JPH08308549A - Powder coater for food product - Google Patents

Abstract

PURPOSE: To obtain a substrate such as a food product uniformly coated with powder particles such as bread crumbs just as they are coated by hand in a powder-coating machine. CONSTITUTION: A substrate (food product 3) is placed on powder (bread crumbs 2) and they are conveyed by a same conveying belt 1. When the conveying belt 1 goes into belt guides 9A-9D, right and left sides of the belt is lifted (an entraining zone 1D), until both the sides are overlapped to form a tunnel zone 1E. The tunnel zone 1D is pressed from the upper part with a pressing belt 12 so that the cross section of the tunnel forms an ellipse long side to side to give the substrate a wide space. The tunnel zone 1E is intermittently pressed with a side shaker 10 driven with a rod 11 from the outside to rockingly promote the crumb coating. Finally, the belt is made free from the guides to restore to the original flat shape.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a powder adhering device for adhering powder such as bread crumbs to an adherend such as food.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art It is necessary to sprinkle powder onto an adherend in various fields, but a typical field is food processing. For example, when manufacturing food such as croquette or pork cutlet, it is required to attach bread crumbs to the food. When this is manufactured on a small scale such as at home or at a store, it is naturally performed manually. However, in the case of industrially manufacturing on a large scale, a powder adhering device for automatically adhering foods and bread crumbs while conveying foods and bread crumbs on the way is used. Hereinafter, an example will be described in the field of food processing.

(First Conventional Example) FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first conventional example of such a powder depositing apparatus. 4A is a plan view and FIG. 4B is a side view. In FIG. 4, 1
Is a conveyor belt, 1A is a rising portion, 1B is a U-shaped portion, 1
C is a return unit, 2 is bread crumbs, 3 is food, 4 is a pedestal, 5 is a guide roller, 6 is a holding belt, and 7 is a roller. The gantry 4 is made of metal such as stainless steel, and the conveyor belt 1
Is made of flexible sheet material. Several guide rollers 5 are erected in two rows in the longitudinal direction of the gantry 4 in a part of the central portion of the gantry 4.

The conveyor belt 1 is placed on the pedestal 4, but at the guide roller 5, it is placed in a U-shape with the top open between the rows. Then, the conveyor belt 1 is pulled in the direction of the arrow by a drive roller (not shown). Therefore, in the portion before the conveyor belt 1 first enters the guide roller 5, both sides of the conveyor belt 1 gradually rise as they approach the guide roller 5 (a rising portion 1A). When traveling between the rows of guide rollers 5, the conveyor belt 1 has a U-shaped cross section (U-shaped portion 1B). After passing the last guide roller 5, the guide force from the side by the guide roller 5 is released, so that the U-shape is tried to return to the original flat shape (returning portion 1C).

First, bread crumbs 2 are sprinkled on the conveyor belt 1 and the food 3 is placed thereon. Usually, the surface of the food 3 is preliminarily coated with a butter solution (eg, a solution in which udon powder is melted) so that the bread crumbs 2 can easily adhere to the surface. When both sides of the conveyor belt 1 are raised at the rising portion 1A, the bread crumbs 2 on both sides are gradually drawn toward the food 3 in the center. When the conveyor belt 1 further advances and becomes a U-shaped portion 1B, the bread crumbs 2 on both sides are sprinkled even on the food 3. Conversely, U
Bread crumbs 2 on both sides are food 3 at the character part 1B.
U-shaped part 1B to the extent that it can be sprinkled on top of
Set the width and height of.

However, if the bread crumbs 2 are simply sprinkled, the adhesion is weak. That is, the bread crumbs 2 do not stick well.
Such bread crumbs 2 may fall off at some time, or may fall off in another processing step. For example, although not shown, the food 3 conveyed to a lattice-shaped belt made of a thin metal wire removes the unfed bread crumbs 2 around it from the blower in a downward wind. Bread crumbs 2 that have a weak adhesion, though they have to be removed
However, it is blown away there.

Then, the sprinkled bread crumbs 2 serve as the food 3
The U-shaped portion 1B is pressed from above by the holding belt 6 so as to adhere well to the. The holding belt 6 is made of, for example, a material such as sponge, and is arranged so as to hang down in the U-shaped portion 1B.
Then, by the roller 7, it is advanced in the transport direction at the same speed as the transport belt 1. The presser belt 6 is shown in FIG.
As shown in FIG. 5, the bread crumbs 2 are lightly contacted with the upper part of the food 3 and pressed by its weight to make the bread crumbs 2 bite into the butter liquid on the surface of the food 3 to increase the adhesive force.

