JPH0757172B2 - Food extruder - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial field of application] The present invention relates to an extruder, mainly a twin-screw extruder, so that the material can be easily discharged to the outside from the middle of the barrel and the die and supplied from the outside to the inside. The present invention relates to a food extruder.

[Conventional technology]

An example of a conventional food extruder will be described with reference to FIG. The food extruder 11 has a plurality of barrels 13 having pressure resistance on the base.
A, 13B ... 13N are horizontally connected so that their cores coincide with each other to integrally form one barrel, which is supported by a column mounted on the frame 12. Inside the barrel, a screw shaft 14 having one end connected to a drive source (not shown) and rotating is inserted over almost the entire length of the barrel, and a plurality of screws for the purpose of transferring, kneading, etc. of food materials are provided on the outer periphery of the screw shaft 14. 15 are fitted in the order suitable for the molding conditions. A shooter 16 for receiving food (not shown) is opened upward on the barrel 13A, and a certain amount of food is supplied from a feeder 17 provided on the upper part of the shooter 16.

Heat exchangers 18B, 18C ... 18N for heating or cooling these barrels are attached to the outer circumferences of the barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N, respectively. In addition, temperature sensors 19B, 19C ... 19N for detecting the temperature of each barrel are inserted toward the center of the hole of each barrel, and the tip, which is the detecting portion, is located near the inner wall of the barrel. The barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N are automatically controlled to a preset temperature by an automatic temperature controller (not shown).

A die 21 having an orifice 20 is fixed to the end surface of the barrel 13N, and the die 21 is also not shown in the drawing, but the die 21 also has barrels 13B, 13C ... 1
The temperature is controlled like 3N. An opening 22 for water injection is provided in the barrel 13A, and a water storage tank 32 of a water injection device 31 is arranged at the upper part thereof.
3, metering pump 34 and check valve 35 in series piping 3
It is tied at 6, and the tip of the pipe is connected to the hole 22 of the barrel 13A.

Next, the operation will be described. By driving the screw shaft 14,
Rotate the screw 15 to feed the food from the feeder 17 into the shooter 16 and supply the food into the barrel 13A while opening the on-off valve 33 of the water injection device and operating the metering pump 34 to bring the pressurized water into the hole 22 of the barrel 13A. Continuously inject a fixed amount of water. On the other hand, the food material introduced into the barrel 13A is heated, pressurized, while being transferred by the rotation of the barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N and the screw 15.
Crushing, kneading, etc. are performed and the intended processing (cooking) is performed, and the material is extruded from the orifice 20 of the die 21 and molded.

Screws used in food extruders have various shapes such as right-handed screw, left-handed screw, right-handed kneading disc, and left-handed kneading disc. Left-handed screw and left-handed kneading disc have the function of transferring food in the opposite direction.For example, if a left-handed screw is provided next to the downstream side of the right-handed screw in the configuration of screw 15, the right-handed screw transfers it. We block the flow of incoming food at the boundary. That is, it has the effect of a weir, and this boundary portion has a high pressure because it dams the food materials that are continuously fed.

While food is transported by a screw inside the barrel, the food is heated, pressurized, crushed, kneaded, and heated by friction and shear with the inner wall of the barrel and the outer peripheral surface of the screw, and the temperature may reach 200 ° C or more depending on the pressure condition. There is also.

In this way, combining the right-handed screw with the left-handed screw, combining the left and right kneading discs, or combining other screws together with the barrel temperature, the number of rotations of the screw, the amount of food supply and the amount of water added, etc. Is set to the optimum condition and the extrusion molding process is efficiently performed while controlling the residence time, pressure and temperature of the food in the barrel.

[Problems to be solved by the invention]

The temperature of the barrels 13A, 13B ... 13N of the food extruder is controlled by an unillustrated automatic temperature controller combined with the temperature sensors 19B, 19C ... 19N inserted near the inner wall of each barrel as described above. The temperature is controlled automatically. Die
The temperature of 21 is also controlled like the barrel. However, the temperature detected by the temperature sensors 19B, 19C ... 19N is different from the temperature of the food material to be actually processed, and has the following problems. That is, the food materials in the barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N generate heat due to friction and shear between the screw 15 and the inner walls of the barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N. This fever is due to the composition of the ingredients, the barrel
It also varies depending on the unevenness of the supply amount to 13, the water content of the food material itself, the water injection amount, the rotation speed of the screw, and the like. Even if the temperature of the food becomes abnormally high due to abnormal operation or accident, the temperature is not immediately transmitted to the barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N,
As a result, the food is burnt, the food is not transferred, and finally the food cannot be extruded from the die 21 and the screw 15 cannot be rotated, and the screw 15 is removed and extracted from the barrels 13A, 13B ... 13N. Screw after
It was difficult to remove and clean the sticky foods in 15 and barrels 13A, 13B ... 13N, and it took a lot of time and money to restart the operation, resulting in a large economic loss. In particular, the problem of burn-in is likely to occur at the above-mentioned boundary between the right-handed screw and the left-handed screw, the high-pressure region where the kneading disk or the like is combined, or the die 21.

