JPH051696B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention is used in a noodle production line for producing instant noodles, for example, in a noodle production line that loosens lumps of noodle noodles housed in a frying processing container before a frying process. This invention relates to a loosening method and device.

(Prior art) Noodle making materials such as wheat flour, water and canned water are kneaded to produce noodle dough, which is then rolled and cut into noodle wires in the longitudinal direction. After "steaming" by spraying and heating steam at around ℃, the noodle is cut into individual servings to form noodle lumps, which are then fried (deep-fried in tofu), and then fried into noodle lumps. In a well-known instant noodle production line that cools the noodles by spraying cold air, the noodle wires that are cut into individual servings are placed in a cup-shaped frying container (retainer) that has liquid permeability.
It is stored in chunks and fried.

By the way, the wire cut into a certain amount for one meal is generally dropped along a chute, caught by a plate-shaped shutter provided at the lower end of the chute, and then opened for frying. A substantially ball-shaped mass is stored in the center of a frying container attached to a conveyor.

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) As described above, the noodle wires stored as a substantially ball-shaped mass have a high agglomeration density, so they are sent to the frying process and immersed in the frying oil tank. Even if the food is fried, it is not properly fried due to poor oil circulation and tends to be fried raw.

Therefore, a loosening process has been carried out to lower the agglomeration density of the rolled wire, which has been conventionally housed in a frying container as a ball-shaped lump.

As one method of the loosening treatment, a method is known in which a ball-shaped noodle lump is stirred with a stirring blade to loosen it.

However, with this method, the problem arises that the fried wire adheres to the stirring blade, resulting in a reduction in the amount of the fried wire and a decrease in product yield.

On the other hand, focusing on the fact that the fry container has a liquid-permeable structure, that is, a structure in which many through holes are formed by punching, methods have been attempted to loosen the fry container by blowing air from the bottom side, for example. However, with this method, air is only partially blown onto the wires facing the position where the through holes are formed, so there is a problem in that the wires cannot be loosened to reduce the concentration of the wires without unevenly distributing them. have.

The present invention has been made in view of the problems of the prior art as described above, and is aimed at preventing the noodle strips for one serving stored in a container as a substantially ball-shaped lump from causing uneven distribution of density and loss of weight. It is an object of the present invention to provide a method for loosening a rolled wire and an apparatus for the same, which can effectively loosen the wire without any process.

(Means for Solving the Problems) In order to achieve the above object, the method for loosening the fried wire according to the present invention includes a step of introducing a fixed amount of fried wire into a container, and an upper opening of the container that can be opened and closed. At the same time as closing with a lid body, the process of inserting a nozzle for loosening the rolling wire attached to this lid body into the rolling wire, and blowing out air in a radial direction from the nozzle inserted into the rolling wire. This method includes a step of loosening the noodle strings using an air flow.

Further, the device for loosening the noodle wires according to the present invention includes a lid body that can open and close the upper opening of a container storing the noodle wires, and a lid body that is attached to the upper opening of the container by penetrating the lid body in the vertical direction. The lower protrusion has a shaft-shaped lower protrusion that is inserted into the sliding wire when the lid is closed, and the lower protrusion has a passage along its axis and an outward opening branching radially from the lower end of the passage. The wire loosening nozzle is provided with a plurality of air outlet nozzles for loosening the wire.

(Function) According to the method for loosening the noodles of the present invention, the upper opening of the container is closed with a lid, and air is ejected in a radial direction from a nozzle for loosening the noodles inserted into the noodles in the container. As a result, dispersion forces in the radial and vertical directions are applied to the noodles, which are stored as a ball-shaped mass in the container, by the jet air flow, and this causes the noodles to be dispersed. The rolled wires can be effectively loosened and treated so that the agglomeration density is reduced and the wires are evenly dispersed over the entire area inside the container.