(Second Conventional Example) FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second conventional example of the powder adhering device. Reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. 4, 1-1 is an auxiliary conveyor belt, 2A to 2C are bread crumbs, 8
Is a pressing roller. The pressing roller 8 is made of sponge, stainless steel, or the like. The conveyor belt 1 advances in the direction of the arrow. The food 3 is placed on the bread crumbs 2 and conveyed, and the bread crumbs 2 separately conveyed by the auxiliary conveyance belt 1-1 are sprinkled from above.

Since the adhesive force is weak when simply sprinkled, it is pressed by the pressing roller 8 to make it penetrate into the butter liquid and sent to the next step. The vertical position of the pressing roller 8 is set by the vertical thickness of the food product 3 or the strength of the pressing force to be applied (for example, lower the position when trying to increase the pressing force).

[0010]

[Problems to be Solved by the Invention]

(Problem) The above-mentioned first and second conventional examples have the following problems. The first problem of the first conventional example is that when the food 3 is large, it is deformed when it enters the U-shaped portion 1B. The width of the U-shaped portion 1B cannot be made too wide so that the bread crumbs 2 are sprinkled on the food 3 a lot. Therefore, when the food 3 is large, it is deformed by being sandwiched between the side walls of the U-shaped portion 1B. The shape of the processed food is related to the sales,
It is not desirable that it be deformed.

The second problem of the first conventional example is that it is difficult to keep the holding belt 6 clean. Since the presser belt 6 is made of sponge, the crumbs 2 inevitably got inside it. Especially in the field of food processing, cleanliness is required, but the bread crumbs 2 that have penetrated into the sponge cannot be easily removed even if sprayed with water, and it is difficult to maintain cleanliness. .

The first problem of the second conventional example is that the bread crumbs 2
Is that it tends to be blocked before the pressing roller 8. As shown in FIG. 5, the large pressing roller 8 is arranged so as to cross the conveyor belt 1 at a height similar to that of the food 3. Therefore, a portion of the bread crumbs that are accumulated a little more or the bread crumbs shaken off when the food 3 comes into contact with the pressing roller 8 are blocked in front of the pressing roller 8 like the bread crumbs 2A in FIG. It will be. This hinders the progress of the food 3 that is next conveyed.

The second problem of the second conventional example is that the butter liquid applied to the surface of the food 3 is liable to sag laterally and the bread crumbs 2 do not adhere evenly. This is because the pressing roller 8 can press the food 3 only in points. FIG. 6 is a diagram showing that the pressing roller 8 can be pressed only at points, but when the pressing roller 8 comes into contact with the food 3, it comes into contact with the highest portion of the food 3, so that the contact portion is It is a narrow area 8A such as a point on the circumferential surface of the pressing roller 8.

When the food 3 is conveyed, the contact area is moved one after another, but since the contact is always made only in a narrow area,
A part of the butter liquid applied to the upper portion of the food 3 is pushed to the side. As a result, the amount of bread crumbs that adheres to the upper portion decreases and the amount of bread crumbs that adheres to the side portions increases (see bread crumbs 2B and 2C in FIG. 5). Since the pressing belt 6 is pressed in the first conventional example as well, the butter liquid is dripping, and there is a problem similar to this. An object of the present invention is to solve the above problems.

[0015]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, in the present invention, the adherend is placed on the powder and conveyed by the same conveyor belt to adhere the powder to the adherend. In the powder adhering device, a conveyance belt guide body for guiding the conveyance belt so that both sides are gradually lifted and the both edges are overlapped to form a tunnel portion is provided in the middle of the conveyance path in the powder adhering device.

A side oscillating body for intermittently pressing the side portion of the tunnel portion may be further provided. Further, a holding belt that is driven at the same speed as the conveyor belt and presses the upper part of the tunnel portion of the conveyor belt may be provided.
Further, as the pressing belt, one having a hollow portion can be used.

[0017]

[Operation] By making the conveyor belt that conveys powder and the adherend into a tunnel shape with the conveyor belt guide body during the conveyance, the powder is automatically sprinkled on the side and top of the adherend. . As a result, it becomes possible to attach the same as the one that is manually attached. Further, while advancing in a tunnel shape, if the side oscillating body oscillates or the pressing belt presses as necessary, the powder is more favorably adhered to the adherend.
According to the present invention, the holding belt 6 used in the conventional example of FIG. 2 is unnecessary, and the lateral width of the tunnel portion is wider than the lateral width of the U-shape. It is not deformed by being pushed by. In addition, since the pressing roller 8 used in the conventional example of FIG. 5 is not used, problems associated with it (powder blocking,
The adherend is not pressed in points).

