JPH11155413A - Egg-treating machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide an egg-treating machine that can efficiently dry eggs. SOLUTION: This egg-treating machine is equipped with a bar conveyer (13) that coveys eggs (1) along a conveying route, while the eggs (1) are rotated, an egg washer (30) for washing the eggs (1) and a drier (31) for drying the eggs while they are conveyed with the bar conveyer (13). To the egg drier (31), rotary brushes (40, 41, 42) are attached so that the moisture on the surfaces of the eggs are removed in which the direction of the brush action on the eggs is made reverse to the egg rotation.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a transporting means for transporting an egg along a transporting path while rotating the egg, an egg washing section for washing the egg, and transporting the egg passing through the egg washing section by the transporting means. The present invention relates to an egg processing device provided with a drying unit for drying while drying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Eggs such as chicken eggs are first washed in an egg washing section to remove dirt on the surface of the eggs, and subsequently dried in a drying section. Then, the eggs are packed in a predetermined container through processes such as detection of a defective egg and measurement of weight. Or,
It is put into the egg breaking machine. Water and warm water are used in the egg washing section, but after washing, the water used for washing adheres to the surface of the egg and adheres to the surface when performing processing such as packing and breaking eggs. It is necessary to completely remove the water that has been removed. For this reason, a drying unit is provided, for example, a fan is provided to blow air to the eggs and blow off moisture to dry the eggs.

[0003]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION An object of the present invention is to make it possible to perform a drying process in a drying section in as short a time as possible. The drying process in the drying section is performed while transporting the eggs, and the fact that the drying process can be completed in a short time means that the transport path for the drying process can be shortened, and the There is a great merit that the size can be made compact. Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide an egg processing apparatus capable of efficiently performing a drying process.

[0004]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided an apparatus for treating an egg, wherein the drying unit includes a brush for removing moisture adhering to the surface of the egg. Is characterized in that the action direction of the hair tip is opposite to the direction of rotation of the egg. According to this, since the direction of action of the brush tips is opposite to the direction of rotation of the egg, it acts to forcibly remove the water on the surface of the egg, as compared with the direction in which the brush is in the same direction. Therefore, the water on the egg surface can be removed very efficiently. As a result, the drying process could be performed efficiently.

In a preferred embodiment of the present invention, the transporting means comprises a plurality of rollers arranged at a predetermined pitch for loading and transporting the eggs; an endless chain for transporting the plurality of rollers; A roller rotating member that rotates the roller by contacting the outer peripheral surface of the roller, wherein the outer diameter of a portion of the roller that contacts the roller rotating member is smaller than the outer diameter of the other portion. According to this, since the outer diameter of the portion of the roller that comes into contact with the roller rotating member is smaller than the outer diameter of the other portion, the rotation speed of the roller can be increased. That is, the rotation speed of the egg can be increased. Therefore, the surface of the egg can be dried more evenly, and the drying process can be performed more efficiently.

Further, the following configuration can be adopted at a position immediately before the eggs are carried into the drying section. For example, an air blowing means for blowing off moisture adhering to the surface of the egg is provided at a position above the transport path of the egg, and an air suction means for sucking moisture under the egg is provided at a position below the transport path of the egg. Configuration. According to this, since the water on the surface of the egg can be considerably removed in the previous step of the drying section, the load of the drying step in the drying section can be reduced. As a result, the efficiency of the drying process is further improved. Note that the same effect can be obtained by providing an air blowing means for blowing off the water under the egg instead of the air suction means.

[0007] Other features and advantages of the present invention will become apparent from the following description of embodiments with reference to the drawings.

[0008]

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS [Schematic description of chicken egg processing step] An outline of a processing step of a chicken egg 1 which is an example of an egg will be described with reference to FIG. The eggs transported from the poultry house are first sent to the egg washing unit 30
To remove the dirt on the surface of the egg 1, the drying unit 31 to remove the moisture on the surface of the egg 1, and the orienter unit 32 to remove the egg 1
And the eggs are detected by the egg inspection unit 33, transferred to the single-row conveyor 34, and stored in a container of a predetermined size at the packing station 35.

