of complicated members were required separately. Furthermore, in this device, the extraction operation is performed manually, and there is no disclosure regarding automation.

Therefore, an object of the present application is to provide a method for extracting tea leaves in a rotary barrel type tea machine, which automatically and reliably extracts tea leaves in a short period of time, and which is durable enough to be made into an apparatus.

[Means for solving problems]

In order to achieve the above-mentioned object, the method for taking out tea leaves in the rotary barrel type tea making machine of the present invention is such that a barrel is provided on the outer periphery of the main shaft around which a large number of kneading spatulas are arranged, and an outlet opening is opened on the circumferential surface of the barrel. In a rotary barrel type tea machine, which is equipped with a take-out door and an opening/closing device for the take-out door, the main shaft and the barrel are configured to be driven by separate motors, and at least the barrel drive motor is driven by an inverter. It is capable of normal rotation, reverse rotation, and variable speed, and after the appropriate tea processing is completed, the main shaft is rotated at high speed and the barrel is rotated at a low speed of one-third or less of the main shaft, and the outlet is within the range that is effective for taking out the tea leaves in the barrel. This is done by opening the take-out door when it is facing the target, detecting the open take-out door with a sensor, and then repeating low-speed normal rotation and low-speed reversal of the cylinder to move the take-out port back and forth within the effective range. .

[Effect]

When the appropriate tea processing is completed, the main shaft is rotated at high speed and the barrel is rotated by an inverter at a low speed of one-third or less of the main shaft, and when the outlet is within the effective range for taking out the tea leaves in the barrel, the take-out door is opened. do. When the sensor detects an open outlet door, the cylinder repeats low-speed normal rotation and low-speed reverse rotation to move the outlet back and forth within the effective range. Particularly during low-speed normal rotation, the main shaft rotates at more than three times the rotation speed of the cylinder, so while the outlet is open (during approximately one-third rotation of the cylinder), the main shaft is rotated at the outlet. Against 1
Since it rotates more than once, every kneading spatula must face the outlet at least once. In addition, when switching from normal rotation to reverse rotation and from reverse rotation to normal rotation, the inverter gradually changes the output to the cylinder drive motor, so there is no sudden change in the kinetic energy of cylinder rotation, and each member is subject to impact. Never.

Next, the state of the tea leaves in the barrel during the extraction operation was
This will be explained using Figures a to d.

Immediately after the extraction door is released, the tea leaves are dragged along the inner wall of the barrel as the barrel rotates forward, as shown in Figure a.
In addition, the tea leaves are lifted up by a kneading spatula that rotates at high speed around the main shaft, and are gathered in the direction of normal rotation of the barrel, as shown in the figure. Further, some of the tea leaves are stirred by a kneading spatula as shown by arrow C in the figure.

Then, as the outlet moves slowly in the forward rotation direction, the tea leaves in the barrel are taken out as shown by arrow D in the figure. Note that all the kneading spatulas face the outlet at least once, and the tea leaves held between the kneading spatulas and the inner wall of the body are also taken out from the outlet. When the state shown in figure b is reached, most of the tea leaves are taken out, but the tea leaves that had been stirred in the air by the kneading spatula remain near the lowest point as the remaining leaves in figure b. .

Therefore, when the cylinder is reversed at a low speed, the remaining leaves are removed from the outlet. but,
After all, a small portion of it is dragged along the inner wall of the torso and accumulates in the position of the remaining leaf in Figure c.

However, if the remaining leaves are further inverted and the outlet reaches the position shown in Figure d, they will slide down the inner wall of the barrel and be taken out from the outlet.

Even so, some tea leaves may be left behind inside the barrel, but these remaining leaves are so small that they are no longer thick enough to come into contact with the kneading spatula, so if you rotate the barrel again at low speed in the normal direction, you can remove the remaining leaves in the meantime. It can be easily taken out.

