JPS5948617B2 - Device for correcting overlapping of relatively soft disk-shaped foods - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to an apparatus for correcting overlapping of relatively soft disc-shaped food products.

There are many examples of two relatively soft disc-shaped foods stacked one on top of the other, especially in confectionery.

In the specification of the present invention, a confectionery called "Mikasa" will be described as a preferred example, but it goes without saying that the technology of the present invention is by no means limited to "Mikasa".

As is well known, the conventional "
The manufacturing process for ``Mikasa'' is to bake two disk-shaped pieces of skin on a baking board, then place the bean paste in the center of one piece, then turn the other piece over and place it on top. It is covered with

Recently, this process has been mechanized and automated to the point that it requires almost no human labor, but the above-mentioned "invert and cover" process does not always produce satisfactory results with machines.

In other words, the overlap when two pieces of skin are stacked one on top of the other is determined by the previous process, that is, by baking one side of the skin to a ``dark brown'', or by placing the filling in the center of the pastry. It is easy to understand that this process requires significantly higher precision than that required for processes such as It can even be called.

Therefore, even if the process of ``reversing and putting it on'' is done automatically by mechanization, the work to correct the inevitable misalignment of the upper and lower skins will not necessarily be done manually. Ordinarily, only this process is carried out manually from the beginning.

Therefore, although most of the automation of the manufacturing process for this type of confectionery has been achieved throughout the entire process, the flow of automation has been interrupted in this part only, and automation of this process is strongly desired. was.

In response to the above-mentioned demands, this invention was made with the aim of realizing a device that automatically corrects the overlapping of relatively soft disc-shaped foods. Along the upstream to downstream side of the conveyor that transports two relatively soft disk-shaped foods, (a) the horizontal deviation of the lower of the two disk-shaped foods with respect to the longitudinal center line of the conveyor; means to detect.

(b) Means for moving the entire set of food stacked one above the other until the above-mentioned misalignment is eliminated.

(c) Means for detecting the deviation of the upper disc-shaped food product in the left-right direction with respect to the longitudinal center line of the conveyor.

B) A means for moving only the upper disk-shaped food of a set of foods by sliding it over the lower disk-shaped food until the above-mentioned deviation is eliminated.

(e) Means for detecting a shift in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor of the upper disc-shaped food relative to the lower disc-shaped food.

(f) A means for moving only the upper disk-shaped food of a set of foods by sliding it over the lower disk-shaped food until the position where the displacement in the front-back direction is eliminated.

It consists of a structure in which the following are arranged in sequence.

Next, the configuration of the inventive device will be specifically explained below based on the drawings showing embodiments.

In Figures 1 and 2, A is a confectionery, as shown in Figure 2, it is composed of a lower skin A1 and an upper skin A2 stacked one on top of the other, and a bean paste A3 is sandwiched between them. B sends it from the upstream side in the direction of the white arrow.

Reference numeral 1 denotes a roll conveyor, which is rotated all at once by a wheel 2 using a belt or a chain, and conveys confectionery A fed from the upstream side to the downstream side.

Reference numerals 6 and 6' denote inspection devices, which have the function of distinguishing between the color of the upper surface of the lower skin A1, ie, "light color," and the color of the upper surface of the upper skin A2, ie, "dark color." Instructs the moving device in the next process to move from the inspection device that recognized it to the inspection device that did not recognize it.

A position detector 7 detects the tip of the lower skin A1 of the confectionery A and instructs the moving device 9 to lift the confectionery.

The moving device 9 has a cylinder 9a at its lower part for raising and lowering the confectionery, and a reversible motor 9b for moving the confectionery from side to side in a lifted state.

The reversible motor 9b is driven according to the direction indicated by the inspection device 6.6'.

8.8' is a displacement detector, and when one of the displacement detectors 8, 8' is changed from being covered by confectionery to being exposed by a command from the inspection devices 6, 6', the displacement detector 8, 8' is activated by the moving device. 9 to stop moving, and then to push down and lower the moving device to the lower surface of the roll conveyor 1.

