JPS6225328B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION [Industrial Field of Application] The present invention relates to a tea manufacturing method for softening tea leaves that have undergone a twisting process.

[Conventional technology]

Conventionally, the tea manufacturing method involves gradually drying and shaping the tea at a temperature of about 36 to 40°C using hot air or direct heating while applying mechanical forces such as soft pressure or diffusion.

[Problem that the invention seeks to solve]

In the conventional method, it is necessary to maintain a temperature of about 36 to 40 degrees Celsius during tea processing and to perform constant drying while suppressing the progress of surface drying. If this is not done, the color of the tea leaves will change to yellow. Poor shape and fine powder
The taste is grassy or stuffy, leading to quality deterioration.

[Means for solving problems]

Tea leaves are processed in a reduced pressure atmosphere lower than atmospheric pressure to promote the evaporation of water and to quickly move the internal water contained in the tea leaves to the surface, thereby improving the release of water contained in the tea leaves. By increasing the temperature, drying and shaping operations can be carried out rationally, thereby reducing factors that cause quality deterioration such as stuffiness.

[Effect]

The tea leaves that have undergone the previous process of softening and twisting are passed through the input chute 17 from the input port 14 by opening the opening/closing lid 13 of the input port 14 provided in the drying container 9, and are then transferred from the input cylinder 4 to the medium softener 2. After dropping a certain amount into the barrel 1, the opening/closing lid 13 of the inlet 14 is closed, and the medium softening machine 2, the exhaust fan 11, and the blower 21 and heating device 22 in the circulation heating circuit A are started. Then, the medium-softening process begins.

The air inside the sealed drying container 9 is removed by an exhaust fan 11.
The air pressure inside the drying container 9 is maintained at a reduced pressure state, which is lower than the atmospheric pressure.
The air in the space inside the chamber 20 of the drying container 9 is drawn in, heated by the heating device 22, and then heated and rectified through the discharge duct 19 and into the soft body 1 through the air inlet 5 on the side of the soft soft machine 2. The air is blown into contact with the tea leaves that are being diffused under soft pressure by the hand rather than being rotated, and the water content of the tea leaves is evaporated and the temperature is lowered by the latent heat of vaporization taken away, while the humidity is increased and the exhaust pipe 6 is The hot air is discharged from the top opening of the fan case 7 into the chamber 20 of the drying container 9, and is repeatedly circulated while being heated under the control of the temperature regulator 23 while evaporating the moisture in the tea leaves. In order to increase the
5 or by controlling the opening degree manually to continue the softening process while maintaining the ventilation inside the drying container 9, which is sealed and under reduced pressure, to maintain the reduced pressure state.

The airflow characteristics of an exhaust fan are that when the resistance (static pressure loss) on the suction side exceeds a certain value, the amount of air exhausted becomes zero, and conversely, as the suction resistance decreases, the amount of air exhausted increases, and the suction resistance becomes zero. The exhaust air volume is maximum at . Therefore, by continuously operating the exhaust fan 11 of the drying container 9, when the outside air suction valve mechanism 25 is fully open, the pressure inside the drying container 9 is reduced below atmospheric pressure, and when it reaches a certain value, the suction resistance decreases. At the maximum, no ventilation is performed from the exhaust fan 11 and the exhaust fan runs idly, so that no air enters or exits from the exhaust fan 11, and the inside of the drying container is isolated from the outside. When the outside air suction valve mechanism 25' is opened as the humidity inside the drying container increases, outside air is drawn into the room due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the drying container 9, and the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the drying container 9 decreases. Indoor air is discharged, and the amount of discharged air increases or decreases automatically in proportion to the amount of intake air, that is, the opening degree of the outside air intake valve mechanism 2.

At the end of the soft-softening process, the tea leaves are automatically opened by the discharge door 3 provided on the rotating soft body 1 and transferred to the vibrating conveyor 8.
When the tea leaves are started, the tea leaves dropped onto the vibrating conveyor 8 are moved to the end of the drying container 9 and then passed through the discharge port 16.
The opening/closing lid 15 is opened and the drying container 9 is discharged to the outside, and after the discharge is completed, the opening/closing lid 15 is closed to seal the inside.

