JPH1191929A - Conveying device - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To reduce the time necessary to cool or heat a high viscosity of fluid housed in a packing body. SOLUTION: A conveying means 2 to convey a packing body H housing a fluid R is provided to pass the inside of a cooling room 10 or a heating room, and the fluid R inside the packing body H is cooled or heated in this conveyer device 1. A means to give a load to the packing body H from the outer side, and to make the fluid in the packing body flow and mix by the above load is provided. This load giving means is a roller 4 provided rotatable in a specific interval on the conveying means, for example. This roller 4 has a specific weight, and is provided movable up and down at the upper part of the conveying means.

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a retort food or the like,
The present invention relates to a transport device that transports a package containing a fluid.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, as a conveying apparatus for conveying a package containing such a fluid, a roller conveyor having a large number of rollers each having a polygonal cross section is widely known. The roller conveyor is arranged so as to pass through the inside of a cooling chamber or a heating chamber in order to cool or heat the fluid inside the package so that the temperature distribution becomes uniform, and to cool the fluid inside the package. The package is conveyed while being vibrated by the rollers having the polygonal cross section while being cooled or heated from the surface side by irradiating with hot air, whereby the fluid is stirred to make the temperature distribution uniform.

[0003]

In the roller conveyor, when the fluid contained in the package is of low viscosity, the fluid is efficiently stirred by the vibration of the roller and cooled or cooled in a short time. Can be heated. However, when the fluid is highly viscous, the fluidity is poor. Therefore, the fluid is hardly agitated by the vibration applied by the rollers, and a long transport time (working time) for cooling or heating to a predetermined temperature is required. Was needed.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a new conveying device that can reduce the time required to cool or heat a high-viscosity fluid contained in a package.

[0005]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, a conveying device according to the present invention is provided with conveying means for conveying a package containing a fluid so as to pass through a cooling chamber or a heating chamber. And a cooling device for cooling or heating the internal fluid while transporting the package, wherein a load is externally applied to the package above the transporting means, and the load inside the package is applied by the load. It is provided with a load applying means for flowing and mixing the fluid.

[0006] According to the transport device, the load conveyed by the transport means is subjected to a load by the load applying means, whereby the fluid is forced to flow inside the package. As a result, by the air supply means such as cold air or hot air mounted on the cooling chamber or the heating chamber, a fluid located on the surface side of the cooled or heated package,
By mixing with the fluid located on the center side, the temperature distribution of the entire fluid in the package can be made uniform, and the package can be cooled or heated efficiently.

In the transfer device, the load applying means includes:
It is preferable that the roller is a roller that is rotatably disposed at a predetermined interval on the transport unit. In this case, it is preferable that the roller has a predetermined weight and is disposed on the upper portion of the transport means so as to be vertically movable. Alternatively, the roller may be fixed to an upper portion of the transporting unit and rotated by a driving unit.

[0008] The load applying means may be a weight member which is vertically movable by an elevating means. Alternatively, the load applying means may be a resistance member disposed at a predetermined interval on the transport means. Alternatively, the load applying means may be configured to inject water, air, or a mist obtained by mixing them at a predetermined pressure.

[0009]

Embodiments of the present invention will be described below in detail with reference to the drawings. 1 and 2 show a transport device 1 according to a first embodiment of the present invention. This transfer device 1
It transports the package H containing the fluid R, and includes a transport unit 2 including a well-known belt conveyor and a load applying unit disposed at a predetermined interval above the transport unit 2a of the transport unit 2.

[0010] Here, the package H in the present embodiment is:
For example, it is a retort food product in which a highly viscous fluid R such as a liquid soup is accommodated (up to about 6 minutes) in a bag and sealed. This retort food contains the fluid R in a bag by a bagging device (not shown), and has a temperature of about 90 ° C. immediately after sealing, and 10 ° C. to proceed to the subsequent steps such as packing. It is necessary to cool to the following temperature.

The load applying means according to the first embodiment comprises a roller 4 which is disposed on the upper portion of the transport section 2a so as to be vertically movable. The roller 4 is made of a material having an appropriate weight (for example, a metal material), and is disposed so as to be located inside the cooling chamber 10 as shown in FIG. The weight of this roller 4 is
In this embodiment, when the roller 4 is naturally placed on the package H, the retort food as the package H is compressed to a thickness of about half.

