JPS622789B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention provides a method for making a seaweed mixture, that is, minced seaweed and water, supplied to a seaweed machine in order to uniformize the thickness of seaweed (dried seaweed) as a product to an appropriate thickness. The present invention relates to a method for adjusting the concentration of a mixture with and an apparatus for carrying out the method.

The conventional seaweed production method is suitable for cutting raw seaweed into small pieces using a mincing machine, washing the minced seaweed with water, feeding it to a blending machine, mixing it with water, and feeding it directly to a seaweed machine. A mixture of seaweed and water with a certain concentration is made, the resulting mixture is temporarily stored in a storage stirring tank, and a pump sends the mixture from the storage tank stirring tank to a seaweed machine to cut the seaweed, and the remaining seaweed is was carried out according to the process of returning it to the storage tank stirring tank.

The thickness of the seaweed as a product is determined by the concentration of the mixture of seaweed and water that is sent to the seaweed machine.The higher the concentration of the mixture, the thicker it will be, and the lower the concentration, the thinner it will be. In order to produce thick seaweed, it is necessary to maintain an appropriate and uniform concentration of the mixture supplied to the seaweed machine. Therefore, in the past, blending machines for producing a mixture of seaweed and water were relatively complex. Although we use materials that have a similar structure and can achieve high precision, since we mix minced seaweed, which is close to a solid material, with water, we have the ability to make the mixing ratio uniform. As a result, there were variations in the concentration of the mixture sent to the seaweed machine, making it difficult to make the thickness of the product seaweed appropriate and uniform.

The present invention solves these conventional problems and
Even if the concentration of the mixture in the concentration adjustment tank is out of the appropriate concentration range, the concentration can be automatically adjusted to the appropriate concentration, thereby ensuring an appropriate and uniform thickness of the product nori. The purpose is to improve the performance of

In the method according to the present invention, when the concentration of the mixture in the concentration adjustment tank detected by the concentration sensor is higher than the appropriate concentration, an amount of water corresponding to the difference in concentration is added to the concentration adjustment tank. When the detected concentration is lower than the appropriate concentration, an amount of water corresponding to the difference in concentration is overseparated from the seaweed mixture and drained from the concentration adjustment tank.
The device according to the present invention has a novel configuration in that it adjusts the concentration of the mixture in the concentration adjustment tank to an appropriate concentration, and the device according to the present invention has a concentration sensor that detects the concentration of the mixture in the concentration adjustment tank. When the electrical output signal has a magnitude indicating that the mixture concentration is higher than the appropriate concentration, an amount of water corresponding to the difference between the output signal value and the output signal value representing the appropriate concentration is supplied to the concentration adjustment tank. However, when the mixture concentration has a magnitude indicating that it is lower than the appropriate concentration, an amount of water corresponding to the difference between this output signal value and an output signal value representing the appropriate concentration is drained from the concentration adjustment tank.
a concentration control device that controls the supply and discharge of water to and from the concentration adjustment tank in response to the output signal of the concentration sensor; This device has a novel configuration in that it includes a timer circuit for operating the concentration control device.

Hereinafter, the method and apparatus of the present invention will be described with reference to the accompanying drawings.

Figure 1 of the drawings shows a flow sheet of the method of the present invention, in which the seaweed is minced by cutting it into small pieces using a mincing machine, and the seaweed is thoroughly washed with water to remove saltiness and lint. After removing the miscellaneous items,
By supplying the mixture to a blender and blending it with water, a mixture of seaweed and water having a concentration approximately close to the appropriate concentration suitable for obtaining a product seaweed of a desired thickness is produced. In the normal seaweed manufacturing method, as mentioned above, a high-precision mixing machine with a relatively complicated structure is used to mix seaweed at a ratio that will yield a mixture with an appropriate concentration that can be fed directly to a seaweed machine. However, when adjusting the concentration of a mixture according to the present invention, it is sufficient to create a mixture with a concentration roughly close to the appropriate concentration, so high precision is not required, and therefore the structure A simple and easy-to-handle compounding machine can be used.

The mixture produced by the blending machine with a concentration close to the appropriate concentration is sent to the concentration adjustment tank, and when the water level in the tank reaches the set upper limit water level, the float switch attached to the concentration adjustment tank is activated and the mixture is mixed. An electrical signal is sent to the machine to stop the blender from dispensing the mixture.

The mixture stored in the concentration adjustment tank is continuously stirred to prevent separation of seaweed and water, and its concentration is detected by a concentration sensor installed in the tank, and an electrical output signal indicating the detected concentration is used to control the concentration. sent to the device. When the detected concentration is higher than the appropriate concentration, the concentration control device operates the water supply pump that supplies water to the concentration adjustment tank in response to the output signal of the concentration sensor to supply an amount corresponding to the concentration difference between the detected concentration and the appropriate concentration. Water is supplied to the concentration adjustment tank, and when the detected concentration is lower than the appropriate concentration, the concentration control device operates the valve device or drainage pump attached to the concentration adjustment tank in response to the output signal of the concentration sensor to reduce the detected concentration. An amount of water corresponding to the concentration difference between the mixture and the appropriate concentration is separated from the mixture and drained from the concentration adjustment tank.

In this way, the mixture whose concentration has been adjusted to an appropriate concentration is supplied from the concentration adjustment tank to a seaweed machine to form seaweed, and the remaining seaweed is returned to the concentration adjustment tank. When the water level in the concentration adjustment tank drops to the set lower limit water level, the float switch is activated and a signal is sent to the blender, so the blender's valve device is activated and the mixture is mixed until the water level reaches the set upper limit water level. is supplied to the concentration adjustment tank.

