JPS6030946Y2 - tofu manufacturing equipment - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] Technical Field This invention relates to an improvement of a soybean crushing blade provided in a soybean milk separation tank of a tofu manufacturing apparatus.

Background Art In general, tofu production involves a first step of soaking soybeans in water, a second step of grinding the soaked soybeans, a third step of separating the ground soybeans into soy milk and okara, and a third step of separating the ground soybeans into soy milk and okara. A fourth step of boiling the boiled soymilk, a fifth step of coagulating the boiled soymilk, and a sixth step of molding the soymilk are sequentially performed.

This invention is an attempt to improve the shape and structure of the soybean crushing blade provided in the soybean milk separation tank in a tofu manufacturing apparatus that can perform these steps automatically.

In such tofu manufacturing equipment, soybeans soaked in water are placed together with water in a soymilk separation tank equipped with a crushing blade, the crushing blade is first driven to rotate, then the crushing blade is stopped, and then the soybean is transferred to the soymilk separation tank. It is necessary to rotate the soybeans and separate the crushed soybeans into soy milk and okara through centrifugal separation.

Therefore, the rotation of both the crushing blade and the soymilk separation tank is changed in a certain order, for example, rotation of the crushing blade → stoppage of the crushing blade → rotation of the soybean milk separation tank → stoppage of the soybean milk separation tank. It is necessary to do so.

Therefore, for example, the following configuration is adopted.

An upper body that also serves as a soybean milk tank is installed on a lower body that is equipped with a driving motor, and a soymilk separation tank that is equipped with a crushing blade is provided within this upper body.

On the other hand, a soybean milk separation tank is rotatably and vertically slidably fitted into a protruding portion of a rotary shaft connected to the motor into the upper body.

A clutch mechanism is provided between the rotating shaft and the soymilk separation tank to connect them in a detachable manner.

In addition, a float member is integrally attached to the bottom of the soymilk separation tank, so that when soybeans are stored together with water in the soybean milk separation tank, the water causes the separation tank to float above the upper body, and the clutch mechanism is disengaged. This allows only the crushing blades to rotate along near the bottom of the separation tank.

Furthermore, engaging means are provided between the upper body and the soybean milk separating tank, which engage each other when the various soybean milk separators move upward, so as to maintain the separating tank in a stopped state in the upward moving position.

After the soybean crushing is completed and the water such as goo soup in the separation tank and the upper body is discharged, the soybean milk separation tank is lowered and the clutch mechanism is engaged, and the rotation of the soybean milk separation tank allows the crushed soybeans to be removed. To enable soy milk separation.

This kind of latch mechanism has a simple structure,
A slip clutch plate is used because it can be manufactured inexpensively.

According to this, the rotation of the crushing blade and the rotation of the soybean milk separation tank are switched in a predetermined order, but on the other hand, the following problem occurs.

When soybeans are crushed, water such as goo soup in the soybean milk separation tank rotates up and down as the crushing blade rotates, and the downward flow hits the bottom of the separation tank and exerts a force that tries to push it downward. .

Therefore, it is no longer possible to stably and reliably hold the soybean milk separation tank in the raised position, and in extreme cases, the separation tank may fall during soybean crushing.

Furthermore, when the soybean milk separation tank is lowered and rotated by a motor after the completion of soybean crushing, the separation tank is filled with crushed soybeans with a heavy specific gravity, and its inertia is relatively large. Become.

Therefore, the transmission force is insufficient only by engagement of the clutch mechanism, and the rotational torque of the motor cannot be quickly and reliably transmitted to the soybean milk separation tank, resulting in only the rotating shaft spinning idly.

As a result, there is a considerable time lag between when the motor is driven and when the soybean milk separation tank begins to rotate, and during this time the clutch mechanism slips, causing problems such as heat generation and wear due to friction.

Furthermore, when the motor is de-energized after soybean milk separation is completed, its inertia is not so large, so the motor immediately stops.

On the other hand, since okara, etc. with a high specific gravity remains attached to the soybean milk separation tank, its inertia is relatively large.