[Structure of Egg Washing Unit] FIG. 2 shows the structure of the egg washing unit 30. Egg washing unit 3 on the upstream side along the transport route of chicken egg 1
0 is arranged, and the drying unit 31 is arranged on the downstream side.
In FIG. 2, a chicken egg 1 is transported from right to left (arrow A). The egg washing section 30 includes a bar conveyor 12 including a plurality of rollers 2 for transporting the chicken eggs 1 at a predetermined pitch and a conveyor chain 3 connecting a large number of the rollers 2 at a predetermined pitch. Rotating brushes 14 provided above the transport path of
4 (rotating in the direction of arrow B); a downstream nozzle 16 and an upstream nozzle 17 disposed between the rotating brushes 14 and mounted on the brush supporting plate 15; It has a drainer blower 18 arranged on the downstream side and a gutter 19 provided immediately below the transport path of the chicken eggs 1. As can be seen from FIG. 2, the transport path is set higher on the downstream side than on the upstream side. FIG. 4 shows the details of the bar conveyor 12, in which the eggs 1 are located in the space between the rollers 2. A recess 19a is formed in the gutter 19 according to the shape of the chicken egg 1 so that the washing water can be easily drained.

[0010] A pair of conveyor chains 3 of the bar conveyor 12 are provided on both right and left sides of the conveying path, and a sprocket 20 is provided.
a, 20b, 20c, and 20d, and is rotationally driven by a motor (not shown). The gutter 19 is provided over substantially the entirety of the transport path, and a drain 21 is provided immediately below the drain blower 18 on the downstream side of the transport path. A first tray 22 and a second tray 23 are provided below the bar conveyor 12 to drain hot water used for washing. Here, the cleaning method used in the present embodiment is called a one-way method, and refers to a method in which water or hot water as a cleaning liquid is used and then drained without reuse. The other is a circulation type, in which water or hot water is circulated and used in a tank or the like to replenish the amount of water consumed, and dirt is treated with a strainer, a filter, or the like. In this embodiment, a circulation type can also be used. The temperature and supply amount of the hot water are set and managed by a hot water supply boiler (not shown).

[Configuration of Drying Unit] Next, the configuration of the drying unit 31 will be described with reference to FIG. In FIG. 4, the egg 1 is transported from the right side to the left side (in the direction of arrow A). A transfer plate 8 is provided to smoothly transfer the eggs 1 from the egg washing section 30 to the drying section 31. The drying unit 31 includes a plurality of rollers 4 for transporting the eggs 1 at a predetermined pitch and a bar conveyor 13 including a plurality of conveyor chains 5 connecting the rollers 4 at a predetermined pitch. Rotary brush 4 provided above and below the transport path
0, 41, 42, 43, and 44, and a roller slash 6 that contacts the outer peripheral surface of the roller 4. The number of rotating brushes 40 to 44 shown here is five, but can be increased or decreased as appropriate. The configuration of each brush may be a known one. For example, a number of bristles may be arranged radially, and the bristles may be brought into contact with the surface of the egg 1. The rotating brushes 40, 41, and 42 located above the transport path are interlocked by a V-belt 50, and all rotate clockwise. The rotating brushes 43 and 44 located below the transport path are linked by a V-belt 51 and also rotate clockwise.

The bar conveyor 13 includes sprockets 24,
And is driven by a motor 39. The rotating brushes 40 to 44 are sprockets 26, 27, 28
A chain 45 wound around the sprockets 26, 27, and 28; a motor connected to the sprocket 28; and a tension roller 46 for applying tension to the chain 45;
The support lever 4 which is attached and supported and is rotatable around the support shaft 48
7 and a spring 49. Although not shown in FIG. 4, a blower for removing moisture attached to the rotating brushes 40 to 44 is provided.