〔Example〕

Next, the present invention will be described with reference to illustrated embodiments.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a tea rolling machine, in which a machine frame 2 holds a main shaft 4 with a large number of rolling spatulas 3 arranged around it on all sides, and an inner wall provided around its outer circumference rotatably holds a bamboo-covered body 5. Become.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a control unit which controls tea manufacturing elements such as the rotational speed of the main shaft 4 and barrel 5, hot air volume, hot air temperature, etc. to perform the medium rolling process, and also has a built-in timer 24 and also controls the extraction of tea leaves, which will be described later. conduct. Although it is not visible in the figure, the main shaft 4 is equipped with a main shaft drive motor 7,
The cylinders 5 are configured to be driven separately by cylinder drive motors 8, and in particular, the cylinder drive motors 8 are controlled by an inverter 23 provided in the control section 6 to perform normal rotation, reverse rotation, and speed change. It is free.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a take-out door attached to the front edge of the take-out port 10 provided on the circumferential surface of the rotary drum 5 with a hinge 11. It opens when it faces an effective range for taking out the tea leaves inside the barrel, and closes when it goes beyond the effective range.

In this embodiment, the take-out door opening/closing device 12 is configured as follows.

That is, a locking rod 14 having locking pieces 13 provided at intervals is pivotally attached to the rear edge of the outlet 9 so as to be slidable left and right, while a U-shaped key is attached to the rear edge of the outlet 10. A piece 15 is provided so that the locking piece 13 and the key piece 15 can be freely engaged with each other by sliding the locking rod 14, so that the extraction door 9 can be locked. This is achieved by contact between a roller 16 provided at one end of the locking rod 14 and an unlocking rail 17 and a locking rail 18 provided at appropriate positions, which will be described below.

The unlocking rail 17 takes an operating position and a non-operating position by a solenoid 19, and when it is in the operating position, it contacts the roller 16 and slides the locking rod 14, so that the position of the outlet is effective for taking out the tea leaves in the barrel. The extraction door 9 is located at such a position that the extraction door 9 can be unlocked when facing a certain area.

When the position of the extraction port exceeds the effective range, the locking rail 18 contacts the roller 16 and locks the locking rod after the extraction door 9 is closed by its own weight or by the closing guide rail described below. It is provided in a position where it can be slid in the opposite direction to lock the extraction door 9.

The above-mentioned range that is effective for taking out tea leaves inside the body is not only a range where tea leaves can be easily taken out, but also a range that is appropriately determined taking into consideration design issues such as safety. In reality, it is desirable to determine the range that includes the lowest point A in FIG.

Reference numeral 20 denotes a closing door guide rail, which presses a wheel 21 attached to the rear end of the take-out door 9 with the rotation of the rotary drum 5 to ensure that the take-out door 9 is closed before locking. It is a cylindrical smooth opening/closing member with two compression coil springs inside.

This completes the explanation of the extraction door opening/closing device 12 of this embodiment.

Next, reference numeral 25 is a sensor using a limit switch, and the ejection door 9 is controlled by the ejection door opening/closing device 12.
is opened, and when the outlet reaches approximately the height of the main shaft 4, that is, when the outlet reaches near the end of the effective range for taking out the tea leaves in the barrel in this embodiment, the outlet is opened slightly outward. The sensor 2 is provided on the machine frame 2 so as to be in contact with the bulging extraction door 9.
The sensory signal of 5 is transmitted to the control unit 6.

Next, we will explain the control of the spindle rotation and barrel rotation by the control unit 6 during the tea leaf extraction operation.The tea rolling process is normally performed at a spindle rotation speed of around 40 rpm and a barrel rotation speed of around 20 rpm. In this embodiment, during the tea leaf extraction operation, only the rotation speed of the barrel is reduced to 2 rpm in both forward and reverse rotations, and the rotation speed of the main shaft remains unchanged.

When the control unit 6 receives the sensory signal from the sensor 25, it issues a command to reverse the torso at a low speed, and at the same time activates the timer 24, and when the time preset by the timer 24 has elapsed, the torso is turned again. It is designed to issue a command to rotate forward at low speed.