[0018]

Embodiments of the present invention will now be described in detail with reference to the drawings. 1A and 1B are views showing a powder adhering device according to the present invention. FIG. 1A is a plan view and FIG. 1B is a side view. Reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. 4, 1D is a winding portion, 1E is a tunnel portion, 1F is a returning portion, 9A to 9E are conveyor belt guide bodies, 10 is a side rocking body, 11 is a rod,
Reference numeral 12 is a pressing belt, and 13 is a roller. Since the same reference numerals as those in FIG. 4 are the same, description thereof will be omitted.

Of the conveyor belt guide bodies, 9A, 9B, 9
C and the first 9D are guide bodies for lifting up both sides of the traveling conveyor belt 1 and winding them in a round shape. The number of transport belt guide bodies is appropriately determined as needed. FIG. 3 shows an example of the conveyor belt guide body used in the present invention. The reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. The conveyor belt guide body 9A has a shape forming a part of a ring, and the width of the portion through which the conveyor belt 1 passes is slightly narrower than the width of the conveyor belt 1. Therefore, both side portions (portion indicated by reference numeral 1D) of the conveyor belt 1 are slightly raised.

The conveyor belt guide bodies 9B, 9C and 9D arranged after the conveyor belt guide body 9A have the same shape, but the size of the ring is gradually reduced. For this reason, both sides of the conveyor belt 1 are highly wound up, and finally both edges are overlapped at the top to form a tunnel. 1D of FIG. 1 is a winding part, and 1E is a tunnel part. The conveyor belt guide bodies 9D provided on the portion for advancing the conveyor belt 1 in a tunnel shape have the same size.

Next to the last conveying belt guide body 9D,
Since the conveyor belt guide body 9E having a larger size is disposed, the conveyor belt 1 that has passed through the last conveyor belt guide body 9D spreads in an attempt to return to the original flat shape. The conveyor belt 1 is made of a flexible material,
The conveyor belt guide body 9E is not always necessary because it spreads by its own restoring force. However, it may be provided when it is desired to decide how to spread, such as how far to reach and how much to spread. Although only one is installed in FIG. 1, the number to be installed may be determined as necessary.

Now, when the food 3 placed on the bread crumbs 2 is conveyed and carried, the bread crumbs 2 undergo the following process.
Is attached. That is, since both sides of the conveyor belt 1 are only slightly lifted at the initial position of the winding portion 1D, the bread crumbs 2 on both sides of the central food product 3 are the same as in the rising portion 1A of the conventional example of FIG. It's just a little closer to. However, at a further advanced position of the winding portion 1D, since both sides of the conveyor belt 1 are rolled up so as to form a ceiling, far more bread crumbs 2 are sprinkled on the food product 3 than when they are simply pushed from the side and sprinkled.

By devising the shapes of the conveyor belt guide bodies 9A to 9D, it is possible to make the cross section of the formed tunnel into an ellipse that is long in the lateral direction. The part is no longer pushed against the side wall of the tunnel. Since a large amount of bread crumbs 2 are sprinkled on the upper portion of the bread crumbs, the bread crumbs 2 can be advanced for a while, so that the bread crumbs 2 can be adhered more sufficiently. In addition, since it was attached without applying pressure from the side or upper part, the adhesion situation is very close to that of manual attachment, and the finish is more than that of conventional equipment. Will also be good. The length of the tunnel section 1E is
It is set so that the sprinkled bread crumbs 2 are proceeding in the tunnel until the butter liquid on the surface of the food 3 is sufficiently absorbed. The food 3 exiting the return section 1F is similar to the conventional example.
It is sent to the next processing step.

In FIG. 1, a side rocking body 10 rocked by a rod 11 is provided on the side of the tunnel portion 1E,
A pressing belt 12 driven by rollers 13 is provided on the upper portion. In both cases, the conveyor belt guide bodies 9D and 9D
It is arranged between and. The side rocking body 10 is the tunnel portion 1
Apply to the side of E and press intermittently. The presser belt 12 is
Press on the ceiling of the tunnel section 1E,
Helps to make the cross-section of the breadcrumbs oblong in the horizontal direction, and in some cases, pressing force is applied to the bread crumbs 2 on the upper portion of the food 3. These are provided as needed in order to further improve the adhesion of the bread crumbs. When they are provided, either one may be provided, or both may be provided.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a cross section of the side oscillating body 10 and the holding belt 12. Reference numerals correspond to those in FIG. 1, 12-1 is a solid portion, and 12-2 is a hollow portion. The presser belt 12 has a structure provided with a hollow portion 12-2. By pressing the upper portion of the tunnel portion 1E with the holding belt 12, the upper portion is prevented from opening. Therefore,
When the holding belt 12 is provided, the interval between the transport belt guide bodies 9D for maintaining the shape of the tunnel portion 1E can be increased. When the press belt 12 is provided with the hollow portion 12-2, the upper portion of the tunnel portion 1E is pressed softly rather than hard. Therefore, when the force is transmitted to the food 3, the force is softly transmitted.