One end of the mounting plates 6, 6 is rotatably mounted on the shafts 4a, 4a protruding from both ends of the roller 4. The other ends of these mounting plates 6 are rotatably mounted on mounting hardware 7 via bearings or the like, and are provided by fixing the mounting hardware 7 to the side wall of the cooling chamber 10. As shown by a dashed line in FIG. 1, the mounting position of the mounting bracket 7 is set such that the mounting plates 6 and 6 extend vertically downward by the weight of the roller 4 and the roller 4 and the transport section 2a of the transporting means 2. Is not in contact with the position.

Next, the operation of transporting the package H by the transport device 1 will be described. First, a package H in which a highly viscous fluid R is bagged and sealed by a bagging device (not shown) is sequentially conveyed by the conveying means 2.

As shown in FIG. 1, the package H is successively transported into the cooling chamber 10 by the transport means 2, and the fan H is an air supply means mounted on the package H in the cooling chamber 10. Forcibly supply cold air. Thus, the package H is cooled from the front side.

When the package H is transported to the lower portion of the roller 4, the roller 4 is pressed in the transport direction A of the package H by the movement of the package H by the transport means 2. The roller 4 swings around the mounting bracket 7 via the mounting plates 6 and 6 and moves upward.

Next, the roller 4 is placed on the upper part of the package H, and by the movement of the package H by the transport means 2, the roller 4 rotates and applies its own weight to the package H. As described above, since the roller 4 swings through the mounting plate 6 to apply a load on the upper part of the package H, the position of the roller 4 depends on the thickness of the package H to be conveyed. No need to adjust.

The package H to which the load is applied by the roller 4 is moved by the conveying device 2 in a state where the contact portion is compressed to about half the thickness, so that the internal fluid R is forced to flow. Is done. As a result, the fan 11 mixes the fluid R1 located on the surface side of the cooled package H with the fluid R2 located on the center side. Thereby, the temperature distribution of the entire fluid R in the package H can be made uniform, and the package H can be cooled efficiently.

FIG. 3 shows a modification of the first embodiment. In the transport device 1 of this modified example, in the above-described embodiment, the roller 4 as the load applying means is rotatably mounted on the mounting plate 7 with the mounting plate 6 and is moved vertically by swinging. The mounting plates 6, 6 are provided with long grooves 6a, 6a, and the mounting screws 13, 13 are passed through the long grooves 6a, 6a and screwed, and the mounting plates 6, 6 are slid along the long grooves 6a, 6a. Thereby, the roller 4 can be moved up and down.

FIGS. 4A and 4B show a transfer device 1 according to a second embodiment. In the first embodiment, in the first embodiment, the roller 4 serving as the load applying means is movably mounted in the up-down direction. Roller 1 having a driving means comprising a motor 17 connected thereto
5 is different from the first embodiment.

The drive roller 15 is disposed at a predetermined interval above the conveying means 2 via a bearing member 16. The fixed position of the drive roller 15 is such that the distance between the lower end of the drive roller 15 and the transfer section 2a of the transfer means 2 is about half the thickness of the package H. The drive roller 15 is rotated by the motor 17 in the transport direction A of the package H.

In the transport device 1, the package H is sequentially transported into the cooling chamber 10 by the transport means 2, and the package H
When the package H is transported to the mounting position of the drive roller 15, the package H is rotated between the drive roller 15 and the transport unit 2 by the rotation of the drive roller 15 by the motor 17, as shown in FIG. Is wound around the package H. As a result, the package H is compressed by the fixed drive roller 15 and the conveying means 2 so that the thickness of the contact portion is reduced to about half the thickness, and the package H flows inside the package H as in the first embodiment. Animal R flows. As a result, the fluid R moves in the transport direction A
By forcibly mixing the fluid R in the direction perpendicular to the transport direction A, the temperature distribution of the entire fluid R can be made uniform, and the fluid R can be cooled efficiently.

In the second embodiment, the roller 15
May be non-circular. Here, the non-circular shape means a shape other than a perfect circle, including an elliptical shape and a polygonal shape. In this case, the load on the package H is not constant, and the fluid R can be made to flow more effectively. Further, the roller 15 may be provided so that the distance between the roller 15 and the transport section 2a of the transport means 2 can be changed by a known adjusting means. Furthermore, the same operation and effect as those described above can be obtained even when the driven roller is rotatable as shown in the first embodiment without providing the motor 17 as the driving means.

FIG. 5 shows a transport device 1 according to a third embodiment.
In the first or second embodiment, the transfer device 1
While the rollers 4 and 15 having long roller members continuous in the longitudinal direction with respect to the shaft portions 4a and 15a are used,
The present embodiment differs from the above embodiments in that a roller 20 having a plurality of narrow roller members disposed at predetermined intervals in the longitudinal direction of the shaft portion 20a is used. The roller 20 may be mounted so as to be able to move up and down as shown in the first embodiment, or may be mounted so as not to move as shown in the second embodiment and may be connected to a driving means. With this configuration, when a load is applied to the package H, the package H
Since the load applied to the fluid R is no longer constant, the temperature distribution of the fluid R can be more efficiently uniformized and cooled.

