JPH0743098U - Discharge control device for hopper with koji making plate - Google Patents

Abstract

(57) [Summary] [Purpose] The discharge amount of the culture medium 35 in the hopper 36 of the koji making device 3 is reliably adjusted. [Structure] Discharging part 3 at the bottom of hopper 36 with a culture substrate
0 is provided with an adjusting section 63 for variably adjusting the discharging section 30 in accordance with the discharged state of the culture medium. Further, the detecting device 40 for detecting the discharge state and the driving device 70 for automatically driving the adjusting portion 63 based on the detection information of the detecting device 40 are provided.

Description

[Detailed description of the device]

[0001]

[Industrial applications]

 The present invention relates to a discharge amount adjusting device for a hopper with a plate for a koji making device.

[0002]

[Prior art]

 Among the kojis for brewing sake, miso, soy sauce, etc., including conventional sake, as an apparatus and a method for obtaining high-quality koji called brilliant sperm for brewing high-quality sake, Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-219941 discloses. A technique as disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-123164 has been proposed, and a large number of containers containing steamed rice (culture medium) are housed in an environment room (koji-making room) that controls temperature, humidity, etc. in the above device. In addition to a circulation device that circulates vertically to make the koji-making environment uniform, a hopper for assembling is also installed to dispense culture medium into the above container in a fixed shape in a predetermined shape and send it sequentially to the circulation device. Has been done. The hopper is provided with a discharge part including a cylindrical discharge port with a shutter that is driven to open and close, at a lower converging part of a funnel-shaped opening for introducing steamed rice and the like.

[0003]

[Problems to be solved by the device]

 However, depending on the water content and the nature of rice, the culture medium input to the hopper has a difference in the discharge amount when opening the shutter of the discharge part and placing it in the container, and when the water content is high or the koji is soft. In addition to the disadvantages such as clogging during laying and interruption of laying work, the laying amount became uneven among containers, resulting in uneven koji-making quality.

[0004]

[Means for Solving the Problems]

 The device of the present invention for solving the above-mentioned problems is a discharge unit 30 for discharging the culture medium 35 to the lower part of a hopper 36 for accommodating the culture medium 35 and placing it on the koji making container 2 and a shutter for opening and closing the discharge unit 30. 51, the first feature is that an adjusting portion 63 for adjusting the discharge portion 30 to a large or small size is provided in order to adjust the discharge amount according to the discharge state of the culture medium 35. In addition, in the above-mentioned device, the detection device 40 for detecting the discharged state of the culture medium 35 and the drive device 70 for automatically adjusting and operating the adjusting portion 63 based on the detection information of the detection device 40 are provided. It has a feature.

[0005]

[Action]

 The culture medium 35 put into the hopper 36 is discharged and arranged by opening the shutter 51 of the discharge part 30 when the culture medium 35 is arranged on the container 2. At this time, the expected arrangement of the culture medium 35 depends on the discharge condition of the culture medium 35. If the amount becomes excessive or insufficient, or if clogging occurs, the adjusting unit 63 adjusts the size of the discharge unit 30 to adjust the discharge and coating amount appropriately.

In addition, the discharge state of the culture medium 35 from the hopper 36 is detected by the detection device 40, and the adjusting unit 63 is adjusted based on the detection information, so that the amount of the culture medium discharge in the discharge unit 30 is always appropriate. Hold it at a stable level for stable and uniform placement.

[0007]

【Example】

FIG. 1 shows an outline of an apparatus used for carrying out the present invention. The koji-making device housed in a koji-making chamber 1 environmentally controlled by a control device 8 (host computer) is used for a koji lid (container) 2. And a container 3 for carrying out the cultivation of a culture medium such as steamed rice in which the koji mold has been planted, and a large number of the containers 2 after the carrying are loaded and stacked, and in the stacked state, each container 2 is controlled for temperature, humidity, CO ₂ concentration, A circulation mechanism 4 for raising and lowering and transferring circulation (loading or rotation) to give uniform koji-making conditions, and a heap shape is changed on the circulation mechanism 4 as necessary, and the kneading lid 2 is manufactured in each koji lid 2. And a stirring device 6 for making the koji conditions uniform. The koji lid 2 is a rectangular wooden box and has a structure capable of maintaining the ventilation of the inside and the outside in a stacked state.