The set time of the timer 24 is the time from when the rotation of the barrel is reversed based on the sensory signal from the sensor 25 until the outlet reaches the vicinity of the beginning of the effective range for extracting tea leaves. Since the time is set to seconds, the cylinder rotates approximately one-third of the way around, and when it reaches the vicinity of the starting end of the effective range, it rotates forward again.

Therefore, tea leaves are taken out by the tea leaf taking out device of this embodiment as follows.

When the appropriate tea manufacturing and rolling process is completed and a take-out signal is issued, the control unit 6 receives the signal and first performs the following steps.
The rotation of the cylinder drive motor 8 is controlled by an inverter.
The speed drops to 2rpm.

When the next time a command is sent to the take-out door opening/closing device 12 to open the take-out door during the time when the barrel rotation is reliably changed, the unlocking rail is moved to the operating position by the solenoid 19, and the roller 16 is moved to the operating position. Upon contact, the locking rod 14 slides in the unlocking direction,
The locking piece 13 and the locking piece 15 are disengaged, and the extraction door 9 is opened by centrifugal force, gravity, and the smooth opening/closing member 22.

Then, the extraction port 10 continues to rotate at low speed in the normal direction while being opened, and from around the lowest point B, the extraction port 9
is pressed by the closing door guide rail 20 and begins to close, and just before the take-out door 9 closes near the end of the effective range, the sensor 25 comes into contact with the take-out door 9 that is bulging outward, and controls this perceptual signal. Send to section 6.

Then, the control unit 6 uses the inverter to gradually reverse the speed of the barrel drive motor 8 at a low speed, and activates the timer 24.

When a low-speed reversal command for the cylinder 5 is sent to the cylinder drive motor 8, the cylinder 5 shifts from normal rotation to a 2 rpm reverse rotation.
The take-out port 10 passes through the lowest point A again, but when 10 seconds have elapsed according to the timer 24, a low-speed forward rotation command for the cylinder 5 is again sent to the cylinder drive motor 8, and the cylinder 5 is rotated approximately After one-third of a turn,
Shifts to low speed forward rotation of 2 rpm again.

Then, the outlet 10 passes through the lowest point A again,
When the take-out door 9 comes into contact with the sensor 25 again, the control section 6 receives this perceptual signal, resets the timer 24, and this time causes the barrel 5 to rotate forward at low speed without reversing, and also causes the take-out door opening/closing device 12 to rotate. A command is sent to actuate the solenoid 19 and retract the unlocking rail 17 to the non-operating position.

Then, the rotary cylinder 5 rotates normally, and the outlet 1
0 exceeds the effective range, the take-out door 9 is reliably closed by the closing door guide rail 20, and then,
The locking rail 18 and the roller 16 come into contact, and the locking rod 14
is slid in the locking direction to engage the locking piece 13 and the key piece 15, and the extraction door 9 is locked, thus completing the tea leaf extraction operation.

During this tea leaf removal operation, the tea leaves inside the barrel are completely removed, but the state of the tea leaves inside the barrel at that time has been explained in the [Operation] section above, so the explanation will be omitted.

Note that the position of the sensor 25 and the timer 24
The setting time can be determined as appropriate; for example,
A phototube is installed so that the take-out door blocks the optical path when the take-out port is at the lowest position, and the control section receives the perceptual signal for a certain period of time (when the take-out port is at the lowest point and takes out the tea leaves in the barrel). (time until reaching near the end of the valid range), then flip the torso and
Thereafter, the cylinder may be configured to rotate normally again after a certain period of time (the time from when the outlet is reversed until it reaches near the starting end of the effective range). In this example, the tea leaves were removed by reversing the rotation of the barrel once, but if the extraction operation does not need to be carried out in a short period of time, the operation of reversing and forward rotation of the barrel may be performed several times. It is possible.

Further, in this embodiment, during the above operations, the spindle rotational speed was not changed at around 40 rpm, which is the rotational speed during the medium rolling process, but it may be changed as appropriate to a rotational speed that is advantageous for taking out tea leaves.