Further, according to the device for loosening the rolled wire of the present invention, when the upper opening of the container containing the rolled wire is closed by the lid, at the same time, the lower protrusion of the nozzle for loosening the rolled wire attached to the lid is opened. part is inserted into the rolling wire. In this state, by injecting air radially from a plurality of air outlets formed at the lower end of the lower protrusion of the nozzle, the injected air flow spreads the noodles over the entire area inside the container. It can be dispersed evenly and loosened so that it is not unevenly distributed.

(Example) Fig. 1 is a schematic side view showing a part of a noodle making line to which the present invention is applied. Cup-shaped containers (fried containers) 2 are attached in a line and are immersed in a frying oil tank 3 and moved intermittently.

The container 2 has its bottom 20 as shown in FIG.
It has a liquid-permeable structure with a large number of through holes (punching holes) 21 formed in it, and is carried out from the upstream conveying means 4 in FIG. The rolled wire 6 cut into a quantity for one serving is once received by a shutter 8 provided at the lower end of the chute 7, and then dropped and stored when the shutter 8 is opened.

Reference numeral 9 denotes a lidding conveyor, which is disposed oppositely above the fried processing conveyor 1, and has the same interval in the conveying direction as the containers 2 and a plurality of row and column intervals. A lid member 90 is attached to open and close the lid (see Figure 2).

Therefore, the container 2 of the frying conveyor 1
The noodles in the container 2 are covered by the lid member 90 during the period from the position where they are immersed under the oil level 3A of the frying oil tank 3 to the position where they are lifted out from the oil level 3A. To prevent the wire 6 from overflowing to the outside of the container 2.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a downstream conveying means, which is an endless conveyor, receives the fried noodle lumps 6A, and conveys them to the cooling process.

In the frying conveyor 1, a lid body for opening and closing the upper opening 22 of the container 2 is provided between the position where the cut wire 6 is stored in the container 2 and the position where it is carried into the frying oil tank 3. 12 are provided.

The lid body 12 is made of a soft material with high elasticity, such as sponge. and,
As shown in FIG. 3, the top plate 12A is connected via a connecting member 13 to an elevating mechanism 14 formed by, for example, a cylinder.
is connected to.

Reference numeral 15 denotes a nozzle for loosening noodles, which is made of, for example, hard synthetic resin, is attached to vertically penetrate the center of the lid 12, and has a lower protrusion 15A protruding downward. And passage 1 along the axis
6, and the lower end of this passage 16 is formed by branching in the radial direction as shown in FIG.
It communicates with the air injection ports 17.

The passage 16 communicates with a compressed air supply source 19 via a passage 18 in which a solenoid valve 18A, a dehumidifier 18B, and a flow rate regulating valve 18C are interposed. Therefore, when the solenoid valve 18A is opened, clean air dehumidified by the dehumidifier 18B is sent into the passage 16 and is injected from the air injection port 17. Note that the flow rate regulating valve 18C is adjusted depending on the amount, thickness, and type of the wire group.

Next, the operation of the above configuration will be explained.

The wire 6, which is carried out from the discharge end of the upstream conveyance means 4 in FIG. Once it is accepted.

When the container 2 stops below the chute 7 due to the intermittent movement of the frying conveyor 1, the shutter 8 is opened and the rolled wire 6 received by the shutter 8 forms a substantially ball-shaped mass. It is dropped into the container 2 (see Figure 5).

When the container 2 containing the rolled wire 6 exhibiting a ball-shaped mass stops below the lid 12 in FIG.
The lifting mechanism 14 operates to lower the connecting member 13 and the lid 12, close the upper opening 22 of the container 2 as shown in FIG. Insert into line 6.

At the same time, the solenoid valve 18A provided in the passage 18 in FIG. 3 opens. Therefore, clean air supplied from the compressed air supply source 19 and dehumidified by the dehumidifier 18B is sent into the passage 16 of the nozzle 15 for loosening the noodles, and is injected in the radial direction from the plurality of air injection ports 17. The ejected air flow loosens the rolled wire 6 without causing it to be unevenly distributed, thereby reducing the density of the wires (see FIG. 7).

When the loosening of the fried wire 6 is completed, the solenoid valve 18A
is closed, the lid body 12 is lifted up by the operation of the lifting mechanism 14, and then the fry processing conveyor 1 is lifted up.
moves intermittently to move the container 2 forward.

By intermittent movement of the fry processing conveyor 1,
While the container 2 containing the loosened wire 6 is immersed below the oil level 3A of the oil tank 3 for frying and reaches the position where it is pulled up from the oil level 3A, a The fried wire 6 is fried by high-temperature oil that enters through the large number of through holes 21.

The rolled wire 2 in the container 2 has been subjected to a loosening process to reduce the density of cohesion without being unevenly distributed.
Good oil circulation. Therefore, proper frying can be performed without uneven frying.

Note that while the container 2 is being immersed in the oil surface 3A of the oil tank 3 for frying until it is being lifted up, the upper opening 22 of the container 2 is closed by a lid member 90 attached to the lid conveyor 9. Since the container 2 is closed with a lid, it is possible to prevent the problem of the fried wire 6 spilling out due to the convection of the oil entering the container 2.

Further, the fried noodles 6, that is, the fried noodle lumps 6A, which have been fried are transferred from the fried conveyor 1 to the downstream conveyance means 11, and are conveyed to a cooling process (not shown) where they are cooled.

Furthermore, as in the above embodiment, blowing clean air dehumidified by the dehumidifier 18B onto the rolling wire is advantageous in terms of hygiene.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the method and device for loosening the rolled wire of the present invention, the upper opening of the container into which the rolled wire is put is closed by the lid, and the stairs housed in the container are closed. In this case, a nozzle for loosening the noodles is inserted into the noodles, which are roughly ball-shaped and have a high concentration, and air is ejected in a radial direction from the multiple air jet ports formed in the inserted nozzle. Therefore, the ejected air flow can sufficiently and evenly disperse the rolled wires in the radial direction and the vertical direction within the small volume container, thereby efficiently reducing the concentration of the wires. Therefore, it is possible to effectively loosen the noodles without damaging or reducing the weight of the noodles, and without causing them to be unevenly distributed, and it is possible to ensure proper frying without uneven frying. This effect is achieved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a schematic side view showing a part of the noodle-making line to which the present invention is applied, FIG. 2 is a vertical side view of the container,
FIG. 3 is a longitudinal sectional side view of the lid and the nozzle for loosening the noodles, FIG. 4 is a sectional view taken along the line - in FIG. 3, and FIG. 5 is a longitudinal sectional side view showing the state before loosening the noodles.
FIG. 6 is a longitudinal side view showing a state in which the container is covered with a lid, and FIG. 7 is a longitudinal side view showing a state in which the rolling wire is loosened. 2... Container, 6... Noodle wire, 12... Lid, 1
5... Nozzle for loosening noodles, 15A... Lower protrusion, 17... Air injection port.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A step of putting a fixed amount of rolled wire into a container, closing the upper opening of the container with a lid that can be opened and closed, and a nozzle for loosening the rolled wire attached to the lid. A method for loosening a noodle wire characterized by comprising the step of inserting the noodle wire into the noodle wire, and the step of ejecting air in a radial direction from a nozzle inserted into the noodle wire, and loosening the noodle wire by the ejected air flow. Method. 2. A lid body that opens and closes the upper opening of the container containing the noodle wire, and a lid that is inserted into the noodle wire when closing the upper opening of the container, which is attached by vertically passing through this lid body. A wire having a shaft-shaped lower protrusion, and a passage along the axis of the lower protrusion, and a plurality of air outlets that branch radially from the lower end of the passage and open outward. A device for loosening a noodle wire, characterized in that it is equipped with a loosening nozzle.