[Structure of Bar Conveyor] FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the bar conveyor 13. The eggs 1 are mounted so as to extend between the rollers 4. In this embodiment, the eggs 1 are transported in a state of being arranged in six rows, and six concave portions 4a for mounting the eggs 1 are also formed. A connecting portion 4b is provided between the concave portions 4a. As can be seen from FIG. 5, a pair of conveyor chains 5 are provided on both left and right sides of the transport path.

[Example of Configuration of Roller Rotating Mechanism] FIG. 7 shows a mechanism for rotating the roller 4. The outer surface of the end 4c of the roller 4 is brought into contact with a roller slash 6 fixed to the apparatus. Roller slash 6
Are held by a slash holding table 7. As a result, FIG.
When the roller 4 advances in the direction of arrow A, the roller 4 is rotated counterclockwise as shown in FIG. When the roller 4 is rotated counterclockwise, the egg 1 is rotated clockwise. In this way, the chicken eggs 1 are conveyed while being rotated. The reason why the chicken eggs 1 are rotated is to uniformly and uniformly dry the outer surface of the chicken eggs 1.

[Modification of Roller Rotating Mechanism] FIG. 8 shows a modification of the mechanism for rotating the roller 4. In the example of FIG.
The outer diameter of the end 4c is almost the same as that of the connecting portion 4b,
In the example, the outer diameter of the end 4d of the roller 4 is smaller than that of the connecting portion 4b. Thereby, there is an advantage that the rotation speed of the roller 4 is increased and the drying effect is more exhibited.

[Description of Operation] Next, the operation of the above embodiment will be described. The eggs 1 carried in the direction of the arrow A are mounted on the bar conveyor 12 and transported along the transport path. Nozzles 16 and 17 provided between rotating brushes 14
The eggs 1 are washed by warm water (around 50 ° C.) spouted from the tub. The hot water supplied from the nozzles 16 and 17
The surface of the egg 1 is moistened in the concave portion 19a, and the surface of the egg 1 is moistened, and the rotating brush 14 acts thereon to clean the surface (upper side) of the egg 1. Further, since the transport path is inclined, the warm water stored in the concave portion 19a flows to the upstream side through the upper and lower sides of the egg 1. Thus, the contaminated warm water smoothly flows to the upstream side, and is drained through the drain hole 19A and the receiving pans 22, 23. After the washing with the rotating brush 14 is completed, air is blown onto the surface of the egg 1 by the drain blower 18. The water adhering to the egg 1 is blown off, falls on the tray 22 through the slat section 21, and is drained.

When the chicken eggs 1 pass through the draining blower section, the eggs 1 are transferred from the bar conveyor 12 to the bar conveyor 13 by the transfer plate 8 and are carried into the drying section 31. In the drying section 31, the tips of the rotating brushes 40, 41, 42 successively act on the surface of the egg 1 to completely remove the water on the surface of the egg 1.
What is important here is that the hair tips act so that the direction of travel (action) of the hair tips in the transport path is opposite to the direction of rotation of the chicken egg 1. In other words, the vector in the direction in which the hair tips act and the vector in the rotation direction of the chicken egg 1 in the portion in which the tips act are opposite. Comparing this configuration with a configuration in which the direction of advance of the hair tips is the same as the rotation direction of the chicken egg 1, it was confirmed that the amount of water removed was improved by 25 to 37%. As a result, the drying process ends earlier. Also, the rotating brushes 40, 41, 42
It is more effective to increase the rotation speed of. The moisture transferred from the chicken egg 1 to the rotating brushes 40, 41, 42 is dried by a blower (not shown). The rotating brushes 43 and 44 on the lower side of the transport path act on the surface of the roller 4 and
Remove moisture and dirt attached to the surface.