There are also the following problems when the operation is stopped.
When the operation is stopped, the set temperatures of the barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N and the die 21 are lowered to increase the amount of water added, and gradually decrease the rotation speed of the screw and the feed amount of the food material to reduce the orifice 20 of the die 21.
After confirming that the temperature of the food material extruded from and the temperature of the barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N have fallen sufficiently, the operation of the feeder 17 is stopped and the supply of the food material is stopped. Next, stop the rotation of the screw and stop the addition of water, confirm that the food is no longer discharged from the orifice 20, remove the die 21 from the barrel 13N, screw from the barrel 13A, 13B ... 13N
15 is removed, and foodstuffs adhering to the inside of the screw 15 and barrels 13A, 13B ... 13N are removed and cleaned. However, the boundary between the right-handed screw and the left-handed screw of the screw 15, a high-pressure region in which a kneading disc and the like are combined, that is, the foodstuffs are aggregated in a region that causes the action of the weir,
It acts as a stopper that obstructs the transfer of food, and it was difficult to completely extrude and remove the food in the entire barrel 13A, 13B ... 13N from the orifice 20. Therefore, the screw 15 must be extracted with the food partially remaining in the barrels 13A, 13B ... 13N, and a large force is required, and a special jig or device is required for the extraction work. However, there are drawbacks such that the removal and cleaning work of the food materials adhering to the inner walls of the barrels 13A, 13B ... 13N after the screw 15 is removed and the screw 15 are troublesome.

The present invention has been made in consideration of the above points,
Its purpose is to prevent extrusion failure due to high temperature during operation of the extruder, sticking of food in the high pressure part, easy removal of the screw when operation is stopped, cleaning of the screw and barrel after removing the screw from the barrel. It is an object of the present invention to provide an extruder capable of stable extrusion molding while being easy to measure.

[Means for solving problems]

The present invention, as a first means for solving the above problems, a barrel having a raw material supply port at one end and a die having an orifice at the other end, and a heat exchanger provided on the outer periphery thereof, A screw rotatably inserted into the barrel, and heating, pressurizing, crushing, and kneading while transferring the material supplied from the supply port by the rotation of the screw, from the orifice of the die. In a food extruder for extrusion, a screw is provided corresponding to a part of the barrel or the die, and a screw for discharging a part of the material inside the barrel or the die or transferring and supplying water and other materials from the outside to the inside. A valve device having drive means for switching or stopping the rotation direction of the screw to discharge, supply, or stop the material is provided.

In addition, as a second means, a raw material supply port is provided at one end,
A barrel provided with a heat exchanger on the outer periphery, an auxiliary barrel provided in communication with the barrel, and a material provided from the supply port in association with rotation provided in a state of penetrating the barrel and the auxiliary barrel. It comprises a screw to be transferred and a die having an orifice provided in the material transfer direction by the screw, and the material supplied from the supply port is transferred by the rotation of the screw while heating, pressurizing, crushing and In a food extruder for kneading and extruding from the orifice of the die, a screw for discharging a part of the internal material to a part of the auxiliary barrel or transferring and supplying water and other materials from the outside to the inside, and this screw A valve device having a drive means for switching or stopping the rotation direction of the material and discharging, supplying, or stopping the material. .

[Action]

That is, the present invention, by having the above configuration,
It is possible to control the discharge and supply or stoppage of the material simply by switching the rotation of the screw of the valve device. As a result, when the material stays in the high pressure area of the die or barrel or the auxiliary barrel and becomes extremely hot due to strong shearing on the screw and the inner wall of the barrel, etc. By discharging or temporarily adding water to lower the temperature of the food material, the normal temperature and the normal pressure are restored, and thereafter extrusion molding can be performed at a stable pressure and temperature.