As shown in FIG. 1, the koji making room 1 forms an environment room for accommodating the koji making room device, and the outside air is purified by an air conditioner 5 installed outside the room, and temperature and It is equipped with a function to adjust humidity, air volume, oxygen concentration, carbon dioxide concentration, etc. as required. The koji making room 1 is connected to an external host computer 8 to measure and control the internal environment as described above, a thermometer 9, a hygrometer 11, and a concentration meter 12 for sampling and measuring carbon dioxide (CO ₂ ), A temperature detector (sensor) 26 for sampling and measuring the product temperature of the moving container 2 and the culture medium therein is attached to the container 2 in the circulation mechanism 4 which will be described later.

A slave computer 13 such as a sequencer is connected between the host computer 8 and the respective operating parts of the arranging device 3, the circulation mechanism 4 and the stirring device 6 to control the operation of each part. The host computer 8 is provided with a display device 14 such as a display screen, a storage unit 18 such as a hard disk 16 and a floppy disk 17, and the air conditioner 5 is connected to the host computer 8 online (RS-232C) and controlled. It is like this.

Below the arranging device 3, a carry-in line 22 composed of a belt conveyor for placing the koji lid 2 on standby is installed in the left-right direction. On the koji lid 2, steamed rice in which a predetermined amount of koji mold is planted is discharged from the lower end of the hopper 21 and is placed on the koji lid. 1 is sequentially fed into the circulation mechanism 4 on the left side in FIG.

The circulation mechanism 4 accommodates the left half part of the carry-in line 22 in the lower part, and an upper transfer line 23 composed of a conveyor or the like parallel to the carry-in line 22 is horizontally installed in the upper part. Between them, the koji lid 2 is supported by the ascending line 24a and the descending line 24b in which a large number of koji lids 2 are stacked in two rows on the left and right, and the ascending line 24a, the descending line 24b, the carry-in line 22 and the transfer line 23 are operated. As shown in the figure, for example, every five minutes, the container 2 is sequentially transferred and rotated one cycle at a time, and is circulated to carry out the transshipment operation of the container 2.

The stirring device 6 is provided downward on the circulation mechanism 4, a rotating stirring unit is inserted into the koji lid 2 so as to be able to move up and down, and as needed during the rotation operation of the koji lid 2, the stirring device 6 can be installed inside the koji lid 2. Stir the steamed rice or change the filling shape. These agitation and changing of the filling shape are mainly performed according to the timing and purpose of the work such as the intermediate work, the finishing work, and the koji-making that are traditionally performed when making sake koji, for example. It is performed with the aim of homogenizing the whole steamed rice, allowing it to cool, evaporating, and controlling the growth of koji in the next step.

A temperature detector 26 including a rod-shaped platinum temperature sensor (thermocouple) for detecting the product temperature is provided inside the container 2 along the inner surface of the bottom plate so as to penetrate the container side plate. One instrument 26 is provided in each of the ascending / descending lines 24a and 24b for sample measurement, and constantly detects the product temperature while ascending / descending in the ascending line 24a and the descending line 24b and provides detection information to the host computer 8. . The mechanism and method for measuring the article temperature during the movement of the containers on the elevating lines 24a and 24b are the same as those disclosed in Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 5-7486. The follower is used, but the detailed explanation is omitted.

Next, the configuration of the hopper according to the present invention will be described in detail. FIG. 2 and FIG. 3 are a front view and a side view of the arranging device, and the arranging device 3 for the culture medium contained in the koji making chamber 1 is shown in FIG. It is attached via a hopper frame 34 which is connected to the frame 33 on the circulation mechanism 4 side and is provided side by side. The hopper frame 34 is composed of a rectangular parallelepiped frame, and a funnel-shaped portion 37 of a hopper 36 for feeding a culture medium 35, which has a rectangular shape in a plan view, is inserted from the upper portion of the frame to detect a weight sensor (detection device) for detecting the weight of the culture medium in the hopper 36. ) 40.