FIGS. 6A and 6B show a transport device 1 according to a fourth embodiment. In each of the above-described embodiments, the transport device 1 includes a driven or driven roller 4, 1
5A and 5B, the present embodiment differs from the above embodiments in that a plurality of weight members 23 are provided at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the conveying means 2 as shown in FIG.

Specifically, the weight member 23 is shown in FIG.
As shown in (B), a connection portion 24 having an inverted concave shape is provided,
Load portions 25a and 25b are provided at both lower ends of the connecting portion 24, and a slide shaft 26 is protruded from the upper center of the connecting portion 24. The load portions 25a and 25b are disposed along the transport direction A. As shown, it is preferable that the lower end positions are different from each other, but the present invention is not limited to this. The slide shaft 26 is provided with a stopper 26a projecting in a flange shape at an upper end, and the upper end portion and the substantially central portion have bearings 27a, 2b.
7b, it is slidably held in the vertical direction. The fixed position of the upper bearing 27a is a position where the load units 25, 25 do not abut the transport unit 2a of the transport unit 2 in a state where the stopper 26a of the slide shaft 26 abuts, preferably, the load unit 25 The distance between the lower end and the transport section 2a is set to be about half the thickness of the package H.

In this embodiment, the upper and lower bearings 27a,
Shaft 27 rotated by motor 29 during 27b
0 is provided so as to extend in the width direction of the conveying means 2. A cam member 30a opposed to the slide shaft 26 is provided on the shaft 30, and a projection 26b is provided on the slide shaft 26.
(B) By rotating in the middle B direction, the weight member 23 moves up and down. At the top dead center where the weight member 23 is lifted by the lifting / lowering means 28, the lower end of the load unit 25 and the transport unit 2a of the transport unit 2
Is set so as to form a gap larger than the thickness of the package H.

In the transfer apparatus 1 having the load applying means, the weight member 23 is constantly moved up and down by operating the motor 29. When the package H is transported by the transport unit 2 and enters the lower portion of the weight member 23, the weight member 23 falls onto the package H, and a load is applied to the package H. (Impact), and the fluid R in the package H can be forced to flow.

FIGS. 7A and 7B show a transfer device 1 according to a fifth embodiment. The transport device 1 is provided with a load applying means by disposing a comb-shaped resistance member 33 so as to extend in the width direction above the transport means 2. The distance between the lower end of the resistance member 33 and the transport section 2a of the transport means 2 is set to about half the thickness of the package H. Further, the conveying means 2 comprising the belt conveyor,
The belt is formed of a material having a high resistivity. Note that the resistance member 33 may be arranged to be swingable along the transport direction A as shown in the first embodiment.

In the transport device 1, the package H is transported by the transport means 2, and the package H is transported by the resistance member 33.
When the package H is transported to the mounting position,
Is conveyed between the resistance member 33 and the conveyance means 2 by the conveyance force and the resistance of the belt. Thereby, since the package H is compressed by the load of the resistance member 33, the fluid R in the package H can be forcibly made to flow similarly to the above embodiments.

FIG. 8 shows a transfer device 1 according to a sixth embodiment.
In this embodiment, the load applying means is mechanically configured by the rollers 4, 15, 20, the weight member 23, the resistance member 33, and the like in each of the above-described embodiments. This embodiment is different from the above embodiments in that it has a fluid structure.

More specifically, the load applying means of the sixth embodiment comprises a plurality of nozzles 35 arranged on the inner wall of the cooling chamber 10 at predetermined intervals in the width direction of the conveying means 2, and a pipe 36 connected to these nozzles 35. And a pump 37 for supplying water (cold water) therethrough.

In the transfer apparatus 1 provided with the load applying means, water having a predetermined pressure by the pump 37 is supplied to the nozzle 35.
From the container H, the package H can be compressed to a thickness of about half by this water pressure. As a result, the flow in the package H can be reduced similarly to the above-described embodiments. Animal R can flow.

In the sixth embodiment, the nozzle 35
It is not limited to only water to be sprayed from the air, and air compressed by a compressor may be sprayed to the package H at a predetermined air pressure. Further, a mist obtained by mixing water and air may be sprayed onto the package H at a predetermined pressure by using a two-fluid nozzle.