Moreover, after the operation is stopped, almost all the residual food in the barrel can be discharged to the outside, and the screw can be easily pulled out from the inside of the barrel without requiring a strong force or a tool. Therefore, since the food material does not remain on the screw and the wall surface of the barrel, the cleaning work is facilitated and the work after the molding is completed can be completed in a short time.

〔Example〕

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below with reference to FIGS.

1 and 2 show the construction of a valve device 43 which is the main part of the present invention, and FIG. 3 is a view showing the construction of the entire extruder.

In FIG. 3, barrels 13A, 13B ... 13N screw shaft 14, screw 15, shooter 16, feeder 17, heat exchangers 18B, 18
C ... 18N, temperature sensor 19B, 19C ... 19N, orifice 20, die
21, the hole 22, the water injection device 31, the tank 32, the opening / closing valve 33, the metering pump 34, the check valve 35, and the pipe 36 are the same members as those of the conventional embodiment shown in FIG. To do.

An auxiliary barrel 41C is provided between the barrel 13C and the barrel 13D and an auxiliary barrel 41N is provided between the barrel 13N and the die 21, and these auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N are provided with valve devices 43C and 43N and auxiliary temperature sensors 44C and 44N. Has been.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the valve devices 43C and 43N are provided with a hole 51 in a part of the auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N so that the inside and the outside communicate with each other. Insert the screw 53 rotatably inside 52, and rotate the screw clockwise or counterclockwise by driving means 54 such as an electric motor to discharge the material inside the auxiliary barrels 41C, 41N from the cylinder 52 to the outside according to the lead of the screw 53. Alternatively, water or other material can be supplied to the inside of the auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N from the outside of the cylinder 52.

When the temperature sensor or pressure sensor 44 provided in the auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N detects an abnormally high temperature or an abnormally high pressure, the valve device 43 is screwed when the screw 53 is a right-hand screw.
Rotate 53 to the left (as seen from the screw side) and the auxiliary barrel
Part of the material inside 41C and 41N is discharged to the outside. Conversely, when the temperature and pressure are normal, the screw 53 of the valve device 43 is rotated clockwise to push the material inside the cylinder 52 back into the auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N and release the material from the inside of the auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N to the outside. Is to prevent. When the screw 53 of the valve device 43 is a left-handed screw, the above-mentioned adverse effect is obtained. Separately from the above, when the screw 53 of the valve device 43 is rotated to the right and the temperature sensor or the pressure sensor 44 detects an abnormal temperature, the valve device 43 is supplied to the valve device 43 from a watering device (not shown) provided separately from the valve device 43. By supplying water and temporarily pouring water into the auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N,
It enables control such as lowering the temperature of the material inside the 41C and 41N.

Further, the temperature detecting portions at the tips of the auxiliary temperature sensors 44C and 44N are inserted into the holes of the auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N so as to directly detect the temperature of the food, and the auxiliary temperature sensor 44C is an A timer 45C. To the valve device 43C, and the auxiliary temperature sensor 44N via the B timer 45N to the valve device 43C.
The screws of the valve devices 43C and 43N, which are connected to N and are normally rotating to the right, are rotated to the left for a certain period of time by the signals of the auxiliary temperature sensors 44C and 44N.

Next, the operation of the above-described embodiment will be described. The ingredients in normal extrusion molding are heated, pressurized, crushed and kneaded in each barrel (including auxiliary barrel) while being transferred by the rotation of the screw 15 without becoming particularly high pressure and high temperature, and the orifice 20 of the die 21 is used. Is extruded from. In this case, the auxiliary temperature sensors 44C and 44N do not operate because the food material temperature is normal. Here, for example, the food temperature in the auxiliary barrel 41C becomes abnormally high, and when this temperature is detected by the auxiliary temperature sensor 44C, the A timer 45C is activated by this output signal and the valve device 4
A signal is sent to a driving means such as a 3C electric motor to rotate the screw counterclockwise for a certain period of time to discharge a part of the food material inside the auxiliary barrel 41C to the outside. If the food is not discharged to the outside and the operation is continued as it is, the foodstuffs will not be aggregated and transferred in the high temperature and high pressure region, and eventually will be burnt. Therefore, in order to prevent this, a part of the food material in this portion is discharged to the outside, so that the pressure in this portion is normally reduced to restore normal operation. The same operation is performed for the auxiliary barrel 41N section. When this abnormal high temperature is detected and some food is discharged to the outside, the amount of food supplied, the amount of water added,
If the rotation speed of the screw is adjusted in conjunction with each other, more preferable operation control becomes possible.