As a result, the confectionery A is again placed on the roll conveyor 1 and conveyed downstream.

In addition, the inspection device 6.6' in this example was designed to have the function of distinguishing between "light color" and "dark color" because "Mikasa" was selected as the target food. It goes without saying that the same effect can be obtained by selecting other colors, the presence or absence of gloss, the presence or absence of surface irregularities, and the function of identifying the height from the conveyor surface.

The devices on the downstream side are all based on the position of the lower skin A1, which has been sent after accurately correcting the horizontal deviation by the upstream device, and the upper skin A2 placed on top of it. This is a device for sequentially correcting the left and right deviations as well as the front and rear deviations from the lower skin by sliding the lower skin A1 over the lower skin A1.

10 is a belt conveyor that can be started and stopped at will.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a position detector which, like the position detector 7, detects the tip of the lower skin A1 of the confectionery and moves it to the belt conveyor 1.
0 stops running.

12.12' is a displacement detector that detects the displacement of the upper skin A2 in the left-right direction.

The method of detection is to detect which of the left and right detectors is covered by the confectionery, issue a command to the moving device 13 to move the confectionery in a direction that exposes the detector, and then When the detector is exposed, the moving device 13
At the same time, the belt conveyor 10 is commanded to stop moving.
command to restart.

The moving device 13 is for sliding the upper skin A2 over the lower skin A1 in the left-right direction, and has a large number of downward needles implanted on the surface of the disc, and slides the upper skin A2 over the lower skin A1. After gently pressing down and moving only the upper layer of skin A2, it is pulled upwards with a tap.

Furthermore, as devices on the downstream side, a position detector 15 has the same function as the belt conveyor 10, and a displacement detector 12.1 except for detecting displacement in the front and back direction of the upper skin A2.
The device includes a displacement detector 16, 16' which functions in the same manner as 2', and a moving device 17 which functions in the same manner as the moving device 13, except that it moves in the front-back direction.

Note that it is extremely convenient to use rechargeable types of all the position detectors, displacement detectors, and detection devices described above.

Next, the operation of correcting the overlapping of disk-shaped foods using the apparatus configured as described above will be explained.

In the example shown in FIG. 3, the skin A1 and the skin A2 are distorted, and as a result, the inspection device 6 does not recognize it, and the inspection device 6' faces the "dark color". This is an example where the device is not recognized either.

In this case, no movement command is issued to the moving device 9, and the sweets reach the position detector 11 in the same state.

In this case, the displacement detector 12' is covered by the upper skin A2 (the figure shows the state after the position of the skin A2 has been corrected), so the skin A2 is deflected to the left by the moving device 13.
is moved to the right until the displacement detector 12' is exposed.

Next, the confectionery that has reached the position detector 15 has its displacement in the front and rear direction corrected by the moving device 17, and is then conveyed downstream (the figure shows the state after the displacement in the front and rear directions has been corrected).
.

FIG. 4 shows an example of an arrangement in which the inspection device 6 does not recognize the "light color" of the lower skin A1, but the inspection device 6' recognizes it.

In this case, the entire confectionery is moved by the moving device 9 until the right side sagging detector 8' is exposed.

The subsequent corrective action on the upper skin A2 is carried out in the same manner as in the case of FIG.

FIG. 5 shows an example in which the detection device 6' does not recognize the upper surface of the upper skin A2 because it is a dark color, but the inspection device 6 recognizes the "light color" of the lower skin A1. show.

This result corresponds to the opposite case of FIG. 4, and when the lower skin A1 of the confectionery reaches the position detector 7, the moving device 9
The command issued to the confectionery A is to the left, and the confectionery A is moved to the left, and the displacement detector 8, which was covered by the lower skin A1, is exposed, and the movement is stopped, resulting in the state shown in the figure. and sent downstream.