Therefore, even if the motor is stopped, the separation tank will idle due to its inertia and cannot be stopped immediately.

As a result, the clutch mechanism slips, causing the same problem as mentioned above. Disclosure of the invention This invention was made in order to solve the above-mentioned problems. By devising the structure of the soybean, it is possible to stably and reliably hold the soymilk separation tank in a stopped state in the upward position during soybean crushing, and when separating soybean milk, the soymilk separation tank can be quickly moved almost at the same time as the motor rotates. The purpose of the present invention is to ensure that the soybean milk separation tank starts to rotate reliably, and that the soybean milk separation tank can be stopped promptly when the motor is stopped after the soybean milk separation is completed.

This objective can be distantly achieved by forming the distal end portion of the crushing blade provided in the soybean milk separation tank to be wider along the circumferential direction of the separation tank with respect to the base end side.

According to this invention, the descending flow of water such as gourd juice that flows in the soybean milk separation tank during soybean crushing is stopped by the particularly wide tip of the crushing blade, reducing the possibility of direct impact on the bottom of the separation tank. suppressed.

Therefore, the downward pressure on the bottom of the separation tank due to the downward flow is eliminated, and the soybean milk separation tank can be stably and reliably held in a stopped state at the upwardly moved position.

Furthermore, when the soybean milk is separated from the crushed soybeans, when the crushing blade rotates due to the drive of the motor, the highly viscous goo soup in the separation tank rotates and flows in the same direction of rotation due to the action of the wide part at the tip. The separation tank receives a rotational force that tries to rotate in the same direction.

On the other hand, when the goo soup rotates and flows, the wide end of the crushing blade experiences viscous resistance, increasing its inertia.

Due to the resistance force and increased inertia, a load, that is, a negative rotational moment, acts on the rotating shaft connected to the motor.

Therefore, the motor starts slowly.

As a result, due to the mutual action of the two, the slippage of the clutch mechanism is reduced, and the soybean milk separation tank quickly begins to rotate.

That is, the rotational torque can be transmitted to the soybean milk separation tank more reliably by the clutch mechanism.

In addition, when the motor is stopped, the okara remaining in a layer on the inner wall of the separation tank causes frictional resistance on the wide tip of the crushing blade, increasing its inertia, and this frictional resistance applies a braking force to the rotation of the separation tank. do.

At the same time, the moment of inertia of the rotating shaft increases due to the frictional resistance, and the motor stops gradually.

As a result, due to their mutual effects, slippage of the clutch mechanism is reduced, and the separation tank quickly stops without idling when the motor stops.

Moreover, according to this invention, it is only necessary to make the tip portion of the crushing blade wide, so the structure is extremely simple, easy to manufacture, and the manufacturing cost is low.

BEST MODE FOR CARRYING OUT THE INVENTION Hereinafter, one embodiment of the invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

FIG. 1 shows an example of the tofu manufacturing apparatus according to the present invention, in which a recess 11 is formed approximately in the center of the upper surface of a lower main body 10, and a placing part 13 for placing a soy milk container 12 is provided on one side of the recess 11. There is.

An upper main body 14 which also serves as a soybean milk tank is removably installed in the recess 11.

An upper lid 15 is removably attached to the upper open end of the upper body 14.

A support leg portion 16 extends downward along the periphery of the bottom surface of the upper body 14.

The support legs 16 are installed on the periphery of the recess 11 .

A space 17 is formed between the top surface of the recess 11 and the bottom surface of the upper body 14.

A flow path 18 for soybean milk or the like is provided on the bottom side of the upper body 14.

The flow path 18 extends from the bottom side to the inside of the lower body 10 through the cavity 17 and is led out to the outside of the side wall, and its distal end outlet extends above the soybean milk storage container 12 of the placing section 13.

A solenoid valve 19 located in the middle of the flow path 18 to open and close the flow path
is interposed.

A driving motor 20 for rotationally driving the soybean milk separation tank and the crushing blade is installed inside the lower main body 10.

The upper end of the drive shaft 21 projects through an opening 110 formed approximately at the center of the recess 11 into the cavity 17 above.