4 and 5 show a first other embodiment of the present invention, in which the valve device 43 is not the auxiliary barrels 41C and 41N but the barrel 13
This is an example of attachment to the die 21 and may be attached to the die 21 in the same manner.

Further, FIG. 6 shows another embodiment of the auxiliary barrel 41C portion shown in the embodiment of FIGS. 1 to 3, and in this case, the auxiliary temperature sensor 44C and the A timer 45C are not provided and the valve device is provided. 43 is provided so that part of the food can be discharged to the outside by manual input. In this case, the discharge operation of the food is
When the extrusion from the orifice 20 is stopped, the screw of the optional valve device 43 is rotated counterclockwise, and the food material having an abnormally high temperature is discharged to the outside without being retained in the auxiliary barrel 41 to restore normal operation. This mechanism can also be applied to the auxiliary barrel 41N portion shown in FIG.

In the description of FIG. 6 described above and FIGS. 7 to 9 described later, the valve device 43 is illustrated and described with abbreviated symbols of valves.

FIG. 7 shows another embodiment in which the valve device 43 is not provided on the auxiliary barrel 41 as shown in the embodiment of FIG. 6, but is provided on the barrel 13 (generally 13A to 13N). Thus, the valve device 43 can be provided in any barrel as required.

Further, as shown in FIG. 8, a valve device 43 is provided in the vicinity of the orifice 20 of the die 21 to serve as a bypass device for discharging the defective extruded product through the valve device 43 without sending it to the subsequent step of the extruder. It is also possible to use.

As described above, the valve device 43 includes, for example, the boundary portion between the right-hand screw 15A and the left-hand screw 15B of the screw 15 shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the high-pressure portion of the die 21 shown in FIG. By providing a disk portion or a right-handed screw having a different pitch (small pitch) in a region under high pressure generated by combining the screws on the downstream side, food can be easily discharged from the inside of the barrel 13 to the outside. Generally, the position of the valve device 43 of the barrel 13 is fixed and cannot be freely changed, so that the combination of the screws 15 is taken into consideration. The valve device does not necessarily have to be provided in the high pressure region and may be provided in the low pressure region. FIG. 9 shows an example in which the valve device 43 is applied to a part of the water injection device 31 shown in the conventional example of FIG. The pipe 36 is connected to the arrow portion of the cylinder 52 of the valve device 43 shown in FIG. In FIG. 1, the valve device 43 prevents the back flow of the food from the inside of the barrel 13 because the screw 53 is rotating inside the cylinder 52, and is transferred by the screw 53 of the valve device 43 regardless of the pressure inside the barrel 13. Stable water injection is possible.

Next, the operation when the operation is stopped will be described. This operation is almost the same as the conventional one. First, barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N and die
The set temperature of 21 is lowered to increase the amount of water, the screw rotation speed and the feed amount of food are gradually reduced, and the temperature of the food extruded from the orifice 20 of the die 21 and the barrels 13B, 13C.
… Check that the temperature of 13N has dropped sufficiently, and then feeder 1
Stop the operation of 7 and stop the supply of ingredients. In this state, while continuing to add water, the screw 15 is rotated to transfer the residual food material in the barrels 13A to 13N to the downstream side. But the sixth
The boundary between the right-hand screw 15A and the left-hand screw 15B as shown in Fig. 7 and Fig. 7 and a combination of a kneading disk and other screws (not shown) give a function of a weir to the high pressure area and The food material aggregates and works as a stopper, and the food material is not transferred to the downstream side of this portion and is not discharged from the orifice 20 of the die 21. Therefore, the screw 53 of the valve device 43 is rotated counterclockwise to rotate the screw 53.
A part of the food is transferred inside the cylinder 52 by the reed and is discharged to the outside to release the state of the stopper. Thereafter, the residual food material is transferred to the die 21 side. At this time, as shown in FIG.
The screw 53 of the valve device 43 provided in the left side can be rotated counterclockwise to discharge the remaining material together with water to the outside.

In this way, the foodstuffs inside the barrels 13B, 13C ... 13N and the die 21 can be completely discharged, and the foodstuffs adhering to the inner walls of the barrels 13B, 13C ... It is cleaned by the self-cleaning function of the screw 15 and completely washed with water. Therefore, screw 15 to barrel 13A, 13B ... 13N
When the die 21 is removed from the barrel 13N, the die 21 can be easily pulled out from the inside of the barrels 13A, 13B ... 13N together with the screw shaft 14 by hand and then removed.