In both of the above examples, when the inspection device 6 or 6' recognizes the "light color" on the upper surface of the skin A1 below the pad, or even if the skin A1 is not recognized, the skin A1 is exactly on the center line XX. Although an example has been described in which the parts are placed correctly and there is no need for correction, it is naturally possible that other arrangements than the above may occur depending on the circumstances of the manufacturing process.

That is, what is shown in FIGS. 6 and 7 is the case, in which both of the inspection devices 6 and 6' are connected to the lower skin A.
Since the "light color" on the upper surface of A1 is not recognized and the skin A1 is not placed correctly on the center line XX, it is impossible to correct the overlap.

Examples of countermeasures against this problem are shown in FIGS. 8 and 9.

As is clear from the figure, in this example, a position detector 3 (having the same configuration and function as the position detector 7) and a displacement detector 4 are provided on the upstream side of the apparatus shown in FIGS. 1 and 2.
．． A series of devices are provided, including a displacement detector 4' (having the same configuration and function as the displacement detectors 8, 8'), and a moving device 5 (having the same configuration and function as the moving device 9).

To explain the effect of correcting the overlap when arranged in this way, in FIG. The moving device 5 moves the confectionery in the direction
commands are given to

The command is stopped at the same time that the detector 4 is exposed to the confectionery A.

In this case, since one of the shift detectors 4 and 4' is always covered, the direction of movement for the moving device 5 can be determined by
Determination is possible even without the ability to distinguish between the front and back colors of the skin.

° In the case of Fig. 10, the skins A1 and A2 are both unevenly distributed on the right side of the center line XX, but the deviation detectors 4 and 4'
Also, the entire confectionery is moved near the center by the moving device 5 as shown in the figure, and in this state, the functions of the inspection devices 6, 6' are exerted, and the subsequent operation is as shown in FIG. It will be exactly the same as the example.

Since this inventive device is configured as described above, it is possible to dynamically correct the overlap when two relatively soft disk-shaped foods are stacked one above the other without using any human hands. Moreover, the result of the correction has the excellent effect of realizing an overlapping state with extremely high precision without wasting time or deforming the food.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

) Fig. 1 is a plan view showing the arrangement of the entire device in one embodiment of the device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is a side view thereof, Figs.
5, 6, and 7 are explanatory diagrams showing different aspects of the course of action in the device, and FIG. 8 shows the arrangement of the entire device in different embodiments of the device of the present invention. FIG. 9 is a plan view, FIG. 9 is a side view thereof, and FIG. 10 is an explanatory diagram showing the progress of the operation of the apparatus of FIG. 8. 1...Roll conveyor, 2...Wheel, 3゜7, 11. 15...Position detector,
4. 4', 8°8', 12. 12',
16. 16'... Misalignment detector, 5. 9.
13. 17...Moving device, 5a...
Cylinder, 5b...Reversible motor, 6,6'...
... Inspection device, 10, 14 ... Belt conveyor, A ... Confectionery, A1 ... Lower skin, A2 ... Upper skin, A3...Bean paste.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. Along the upstream side to the downstream side of a conveyor that transports two relatively soft disc-shaped foods stacked one above the other, (a) the lower of the two disc-shaped foods; Means for detecting deviation in the left and right direction from the longitudinal center line of the conveyor. (b) Means for moving the entire set of food stacked one above the other until the above-mentioned misalignment is eliminated. (c) Means for detecting the deviation of the upper disc-shaped food product in the left-right direction with respect to the longitudinal center line of the conveyor. B) A means for moving only the upper disk-shaped food of a set of foods by sliding it over the lower disk-shaped food until the above-mentioned deviation is eliminated. (e) Means for detecting a shift in the longitudinal direction of the conveyor of the upper disc-shaped food relative to the lower disc-shaped food. (f) A means for moving only the upper disk-shaped food of a set of foods by sliding it over the lower disk-shaped food until the position where the displacement in the front-back direction is eliminated. A device for correcting overlapping of relatively soft disc-shaped foods by sequentially arranging them.