[Modification 1 of Draining Blower Section] In the embodiment of FIG. 2, the washing water on the surface of the chicken egg 1 that has passed through the egg washing section 30 is removed by the draining blower 18, but this drainage is made more efficient. 9 to 11 will be described with reference to FIGS. 9 is a side view, FIG. 10 is a plan view, and FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI of FIG. At the downstream end of the conveying path of the gutter 19, a slender portion 21 is provided. A thick pipe 60 for partitioning each row of the eggs 1, two thin pipes 61 for supporting the lower portion of the eggs 1, and these pipes 60. , 61 are provided. Draining blowers 63 and 64 are provided above the chicken egg 1, and high-pressure air is blown from the air outlets 63 a and 64 a onto the surface of the chicken egg 1. The water that has been blown off is supplied to the first tray 22 (FIG. 2).
), But there is also water that goes around the lower part of the egg 1, so that it is sucked by the suction pipes 65 and 66. Thereby, the load of the drying process in the drying unit 31 can be reduced.

[Modification 2 of Drainer Blower] FIGS. 12 to 14 show a second modification. Here, instead of sucking the water spilling under the egg 1, the blow-out pipe 7
It blows off by 0,71. The direction in which the air is blown out is opposite to the direction in which the eggs 1 travel. Even with such a configuration, the load of the drying process in the drying unit 31 can be reduced.

[Definition of Terms] The bar conveyor 13 and the roller slash 6 function as a conveying means for conveying the eggs along the conveying path while rotating the eggs. The roller slash 6 functions as a roller rotating member that contacts the outer peripheral surfaces of the plurality of rollers 4 and rotates the rollers 4.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a diagram illustrating an outline of a processing step of a chicken egg 1

FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a configuration of an egg washing unit.

FIG. 3 is an external perspective view of a bar conveyor in an egg washing section.

FIG. 4 is a diagram showing a configuration of a drying unit.

FIG. 5 is an external perspective view of a bar conveyor in a drying unit.

FIG. 6 is a diagram showing details of a drying unit.

FIG. 7 is a first embodiment of a roller rotation mechanism.

FIG. 8 shows a second embodiment of a roller rotation mechanism.

FIG. 9 is a modification example 1 of a drainer blower unit.

FIG. 10 is a plan view of FIG. 9;

FIG. 11 is a sectional view taken along line XI-XI in FIG. 9;

FIG. 12 is a modified example 2 of the drainer blower unit.

FIG. 13 is a plan view of FIG.

14 is a sectional view taken along the line XVI-XVI in FIG.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Chicken egg 2 Roller 3 Conveyor chain 4 Roller 5 Conveyor chain 6 Roller slash 30 Egg washing part 31 Drying part 40,41,42,43,44 Rotating brush 63 Drain blower 64 Drain blower

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A transport unit for transporting an egg along a transport path while rotating the egg, an egg washing unit for washing the egg, and a drying unit for drying the egg passed through the egg washing unit while transporting the egg by the transport unit. In the egg processing apparatus, the drying unit is provided with a brush for removing moisture attached to the surface of the egg, and the direction of action of the brush tip is opposite to the rotation direction of the egg. An egg processing apparatus characterized by being configured to be oriented. 2. The transporting means comprises: a plurality of rollers arranged at a predetermined pitch for mounting and transporting eggs; an endless chain for transporting the plurality of rollers; and an outer peripheral surface of the plurality of rollers. 2. The roller according to claim 1, further comprising: a roller rotating member that rotates the roller in contact with the roller, wherein an outer diameter of a portion of the roller that contacts the roller rotating member is smaller than an outer diameter of another portion. Egg processing equipment. 3. An air blowing means for blowing off moisture adhering to the surface of the egg, at a position immediately before the egg is carried into the drying section and at a position above the transport path of the egg, further comprising: 2. An air suction means for sucking water under the egg at a position below the egg.
Or the egg processing apparatus according to 2. 4. A first air blowing means for blowing off moisture attached to the surface of the egg at a position immediately before the egg is carried into the drying section and at a position above the transport path of the egg, further comprising: The egg processing apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising a second air blowing unit that blows off moisture below the egg at a position below the transport path.