The present invention is particularly effective in the case of a twin-screw extruder, but can be applied to the case of a single-screw and the case of three-screw or more. In the embodiment shown in FIG. 1, the auxiliary temperature sensor 44
Although C and 44N are used to open and close the valve devices 43C and 43N, it is also possible to substitute pressure sensors instead of these auxiliary temperature sensors 44C and 44N. In addition, a cooling jacket, etc., is provided on part of 43, 43C, 43N to circulate cooling water.
It is desirable and more effective to prevent the foodstuffs that have accumulated inside from burning.

〔The invention's effect〕

As described above, according to the present invention, it is possible to control the discharge and supply or stop of the material only by switching the rotation of the screw of the valve device. As a result, the material stays in the high pressure area inside the die or barrel or the auxiliary barrel, and when the screw and the inner wall of the barrel receive strong shearing and it becomes abnormally high temperature, before part of the material sticks to the outside from the high pressure area. By discharging or temporarily adding water to lower the temperature of the food material, the normal temperature and pressure are restored, and thereafter extrusion molding can be performed at a stable pressure and temperature.

Moreover, after the operation is stopped, almost all the residual food in the barrel can be discharged to the outside, and the screw can be easily pulled out from the inside of the barrel without requiring a strong force or a tool. Therefore, since the food material does not adhere to and remain on the screw and the wall surface of the barrel, the cleaning operation is facilitated, and the work after the molding is completed can be completed in a short time.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIGS. 1 to 3 show an embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 1 and 2 are sectional views of essential parts, FIG. 3 is a sectional view showing the whole extruder, and FIGS. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of an essential part showing a first other embodiment of the present invention, FIGS. 6 to 9 are sectional views showing different parts of the essential part of the present invention, and FIG. 10 is a conventional extruder. FIG. 3 is a side view in which a part of FIG. 13,13A to 13N ... Barrel, 15 ... Screw, 16 ... Shooter (supply port), 17 ... Feeder, 18B, 18C-18N ... Heat exchanger,
19B, 19C to 19N ... Temperature sensor, 20 ... Orifice, 21 ... Die, 31 ... Water injection device, 43, 43C, 43N ... Valve device, 45C, 45N ... Timer, 52 ... Cylinder, 53 ... Screw, 54 ... Driving means.

 ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continuation of the front page (72) Inventor Toshio Suzuki, 3) 2068 Ooka, Numazu City, Shizuoka Prefecture Numazu Plant, Toshiba Machine Co., Ltd. In the office

Claims (6)

[Claims] 1. A barrel in which a die having a raw material supply port at one end and an orifice at the other end is arranged and a heat exchanger is provided on the outer periphery, and a screw rotatably inserted in the barrel. In a food extruder for heating, pressurizing, crushing and kneading while transferring the material supplied from the supply port by rotating the screw, and extruding from the orifice of the die, A screw provided corresponding to a part for discharging a part of the material inside the barrel or the die or transferring and supplying water and other materials from the outside to the inside, and switching or stopping the rotation direction of this screw. ,
A food extruder comprising: a valve device having a driving means for discharging, supplying, or stopping the material. 2. The food extruder according to claim 1, wherein the switching of the valve device is performed by a signal of a temperature sensor or a pressure sensor provided in a high pressure region of a barrel or a die. 3. The food extruder according to claim 1, wherein the switching of the valve device is performed manually. 4. A barrel having a raw material supply port at one end and a heat exchanger on the outer periphery, an auxiliary barrel provided in communication with the barrel, and a state in which the barrel and the inside of the auxiliary barrel are penetrated. A screw provided to transfer the material supplied from the supply port according to rotation, and a die having an orifice provided in the material transfer direction by the screw, the supply port being provided by rotation of the screw. In a food extruder that heats, pressurizes, grinds, and kneads the material supplied from it while transferring it and extrudes it from the orifice of the die, part of the material inside is discharged to a part of the auxiliary barrel or inside from the outside A screw for transferring and supplying water and other materials to the screw, and switching or stopping the rotation direction of this screw,
A food extruder comprising: a valve device having a driving means for discharging, supplying, or stopping the material. 5. The switching of the valve device is performed by a signal of a temperature sensor or a pressure sensor provided in a high pressure region of an auxiliary barrel or a die.
Item food extruder. 6. The food extruder according to claim 4, wherein the switching of the valve device is performed manually.