In addition, in the present invention, when the outlet is in an effective range for taking out tea leaves, a sensor detects the open outlet door, and then the barrel repeats low-speed normal rotation and low-speed reverse rotation to open the outlet. The tea leaves are efficiently taken out by reciprocating within the effective range. This is very important to ensure the retrieval operation.

First, by detecting the open take-out door with a sensor, it can be determined whether the take-out door is open (whether the tea leaves inside the barrel can be taken out reliably). If the take-out door cannot be detected, either the take-out door opening/closing device is not working properly for some reason and the take-out door cannot be opened, or the sensor is malfunctioning. In this case, the torso continues to rotate normally,
In the former case, the take-out door opening/closing device operates again to try to open the take-out door, and in the latter case, since the take-out door is open, the tea leaves are taken out in the same manner as before. If the sensor does not detect the release of the ejection door and the cylinder is reversed, if the ejection door is not released, it will not only waste time, but also
There is a risk that the tea leaves in the barrel will be determined to have been removed and the process will proceed to the next step.

Additionally, the sensor only needs to operate when the ejection door is open, thereby extending its life. what if,
When trying to detect a detection material attached to a part of the body, the sensor operates at a rate of, for example, 20 rpm even during tea processing, so contact-type sensors in particular are subject to rapid wear and tear.

〔Effect of the invention〕

Since the tea leaf extraction method of the present invention is performed as described above, it is only necessary to open and close the extraction door once before and after the tea leaf extraction operation, and since the extraction port is always open during the operation, the tea leaf extraction time can be shortened. .

In addition, during the tea leaf extraction operation, the main shaft rotates at a high speed more than three times that of the barrel, so while the extraction port is released (while the barrel rotates about one-third), the main shaft rotates against the barrel. Since the tea leaves rotate more than once, all of the kneading spatulas can face the outlet many times, and the tea leaves caught between the kneading spatulas and the inner wall of the body are immediately removed from the outlet. No one is left behind.

In addition, since the take-out door is closed after all the tea leaves in the barrel have been taken out, there is no chance of tea leaves being pinched, and there is no chance of the barrel being rotated without the take-out door being fully closed. There will be no more accidents caused by accident.

In addition, the extraction operation by normal rotation and reversal of the barrel is performed after the sensor detects the open extraction door and confirms that the tea leaves are reliably taken out. There is no need to waste time by starting the extraction operation or to mistakenly believe that the extraction of tea leaves is complete.

Furthermore, since the switching of the cylinder rotation speed from normal rotation to reverse rotation is performed by an inverter, extremely large rotational kinetic energy of the cylinder is not suddenly applied to each member, resulting in excellent durability. Further, there is no need to add a mechanical structure for rotating the cylinder forward and reverse.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Figures 1 and 2 show a tea milling machine, with Figure 1 being a front view and Figure 2 being an omitted side view. Figure 3a
-d are reference diagrams showing the state of tea leaves inside the body. 3...Kneading spatula, 4...Main shaft, 5...Torso, 6...
...control unit, 9...take-out door, 10...take-out port, 12
...Take-out door opening/closing device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A rotary barrel type tea making machine comprising a barrel provided on the outer periphery of a main shaft having a large number of kneading spatulas surrounding it, a take-out door formed in the take-out port opened on the circumferential surface of the barrel, and an opening/closing device for the take-out door. In the machine, the main shaft and the barrel are configured to be driven by separate motors, and at least the motor for driving the barrel can be rotated forward, reverse, and variable speed by an inverter, and after the appropriate tea processing is completed, the main shaft is driven at high speed. The barrel is rotated at a low speed of one-third or less of the main shaft, and when the outlet is within the effective range for taking out the tea leaves inside the barrel, the outlet door is opened, and a sensor detects the open outlet door. A method for taking out tea leaves in a rotary barrel type medium rolling machine, in which the barrel is then repeatedly rotated at low speed forward and reversed at low speed, and the outlet is moved back and forth within the effective range.