A sealed bearing 22 is provided approximately at the center of the bottom surface of the upper body 14,
A rotary shaft 23 is rotatably supported by the bearing 22 so as to be coaxial with the drive shaft 21 .

One end of the rotating shaft 23 extends into the cavity 17 through the bearing 22;
Its lower end is connected to the drive shaft 21 by a joint 24.

The joint 24 is, for example, a Kamiai shaft joint, and both shafts 21
, 23, a pair of flanges 25.
25, and has a structure in which claws provided on both flanges are alternately engaged.

It goes without saying that the space between the bearing 22 and the rotating shaft 23 is sealed to prevent liquid leakage.

The rotating shaft 23 protrudes into the upper body 14 at a predetermined height.

Its protruding end is connected to a float 26 disposed within the upper body.
and the center of the bottom of the soybean milk separation tank 27, and protrudes into the separation tank 27 at a predetermined height.

A mounting member 28 for attaching a crushing blade is fitted to this protruding end.

This mounting member 28 has a required number of crushing blades 30, for example, 4 pieces.
... is installed.

The crushing blade 30... is a rotating shaft 23 driven by a motor 20.
The soybean milk separation tank 27 is rotated in the circumferential direction along the vicinity of the bottom surface of the soybean milk separation tank 27 by the rotation of the soybean milk separation tank 27, and has the effect of finely pulverizing the soybeans stored in the soybean milk separation tank.

The soy milk separation tank 27 finely grinds the soybeans stored therein and separates the ground soybeans into soy milk and okara by centrifugal separation.
It has a roughly cylindrical shape with...

A hollow disk-shaped float 26 made of resin such as plastic is integrally attached to the lower surface of the soybean milk separation tank 27.

The bottom of the soy milk separation tank 27 and the rotating shaft 23 of the float 26
A bearing 32 is fitted in the center through which the float 26 and the soy milk separation tank 27 are rotatably supported by the rotating shaft 23 and slidably up and down via the bearing 32.

An inner lid 33 is removably fitted to the upper open end of the soy milk separation tank 27.

The inner lid 33 is fixed with a stopper 34 to crush soybeans,
It is designed so that it does not easily separate from the separation tank 27 during the soybean milk separation process.

On the other hand, a support shaft 3 is attached to the center of the inner surface of the upper cover 15 of the upper body 14.
5 protrudes coaxially with the rotating shaft 23, and this support shaft 3
5, an inner cover 33 is rotatably and vertically slidably supported via a bearing 36 provided at its center.

Thus, the soy milk separation tank 27 and the float 26 are connected to the bearing 32.
, 36 to be rotatably and vertically slidably supported by the rotation shaft 23 and the support shaft 35.

A sliding clutch mechanism is provided between the protruding base end of the rotating shaft 23 that protrudes into the upper body 14 and the bottom surface of the float 26 in a detachable manner.

The clutch mechanism 40 includes a clutch plate 41 fitted to the protruding base end of the rotating shaft 23 and a clutch plate 42 integrally extended laterally from the lower end of the bearing 32 in the form of a flange. , the clutch plate 42 is fitted into a recess formed on the lower surface of the float 26.

This clutch mechanism 40 is connected by lowering the soy milk separation tank 27 and the float 26 to the vicinity of the bottom of the upper body 14, and the soy milk separation tank 27 and the float 26 are connected to the rotating shaft 23 by the frictional force, and the soy milk separation tank 27 and the float 26 are connected together with the crushing blade 30 to a predetermined position. direction.

In addition, the upper body 14 is filled with moisture, and the soy milk separation tank 27 floats above the upper body 14 due to the action of the float 26 and is separated from the soy milk separation tank 27 and the rotating shaft 23.
The function is to release the connection between the crushing blade 30 and rotate only the crushing blade 30.

Furthermore, the lower surface of the upper lid 15 of the upper body 14 and the soy milk separation tank 27
A pair of upper and lower suction means 50 are provided on the upper surface of the inner M33 fitted into the soybean milk separation tank 27, which suction each other when the soybean milk separation tank 27 moves upward.

This suction means 50 is composed of a magnet 51 attached to the lower surface of the upper lid 15 and an iron plate 52 provided on the upper surface of the inner lid 33 so as to correspond to the magnet 51.

The crushing blade 30 is constructed as shown in FIG.

The distal end of the crushing blade 30 extends to the vicinity of the inner wall of the soymilk separation tank 27, and the rear side of the distal end 300 in the rotational direction is formed to extend widely along the circumferential direction of the separation tank 27 with respect to the base end. ing.

Further, an edge-shaped blade 301 is formed on the front side in the rotation direction, so that the soybean is finely ground.

Note that if the overall width of the crushing blade 30 is too wide, the soybeans will become creamy and bubbles will be generated when the soybeans are crushed.

Therefore, it is best to make the width as narrow as possible.

On the other hand, if the overall width is made narrower, the intended effect of the present invention cannot be achieved.

Therefore, it is desirable that the shape of the crushing blade 30 is narrow on the proximal end side, and that only the distal end portion 300 is wide and has as large an area as possible.

In addition, in FIG. 1, 53 is a filter attached to the inner circumferential wall of the soybean milk separation tank 27.

Next, the operation of the present device having the above configuration will be explained.

Here, the operations of each part, such as the opening/closing operation of the electromagnetic valve 19 and the drive control of the motor 20, are automatically performed in a well-ordered manner at a predetermined timing under the control of a sequence circuit 80 built into the device.

First, when the soybeans soaked in water are placed in the soybean milk separation tank 27 together with water in the state shown in FIG. The soybean milk flows into the soybean milk tank 14, and the tank is filled to a predetermined liquid level.

Then, the float 26 receives a buoyant force due to the rise in the liquid level, and moves the soymilk separation tank 27 upward from near the bottom of the soymilk tank 14 to a position where it floats a predetermined height above it.

When the soy milk separation tank 27 moves upward, the connection between the clutch plates 41 and 42 of the clutch mechanism 40 is released, and the connection between the soy milk separation tank 27 and the rotating shaft 23 is released.

Therefore, only the crushing blade 30 becomes rotatable.

On the other hand, when the soybean milk separation tank 27 moves upward, the adsorption means 50
The magnet 51 and the iron plate 52 attract each other.

As a result, the soybean milk separating tank 27 is held in a stopped state together with the float 26 in the upward movement position.

Thereafter, when the motor 20 is driven, the crushing blade 3° rotates at high speed in the direction indicated by the arrow 100 in FIG. 3, thereby finely crushing the swollen soybeans present inside the separation tank.

At this time, the gourd juice obtained by crushing the soybeans rotates and flows in the separation tank 27 as the crushing blade 30 rotates, and the downward flow hits the bottom of the separation tank 27 and tries to push it downward. .

However, according to this embodiment, most of the descending flow of the goo soup is caused by the tip 30 of the crushing blade 30, as shown by the arrow 101 in FIG.
At 0, the receiver is stopped, and direct impact on the bottom of the separation tank 27 is reduced and suppressed as much as possible.

Therefore, the downward pressure on the bottom of the separation tank is eliminated.

As a result, the soybean milk separation tank 27 is reliably held in the upward movement position without falling off due to the lifting action of the float 26 and the suction action of the suction means 50.

Thereafter, when the crushing of the soybeans is completed after a predetermined period of time has elapsed, the rotation of the crushing blade 30 is stopped by stopping the motor 20.

Next, the electromagnetic valve 19 is opened, and the water A in the soybean milk tank 14 is discharged to the outside through the flow path 18.

Then, the floating blade caused by the float 26 disappears, the adsorption between the magnet 51 and the iron plate 52 is released, and the soymilk separating tank 27 descends with the float 26 to the vicinity of the bottom of the soymilk tank 14 due to its own weight, as shown in FIG.

As a result, the clutch mechanism 4° is connected, and the soybean milk separation tank 27 is connected to the rotating shaft 23, so that they can rotate together.

Next, when the motor 2o is driven again, its rotational power is transmitted to the soybean milk separation tank 27 through the clutch mechanism 40.

At this time, the soybean milk separation tank 27 is filled with gourd soup having a large specific gravity and high viscosity.

Therefore, when the crushing blade 30 is rotated by the drive of the motor 20, its tip 3
Due to the stirring action of 00, the highly viscous goo soup rotates and flows in the rotational direction of the crushing blade 30.

Along with this flow, a rotational force acts on the separation tank 27 to rotate it in the direction shown by the arrow 102.

At the same time, when the goo soup rotates and flows, the tip 300 of the crushing blade 30 receives viscous resistance due to friction with the goo soup, as shown by arrow 103 in FIG. 5, and its inertia increases.

Therefore, a load, that is, a negative rotational moment, acts on the motor 20 through the rotating shaft 23.

Therefore, the motor 20 starts slowly.

As a result, due to their mutual action, the slippage of the clutch mechanism 40 is reduced, and the rotation of the soymilk separation tank 27 is controlled by the motor 2.
It starts immediately with the drive of 0.

That is, the transmission of the rotational force by the clutch mechanism 40 to the soybean milk separation tank 27 is facilitated, and the system becomes more reliable and stable.

Thereafter, the pulverized soybeans are separated into soybean milk and okara by the centrifugal action caused by the rotation of the soybean milk separation tank 27.

This separated soymilk is filtered through the filter 53 and the pores 31.
The soybean milk flows out into the soybean milk tank 14 through the flow path 18 from the bottom thereof, passes through the electromagnetic valve 19 which is in an open state, and is taken out from its discharge port and stored in the soybean milk storage container 12.

Further, the okara remains attached to the filter 53 in the separation tank in a layered manner.

Motor 20 then stops.

At this time, the inertia of the soybean milk separation tank 27 with respect to the motor 20 is relatively large.

Therefore, the soy milk separation tank 27 is driven by the motor 2 due to its inertia.
0 and the crushing blade 30 try to continue rotating even after they have stopped.

However, according to this embodiment, when the separation tank 27 attempts to rotate, the tip 300 of the crushing blade 30 receives frictional resistance due to the residual okara B and its inertia increases, as shown by the arrow 104 in FIG. .

Further, due to the frictional resistance, a braking force acts on the separation tank 27 in a direction opposite to the rotational direction.

Furthermore, the inertia of the rotating shaft 23 increases due to the frictional resistance, and the motor 20 is gradually stopped.

Therefore, due to their mutual action, the soybean milk separation tank 27
stops immediately as the motor 20 stops.

Furthermore, slippage of the clutch mechanism 40 is minimized.

In this way, soy milk separation is achieved.

Thereafter, the soymilk contained in the container 12 is transferred to a stirring mechanism (not shown), where it is boiled, coagulated, and molded to produce tofu.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Figure 1 is a cross-sectional view of a tofu manufacturing device to which this invention is applied.
Fig. 2 is a perspective view of the crushing blade according to this invention, Fig. 3 is a sectional view explaining the operation of the tofu manufacturing apparatus of the invention, Fig. 4 is a perspective view of the main part also explaining the operation, and Fig. 5 is the same main part. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of a main part, also illustrating the operation. 30...Crushing blade, 300...Tip (
minute), 27... soy milk separation tank, 10...
Lower body, 20...Motor, 14...
Soy milk tank (upper body), 23... Rotating shaft, 26.
...Float, 40...Clutch mechanism,
41, 42...Clutch plate.

Claims (1)

[Claims for Utility Model Registration] A driving motor provided on the lower body, a soybean milk tank installed on the lower body, a rotating shaft that passes through the soymilk tank and is connected to the motor, and the soymilk tank. a soymilk separation tank comprising a float provided therein and rotatably and vertically movably supported by the rotating shaft; A tofu manufacturing device comprising: a clutch mechanism that releasably connects the rotating shaft and a soymilk separation tank; and a plurality of crushing blades rotatably provided on the rotating shaft near the bottom of the soymilk separating tank. The tofu manufacturing apparatus according to the invention, wherein a tip portion of the crushing blade is formed wide along the circumferential direction of the separation tank.