In order to confirm the effect of the conveying apparatus 1 of the present invention, the present inventor has compared a conventional roller conveyor having rollers having polygonal cross sections in parallel with the conveying apparatus of the sixth embodiment of the present invention. The experiment was carried out using No. 1. In this experiment, vertical 16c
A package H containing a liquid soup of about 90 ° C. in a bag having a length of 11 cm and a width of 2.5 cm is used. The temperature after the package H is transported in the cooling chamber 10 for about 8 minutes. Was measured to compare the cooling effects.

The experimental results show that, with the conventional roller conveyor, the package H at 90.degree.
In contrast to cooling to about 10 ° C., the transfer apparatus 1 of the present invention was able to cool to about 10 ° C. As described above, in the transfer device 1 of the present invention, since efficient cooling can be performed, the transfer time (work time) can be significantly reduced, and thus the productivity can be improved.

The transport device 1 according to the present invention is not limited to the above configuration. For example, in the above-described embodiment, the transport unit 2 is configured by a belt conveyor. However, the transport unit 2 may be configured by a roller conveyor having a large number of rollers arranged side by side or a conveyor with a crosspiece, so that the package H can be transported reliably. Anything should do. When a roller conveyor is applied, the cross-sectional shape of the roller may be any of non-circular configurations such as circular and polygonal. The conveyer with the crosspiece is preferably used when the resistance member 33 is applied as the load applying means described in the fifth embodiment, so that movement in a direction opposite to the transport direction A can be prevented.

Further, in each of the above embodiments, the package H is cooled by disposing the transfer means 2 so as to pass through the inside of the cooling chamber 10. In this case, as in the case of the cooling, the heating can be efficiently performed with a uniform temperature distribution. When heating in this manner, the sixth
In the transport device 1 of the embodiment, it is preferable to inject hot water.

Furthermore, the package H transported by the transport device 1 is not limited to the retort food, but is used for cooling or heating the package H containing the high-viscosity fluid R as described above. Thus, the temperature distribution of the fluid R can be made uniform, and cooling or heating can be performed efficiently. Furthermore, in each of the above embodiments, the package H is compressed to about half the thickness, but the compression ratio is not limited to this.

[0039]

As is apparent from the above description, in the conveying apparatus of the present invention, a load applying means for applying an external load to the package containing the fluid is provided above the conveying means. By forcibly flowing the fluid, the fluid can be mixed, so that the entire temperature distribution can be made uniform and the cool air in the cooling chamber or the hot air in the heating chamber can be efficiently removed. And the time required for heat exchange such as cooling or heating can be greatly reduced.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a side view illustrating a transport device according to a first embodiment of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a plan view of FIG.

FIG. 3 is a schematic side view showing a modification of the first embodiment.

4A and 4B show a transport device according to a second embodiment, wherein FIG. 4A is a front view and FIG. 4B is a side view.

FIG. 5 is a front view illustrating a roller that is a load applying unit of a transport device according to a third embodiment.

6A and 6B show a transport device according to a fourth embodiment, wherein FIG. 6A is a front view and FIG. 6B is a side view.

7A and 7B show a transport device according to a fifth embodiment, wherein FIG. 7A is a front view and FIG. 7B is a side view.

FIG. 8 is a side view illustrating a transfer device according to a sixth embodiment.

[Explanation of symbols]

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 ... Conveying apparatus, 2 ... Conveying means, 4 ... Roller (load applying means), 5 ... Shaft part, 6 ... Mounting plate, 7 ... Mounting bracket, 10 cooling chamber, H ... Package, R ... Fluid.

Claims (7)

[Claims] 1. A conveying means for conveying a package containing a fluid is disposed so as to pass through a cooling chamber or a heating chamber, and the internal fluid is cooled or heated while transporting the package. A transport device, wherein on the transport means,
A transport device, comprising: a load applying means for externally applying a load to the package, and causing the fluid in the package to flow and mix by the load. 2. The transport apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the load applying means is a roller rotatably disposed at a predetermined interval on the transport means. 3. The transport device according to claim 2, wherein the roller has a predetermined weight and is disposed on the upper portion of the transport means so as to be vertically movable. 4. The transport device according to claim 2, wherein the roller is fixed on an upper portion of the transport unit and is rotated by a driving unit. 5. The transfer device according to claim 1, wherein the load applying means is a weight member arranged to be vertically movable by an elevating means. 6. The transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the load applying means is a resistance member disposed at a predetermined interval on the transfer means. 7. The transfer apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the load applying means is configured to jet water, air, or a mist obtained by mixing them at a predetermined pressure.