The funnel-shaped portion 37 is provided with an inclined wall (swash plate) 38 that converges downward, is divided into upper and lower parts, is detachably connected and joined by a clip 39, and is attached to the lower funnel-shaped portion 37. The front and rear two exhaust pipes 41 having a rectangular cross section and having a rectangular cross section are continuously provided. The lower end of the funnel-shaped portion 37 and the discharge port 41 constitute the discharge portion 30 of the hopper 36.

A stirring shaft 42 is inserted in the lower end of the funnel-shaped portion 37 in the front-rear direction and is rotatably supported by bearings 43 and 44. Around the stirring shaft 42, there is an axial gap. The rod-shaped stirring claws 46 are projected on one side one by one through a constant pitch (for example, 40 mm), and the stirring claws 46 adjacent to each other at each pitch are shifted in phase by 90 ° around the axis, for example. It has been projected. For this reason, when the stirring shaft 42 is rotationally driven, the culture medium 35 falls and is discharged in the converging portion of the funnel-shaped portion 37 so as to be successively dug from either the front side or the rear side depending on the rotation direction. To be done. Reference numeral 47 denotes a high torque small motor for rotating the stirring shaft, which is attached to the back side of the hopper 36 via a bracket 48, and is connected to the stirring shaft 42 via a coupling 49.

A shutter 51 for opening and closing the opening end and discharging the culture medium 35 in a fixed amount is rotatably supported at the lower opening end of each outlet 41, and the shutter 51 is provided with an arm 52. Is connected to a drive device 53 for opening and closing, which is composed of an air cylinder or an electric cylinder, and the drive device 53 is attached to the lower end of the hopper 36 via a bracket 54.

The right end of a carry-in line 59 consisting of a conveyor leading to the lower part of the circulation mechanism 4 is inserted into the lower part of the hopper frame 34, and the koji lid 2 which is a container made of a rectangular wooden box is mounted on the conveyor 59. It is a mechanism that is placed, carried in so as to be positioned below the hopper discharge port 41, and conveyed to the circulation mechanism 4 side after the culture substrate 35 has been deposited.

The container 2 has a rectangular shape in the front-rear direction, and is divided into front and rear parts by a partition plate 62 at the center thereof, and the culture medium 35 is dropped and ejected to the front and rear compartments from the above-described two outlets 41, 41. Then, each is placed in a mountain shape with an initial shape. This mountain-shaped arrangement is realized by discharging the culture medium 35 and gradually moving the container 2 by the operation of the conveyor 59.

In the discharge part 30 of the hopper 36, as shown in FIGS. 4 and 5, the discharge ports 30 are vertically moved up and down on the back side where the upper ends of the discharge ports 41 and the lower ends of the swash plates 38 bend and intersect in an L-shaped cross section. A continuous notch-shaped open window 61 is formed in a gate shape, and guide plates 62 bent at right angles to the right side are provided parallel to the vertical direction at both front and rear ends of the open window 61.

In the open window 61, a movable wall 63 formed of a rear wall of the discharge port 41 and a swash plate 38 that is bent and continuous with the discharge port 41 and a plate that is bent in an L-shape having the same cross section in a front view is opened. The movable wall 63 is housed so as to close it, and the upper end of the movable wall 63 is swingably attached to the upper side of the open window 61 via a hinge 64, and the front and rear ends of the movable wall 63 are attached to the inner surface of the guide plate 62. It is swung so that the lower part opens and closes in the state of sliding contact.

Further, brackets 66 and 67 are provided upright on the outer surface of the swash plate 38 above the open window 61 and the center of the outer surface of the movable wall 63, and the movable wall 63 is provided between the brackets 66 and 67. A drive device 70 including an electric cylinder or an air cylinder that adjusts the cross section of the discharge port 41 by swinging its lower end is erected so as to extend and contract. In this example, according to the discharge state of the culture medium 35. , The amount of emissions can be automatically adjusted automatically within the range of the opening / closing adjustment angle θ.

With the above configuration, the amount of the culture medium discharged from the hopper 36 can be appropriately adjusted depending on the discharge state of the culture medium. In particular, since the lower end of the swash plate 38 is opened and closed, it is possible to adjust the discharge amount reasonably and effectively.