〔Example〕

Reference numeral 1 denotes a rotary soft body of a medium softener 2, and this soft body 1 has a discharge door 3 that can be opened and closed, a feeding cylinder 4 and a hot air blowing port 5 on one side, and a built-in fan on the other side. An exhaust pipe 6 connected to the case 7 is attached. A vibrating conveyor 8 is installed at the bottom of the medium softening machine to transport the tea balls that are discharged.
and the medium softening machine are housed in a sealed space inside a drying container 9 made of a heat insulating material. The drying container 9 has an exhaust port 1
0 is provided, and an exhaust pipe 12 provided with an exhaust fan 11 is connected to this exhaust port 10.

Further, in the drying container 9, an input port 14 provided with an opening/closing lid 13 is connected to the input tube 4 of the soft softening machine 2 through an input chute 17, and an output port 16 is connected to the output end 8' of the vibrating conveyor 8. There is.

Furthermore, the interior 20 of the drying container 9 has a suction duct 18.
The suction duct 18 of the circulation heating circuit A constituted by a discharge duct 19 is connected to the suction duct 18 of the circulation heating circuit A, and the discharge duct 19 of the circulation heating circuit A is connected to the hot air blowing port 5 provided in the soft body 1. A blower 21 and a heating device 22 are provided in the circulation heating circuit A, and the heating device 22 is connected to a temperature regulator 23 provided in the discharge duct 19 to control the heating device 22.

The suction duct 18 of the circulation heating circuit A is provided with an outside air suction valve mechanism 25 connected to a humidity controller 24 attached to the drying container 9.

〔Effect of the invention〕

In the present invention, tea processing is carried out by maintaining the air pressure in a sealed drying container, indoors, and inside the soft body of a medium softener in a reduced pressure state lower than atmospheric pressure, so that the evaporation of water is promoted and the internal moisture contained By speeding up the movement of water to the surface and increasing the release of the contained moisture, drying and shaping operations can be performed rationally, and factors that cause quality deterioration such as stuffiness can be reduced. In other words, a high quality product can be obtained.

In addition, the temperature and humidity inside and outside of the tea making and softening machine can be adjusted and dust-proof measures can be taken by sealing the machine, which is advantageous in terms of automatic control.In addition, heat consumption can be significantly reduced and noise leakage to the outside can be reduced. There is an effect that can be done.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

The drawing is a longitudinal cross-sectional view showing an embodiment of an apparatus according to the tea making and softening method according to the present invention. 1...Soft body, 2...Medium soft machine, 3...Ejection door, 4
...Injection pipe, 5...Hot air inlet, 6...Exhaust pipe,
7...Fan case, 8...Vibration conveyor, 9...
...Drying container, 10...Exhaust port, 11...Exhaust fan,
12...Exhaust tube, 13, 15...Opening/closing lid, 14...
...Inlet, 16...Outlet, 17...Input chute, 18...Suction duct, 19...Discharge duct,
20...Drying container interior, 21...Blower, 22...
...Heating device, 23...Temperature controller, 24...Humidity regulator, 25...Outside air suction valve mechanism, A...Circulating heating device.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. The tea making and softening machine is stored inside a sealed drying container, and the air in this indoor closed space is continuously forced out to the outside by operating an exhaust fan and stored inside the drying container and inside the drying container. While maintaining the pressure inside the soft body of the medium softener in a reduced pressure state lower than atmospheric pressure, one side attached to the reduced pressure drying container is connected to the room, and the other side is a blower, a heating device, and the like connected to the medium softer machine. A circulation heating circuit consisting of a duct rectifies and heats the air inside the container, and this rectified and heated reduced-pressure hot air flow is discharged into the inside of the tea making and softening machine from the hot air inlet of the tea making and softening machine housed inside the drying container. Then, the tea leaves put into the machine are rotated and spread under soft pressure by hand, etc., and the moisture in the tea leaves is evaporated, while the hot air with increased humidity is exhausted into the drying container from the exhaust port of the tea processing and softening machine. While repeating the above, the humidity and/or temperature of the circulating hot air air stream is detected by a temperature and humidity regulator attached to the drying container or the circulation heating circuit, and the humidity and/or temperature are communicated with the humidity regulator and the temperature regulator, or manually. Depending on the opening degree of the outside air suction valve mechanism that communicates with the outside, the amount of outside air is drawn in from the outside by the exhaust fan attached to the drying container while maintaining a depressurized state inside the drying container due to the pressure difference between the inside and outside of the drying container. A method for making and softening tea, which is characterized in that the air inside the drying container corresponding to the amount of water is discharged to the outside of the drying container along with evaporated water to soften the tea leaves.