The side oscillating body 10 is provided so as to intermittently push the side portion of the tunnel portion 1E from the outside, but when pushed from the side, the bread crumbs 2 and the food 3 inside the tunnel portion 1E are separated from each other. Shake moderately. Due to this shaking, the bread crumbs 2 are encouraged to deeply dig into the butter liquid of the food 3 or sprinkled newly, and the adhesion thereof is further improved.

In the above-mentioned embodiment, the conveyor belt guide body has a ring shape as shown in FIG. 3, but it does not necessarily have to be a ring shape, and has a shape forming a part of an ellipse elongated in the lateral direction. It can also be formed into a spiral shape whose diameter gradually decreases. The point is that the guide body may be a guide body that gradually raises both sides of the conveyor belt to form a tunnel shape, and other guide bodies such as rollers may be arranged at appropriate positions. The guide body to be used is not limited to one type, and a plurality of types of guide bodies may be used in combination.

For example, as shown in FIG.
~ 16 may be used in combination. The roller 14 is a roller provided in the winding portion 1D and is provided without the conveyor belt guide body 9B. As shown in FIG. 1B, the cross section has a shape in which the upper portion is curved in a circular arc shape as it goes downward and becomes shorter. The roller 15 is for guiding the conveyor belt 1 of the tunnel portion 1E,
The cross section has a shape in which the upper part and the lower part are long and the center is recessed in an arc shape. When the roller 15 is provided, the width of the side oscillating body 10 needs to be narrowed. The roller 16 is a roller provided in the return section 1F and is provided without the conveyor belt guide body 9E. The cross section is similar to that of the roller 14. Although the rollers 14 to 16 are drawn only one set at a time, the number can be increased as necessary.

In the above embodiments, bread powder was used as the powder and food was used as the adherend. However, as is clear from the principle of the present invention, the powder adhering device for other powders or adherends can be used. It goes without saying that is also applicable.

[0030]

As described above, according to the powder adhering apparatus of the present invention, the conveyor belt that conveys the powder and the adherend is formed into a tunnel shape by the conveyor belt guide body during the conveyance. The powder is automatically sprinkled on the side and the upper part of the adherend, and a rocking force is applied from the outside of the tunnel part to promote the adhesion, so that the following effects are achieved. Good adhesion can be achieved as if it was carefully adhered manually. By making the width and height of the tunnel large enough to allow the adherend to pass therethrough, the adherend is not pressed and deformed in the middle. Depending on the surface part (for example, the upper part) of the adherend, the way of adhesion does not deteriorate. Since it is not necessary to use a sponge roller or the like in which adhered powder is difficult to remove, the powder can be easily washed away, and the powder adhering device can be easily kept clean.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing a powder depositing apparatus according to the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a view showing a cross section of a side oscillating body and a presser belt used in the present invention.

FIG. 3 is a diagram showing an example of a conveyor belt guide body used in the present invention.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a first conventional example of a powder deposition apparatus.

FIG. 5 is a diagram showing a second conventional example of a powder depositing device.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing that a pressing roller can only be pressed in points.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Conveyor belt, 1-1 ... Auxiliary conveyor belt, 2, 2A ...
2C ... Bread crumbs, 3 ... Food, 4 ... Stand, 5 ... Guide roller, 6 ... Press belt, 7 ... Roller, 8 ... Pressing roller, 9
... conveying belt guide body, 10 ... side rocking body, 11 ... rod, 12 ... pressing belt, 12-1 ... solid portion, 12-2 ...
Hollow part, 13 to 16 ... Roller

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. In a powder adhering device for placing an adherend on powder and adhering the powder to the adherent while conveying the same with the same conveyer belt, both sides of the powder are gradually increased as the conveyer belt advances. A powder adhering device, characterized in that a conveyor belt guide body for guiding the conveyor belt so as to form a tunnel portion by lifting and stacking both edges is provided in the middle of the conveyor path. 2. The powder adhering device according to claim 1, further comprising a side oscillating body for intermittently pressing a side portion of the tunnel portion of the conveyor belt. 3. The powder adhering device according to claim 1, further comprising a holding belt which is driven at the same speed as the conveying belt and presses an upper portion of a tunnel portion of the conveying belt. 4. The powder adhering device according to claim 3, wherein a presser belt having a hollow portion is used.