Next, an example of adjustment control of the discharge unit 30 will be described. For example, in the case of normal serving, when the container 2 moves below the discharge port 41 and stops, this is detected by a sensor or the like (not shown), The shutter 51 opens and the setting is completed in about 5 seconds, and the shutter is closed. The amount of coating at this time is controlled by the host computer 8 while detecting the amount of discharge by the weight sensor 40 of the hopper 36. However, if the culture medium 35 is clogged or the like, a predetermined amount will be maintained even after 10 seconds have elapsed since the shutter was opened. When the shutter open state continues without reaching the coating amount, a command from the host computer 8 activates the drive device 70 to open the movable wall 63 to prompt the discharge of the culture medium 35 and to deposit a predetermined amount. Upon completion, the shutter 51 is closed.

At this time, the movable wall 63 may be returned to the original position. However, when it is necessary to repeat the adjustment operation, the movable wall 63 is automatically opened at an appropriate opening degree or manually in the host computer 8. It is possible to set.

FIG. 6 shows an example in which an adjusting rod 69 with a handle 68 is attached between the brackets 66 and 67. The mounting shaft 71 on the bracket 66 side constitutes a nut, and the adjusting rod 69 is attached to the nut. The screw part is screwed in, and the movable wall 63 is opened and closed by operating the handle 68.

Further, in order to accelerate the discharge of the culture medium 35, a balloon-shaped tube 72 that is inflated by air is vertically inserted and installed at a central position in the hopper 36, and when the culture medium is charged, air is injected to inflate it. It is also possible to form a relief space for the pressure inside the culture medium by keeping it in a closed state and bleeding it to reduce the size when discharging.

FIG. 7 shows the mounting structure of the stirring claw 73 of the stirring device 6, in which a cylindrical stirring sleeve 76 is inserted into a stirring shaft 74 which hangs down from above and is locked by a pin 77. The insertion hole 78 of the pin 77 on the sleeve 76 side is an elongated hole in the up-down direction so that the rotating claw 73 is prevented from catching on the unevenness caused by the deformation of the bottom plate 2a of the container 2 or the like. It has a mechanism to slide to.

[0029]

[Effect of device]

 According to the device of the present invention configured as described above, depending on the amount of water content of the culture medium put into the hopper and other conditions, the discharge state such as clogging of discharge occurs in the hopper during the assembling work. By adjusting the discharge part of the hopper to be larger or smaller depending on the discharge condition such as bad or conversely, when the discharge amount of the culture medium is too large, it is possible to always deposit an appropriate amount on the container. .

Further, since the adjusting portion can be automatically changed and adjusted by detecting whether the discharge state is good or not, there is an effect that the appropriate amount of coating can be automatically controlled without any need for artificial judgment or manpower. .

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is an overall explanatory view showing a koji making device and its control system.

FIG. 2 is a front view of a hopper.

FIG. 3 is a side view of a hopper.

FIG. 4 is a cross-sectional view showing a discharge part adjusting mechanism of a hopper.

FIG. 5 is a horizontal sectional view of the adjusting mechanism.

FIG. 6 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the hopper discharge part adjustment mechanism.

FIG. 7 is a front view showing the structure of a stirring unit in the circulation mechanism.

[Explanation of symbols]

 2 container 30 discharge part 35 culture medium 40 detection device (weight sensor) 51 shutter 63 adjustment part (movable wall) 70 drive device

Claims (2)

[Scope of utility model registration request] 1. A hopper (3) containing a culture medium (35).
Discharge part (30) for discharging the culture medium (35) to the lower part of 6) and placing it on the koji making container (2), and the discharge part (30)
And a shutter (51) for opening and closing, the adjusting unit (63) for adjusting the size of the discharge unit (30) to adjust the discharge amount according to the discharge state of the culture medium (35).
A device for adjusting the discharge rate of a koji-making hopper that is provided with. 2. A detection device (40) for detecting the discharge state of the culture medium (35), and a drive device (70) for automatically adjusting and operating an adjustment section (63) based on detection information of the detection device (40). The discharge amount adjusting device for a hopper with a koji-making heap according to claim 1, further comprising: