JPH0681577B2 - Vacuum cooling type kneader - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a steamer for producing dough such as rice cakes and dumplings, or kneaded products of livestock and fisheries.

[Prior Art] Conventionally, dough for rice cakes or dumplings is kneaded by kneading the raw materials in an airtight container having stirring blades, blowing steam into the airtight container to supply water and heat while stirring. It is manufactured by Oxygen is added to prevent aging (stiffening) of the dough produced in this way,
Since this oxygen is weak to heat, the kneaded product at a temperature close to 100 ° C is immersed in cold water, or cooling water is passed between the inner wall and the outer wall of the double-structured kneading chamber, and the cooled inner wall is touched. Oxygen was added after lowering the temperature of the kneaded product, or leaving it in the air to cool naturally.

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention] However, in the conventional method as described above, it takes a long time for the kneaded product to cool, and the production efficiency is low.
Since it is left in the aquarium or in the air, various bacteria are attached to it, and it easily proliferates, which is unfavorable in terms of hygiene, and it occupies a large manufacturing site.

[Means for Solving the Problems] In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a hermetically sealed kneading chamber having a steam blowing device and a stirring device, and lowering the atmospheric pressure in the kneading chamber. It is composed of a vacuum device.

[Operation] In such a vacuum cooling type kneader, a kneaded product is produced by stirring (kneading) while blowing in steam,
Then, the air in the kneading chamber is sucked by a vacuum device to reduce the atmospheric pressure in the kneading chamber, and the water contained in the kneading product is vaporized even at a low temperature. The heat of vaporization rapidly cools the kneaded product. This process is performed more quickly and evenly by operating the stirring device. The decrease in water content from the product due to the vaporization is compensated for during the steaming or the like in advance.

[Embodiment] An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 3, reference numeral 1 is a main body of the kneading machine,
A base 2 in which a frame is assembled vertically and horizontally, a cylindrical stirring container 3 installed on the upper portion of the base 2 with its axis being horizontal, and one end of a drive shaft 4 having one end inserted into the stirring container 3. The stirring blade 5 attached to the
And a drive motor 9 that is rotationally driven via the sprockets 7 and 8. The stirring container 3 is provided with a charging port 11 for charging a raw material on the upper side, and a take-out port 12 for taking out a kneaded product on both sides, and these take-in port 11 and take-out port 12 each have an opening / closing lid 13 having a sealing member. The inner space (steaming chamber 15) inside the stirring container 3 is sealed by being covered with 14 and 14. Further, inside the steaming chamber 15 (mainly at the bottom), a steam pipe 17 having a steam outlet 16 formed at an appropriate position is provided, and the steam pipe 16 is attached to a header 18 attached to the stirring container 3 and steam. It is connected to a steam supply source (not shown) via a supply valve 19 and the like. In addition, in the upper part of the stirring container 3,
An exhaust pipe 20 having one end opened to the kneading chamber 15 is provided, and the other end of the exhaust pipe 20 is connected to a vacuum pump 22 via an on-off valve 21 and a relief valve 21a, and in front of the on-off valve 21. It is branched, and an exhaust port 24 is provided through an exhaust valve 23. The drive shaft 4 is inserted through an end plate 25 on the opposite side of the outlet 12 of the stirring container 3, and is supported airtightly by an airtight bearing 26 fixed to the end plate 25 so that the degree of vacuum in the kneading chamber 15 is increased. To keep.

Next, a method for producing dough for mochi by the vacuum cooling type kneader configured as described above will be described. First, materials such as new powder, water, and sugar are charged into the kneading chamber 15 through the charging port 11 of the stirring container 3, the driving motor 9 is driven to rotate the driving shaft 4, and the stirring blade 5 is rotated to rotate the stirring blade 5 appropriately. For a short time (about 2 minutes). The amount of water supplied at this time is set higher than usual in consideration of the amount of decrease due to evaporation during cooling, which will be described later. Then, after closing the opening / closing lid 13 of the charging port 11, the steam supply valve 19 is opened, and the stirring is continued while supplying the steam into the kneading chamber 15. When the steam supply valve 19 is opened, the steam is supplied from the steam supply source through the header 18, the steam pipe 17, and the steam jet port 16 to the kneading chamber.
Supplied within 15. The steam is blown from the bottom of the kneading chamber 15, the kneaded product is stirred by the action of the stirring blades 5, and the steam hits the heat on average to transfer the heat. After steaming for a predetermined time (depending on steam supply amount and supply pressure, usually about 15 minutes) and high temperature dough is generated, the steam supply valve 19 is closed while the stirring blade 5 is rotated. The exhaust valve 23 is closed, the opening / closing valve 21 is opened, and the vacuum pump 22 is operated. The air pressure in the kneading chamber 15 is reduced to, for example, 92.50 mmHg, but at this time, if the rate of decrease of this air pressure is made too fast, the water contained in the kneading product will evaporate rapidly and vaporization will be violently carried out. Since the product foams and expands and the dough becomes puffy, a high quality kneaded product cannot be obtained, and the lightened kneaded product holding air bubbles is sucked into the vacuum pump 22 from the exhaust pipe 20. The suction capacity of the vacuum pump 22 is appropriately set (so that the inside of the kneading chamber 15 has a predetermined vacuum degree in about 5 minutes).
As the atmospheric pressure decreases, the water contained in the kneaded product is vaporized even at a low temperature, and the heat of vaporization is taken from the kneaded product to lower the temperature of the kneaded product. The temperature of the kneaded product can be confirmed by a temperature sensor installed on the inner wall of the kneading chamber 15, or can be estimated from the degree of vacuum in the kneading chamber 15, and the kneaded product reaches the desired temperature by these indicators. Then, the vacuum pump 22 is stopped. Then, after returning the inside of the kneading chamber 15 to the atmospheric pressure, the feeding port 11 is opened to add the enzyme, and after stirring for a predetermined time (about 5 minutes), the dough is taken out from the outlet 12. According to this device, compared to the method of water cooling or air cooling, cooling is performed much more rapidly, work efficiency is improved, and cooling and stirring after enzyme addition can be performed in the same device, so the work time is reduced. Is greatly reduced.
In addition, since the dough is not exposed to water or air, various germs do not adhere to it and it is hygienic and does not deteriorate in quality. Furthermore, since labor for manual transfer can be saved, it is possible to prevent bacteria from adhering through the human hands. Further, simultaneously with the evaporation of water, air and the like entrained in the kneaded product are removed by stirring, which is advantageous in that a good kneaded product can be obtained.

In the airtight bearing 26 as described above, in order to prevent the lubricating oil from being mixed into the steaming chamber 15 when the steaming chamber 15 is evacuated, the inside and outside of the airtight bearing 26 is provided on the side opposite to the steaming chamber 15. A hole penetrating through, and this hole is communicated with a vacuum pump (the same as or different from that for the kneading chamber) so that the space inside the airtight bearing 26 has a low atmospheric pressure. Good.

Also, it is called a steam kneader, and two spiral shafts are provided on the lower side of the steaming chamber as described above, and the kneaded product that has been steamed in the steaming chamber is blown off onto the spiral shaft. It goes without saying that there is a device for carrying out the product by operating the spiral shaft of the book, and the vacuum cooling device of the present application can be applied to such a steam-kneader.

In this case, an airtight and openable / closable partition wall is provided between the steaming chamber and the two spiral shafts, and after steaming is completed in the steaming chamber 15, vacuum cooling is performed to add an enzyme, This is the process of opening the partition wall and carrying it out with stirring.

Further, in this embodiment, a vacuum pump 22 is used as a vacuum device.
However, any one having the same effect, such as an ejector capable of forming a vacuum inside the chamber, may be adopted.

[Effects of the Invention] As described in detail above, the present invention is composed of a steaming chamber having a steam blowing device and a stirring device that can be closed, and a vacuum device for reducing the atmospheric pressure in the steaming chamber. The heat of vaporization when the water contained in the kneaded product evaporates allows the kneaded product to be cooled quickly, improving the work efficiency and effectively utilizing the space, and after cooling and adding the enzyme in the same device. Since even the stirring can be performed, the labor of the work is significantly reduced. Further, since the kneaded product is not exposed to water or air, various germs do not adhere to it, which is hygienic and the quality is improved. Furthermore, since the air and the like entrained in the kneaded product are removed by stirring at the same time as the evaporation of the water, an excellent effect such as obtaining a high-quality dough without bubbles can be obtained.

In particular, since the steam outlet is formed at the bottom of the kneading chamber, the steam rises from the bottom of the kneading chamber, and in the process, the entire material of the dough stirred up and down is uniformly heated by the steam. Therefore, there is an effect that a uniform kneading condition can be obtained. Furthermore, since the exhaust pipe is provided in the upper part of the kneading chamber, the dough and the like accumulate on the bottom of the kneading chamber due to its own weight and the pressure is gradually reduced,
There is an effect that the material and the like are not sucked into the exhaust pipe.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a front view of an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 3 is a plan view of the same. 5 ... Stirring blade, 15 ... Steaming chamber, 17 ... Steam piping, 20 ... Exhaust piping, 22 ... Vacuum pump.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A stirring chamber having a vapor blowing device and a stirring device which can be closed, and a vacuum device for lowering the atmospheric pressure in the stirring chamber. The stirring device is a horizontally arranged drive shaft and the drive shaft. It consists of a stirring blade that rotates around the center of the steam chamber, and a steam outlet that blows steam from the steam blowing device into the steam chamber is formed at the bottom of the steam chamber, and the air inside the steam chamber is at the top of the steam chamber. A vacuum cooling type kneader characterized in that an exhaust pipe for exhausting the gas is provided.