FIG. 2 of the drawings shows an embodiment of the concentration adjustment device for the seaweed mixture of the present invention for carrying out the method of the present invention, in which the concentration adjustment tank 1 is configured to adjust the concentration of the seaweed mixture from the blender 2 close to the appropriate concentration. Concentration mixture and water pump 3
It is installed to receive and store water from the water tank 4 sent by the water tank 4. The concentration adjustment tank is also equipped with a drainage pump 19 equipped with a filter screen 20 for discharging water when the concentration is low. Furthermore, the concentration adjustment tank 1 includes a concentration sensor 5 for detecting the concentration of the mixture of seaweed and water stored in the tank, and a concentration sensor 5 for detecting the concentration of the mixture of seaweed and water stored in the tank, and a sensor 5 for detecting the concentration when the water level in the tank reaches a set upper limit water level and lower limit water level. The concentration sensor 5 has a light emitting part 5a having a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode, and a light emitting part 5a having a light emitting element such as a light emitting diode, and a light emitting part 5a having a light emitting element such as a phototransistor or photodiode depending on the amount of light received. The light receiving part 5b has a light receiving element that changes its electrical output, and the light emitting element of the light emitting part has a light receiving part 5b in order to distinguish the light generated therefrom from sunlight or light from an electric lamp. ,
A modulated signal is supplied from the optical signal generation circuit 7. The optical signal emitted by the light emitting section 5a passes through the mixture that is constantly stirred by the stirrer 8 provided at the bottom of the concentration adjustment tank 1, reaches the light receiving section 5b, and the amount of transmitted light is determined from the light receiving section. An electrical output signal is generated having a magnitude that varies in proportion to, ie, an output signal that varies in magnitude inversely to the concentration of the mixture. After this output signal is amplified by an amplifier 9 and rectified into a DC voltage by a rectifier 10,
The voltage is supplied to the voltage discriminator 11 and discriminated into, for example, seven levels of voltage signals according to the magnitude of the voltage.
Any of the seven differentiated voltage signals is supplied to the display unit 12, and depending on the magnitude of the voltage, any one of the concentration display lamps _L1 to _L7 is turned on, and the concentration sensor 5 Displays the concentration of the mixture detected by. In the figure, lamp L ₁ provides the maximum high density "Dark 3", lamp L ₂ provides the medium high density "Dark 2", lamp L ₃ provides the small high density "Dark 1", and lamp L ₄ is the appropriate concentration
, Lamp L ₅ has a small low density "Light 1", Lamp L ₆ has a medium low density "Light 2", Lamp L ₇
are set to display the maximum low density "Light 3".

Among the voltage signals sent from the voltage discriminator 11 to the display section 12, the "dark 3" signal, "dark 2" signal and "dark 1" signal supplied to the lamps L ₁ , L ₂ and L ₃ are as follows: It is also supplied to the first timer circuit 13 and to the lamps L ₅ , L ₆ and L ₇ . The "thin 1" signal, "thin 2" signal and "thin 3" signal are
The signal is also supplied to the second timer circuit 14, and the "dark 3" signal that lights up the lamp _L1 is also supplied to the second timer circuit 14.
Both the signal and the "Light 3" signal that lights up the lamp _L7 are sent to the alarm circuit 15 to sound a buzzer 16, for example, to notify that the concentration of the mixture is "Thick 3" or "Light 3". There is.

When the first timer circuit 13 receives the "Dark 1" signal, the first timer circuit 13 receives the "Dark 1" signal for a certain predetermined period of time, for example, 2 seconds, and then returns the "Dark 2" signal.
When the signal is received, the output is generated for twice the predetermined time, e.g., 4 seconds, and when the "dense 3" signal is received, the output is generated for three times the predetermined time, e.g., 6 seconds, and the drive circuit 17 of the water supply pump 3 is connected. Then, the water supply pump is operated to supply water to the concentration adjustment tank 1. Also,
The second timer circuit 14 also operates for a certain predetermined time, for example, 2 seconds, when receiving the "thin 1" signal, and for twice the predetermined time, for example, 4 seconds, when receiving the "thin 2" signal.
When the "thin 3" signal is received, an output is generated for three times the predetermined time, for example, 6 seconds, and the drive circuit 18 of the drain pump 19 is activated to operate the drain pump, and only water is removed from the concentration adjustment tank 1. discharge.

Next, the operation of the illustrated concentration adjustment device will be explained. The concentration of the mixture stored in the concentration adjustment tank 1 is detected by the concentration sensor 5, and the lamp _L4 of the display section 12 is turned on based on the output signal. If so, it is indicated that the mixture has the appropriate concentration, and the mixture can be fed to the nori machine as it is. Incidentally, in this case, the first timer circuit 13 also has the second timer circuit 1.
Since no signal is also supplied to the concentration adjustment tank 1, neither water is supplied nor discharged to the concentration adjustment tank 1.

If, for example, the lamp _L1 lights up based on the output signal of the concentration sensor 5 that detects the concentration of the mixture, indicating that the concentration of the mixture is "3", the output from the timer circuit 13 causes the water supply to start. The pump 3 is operated for 6 seconds, for example, and the water is pumped into the concentration adjustment tank 1.
supplied to If, for example, 2 seconds have elapsed after the supply of water has ended and the mixture has been stirred by the stirrer 8 and the concentration of the mixture has been made uniform, the lamp L ₄ will be turned on by the output signal of the concentration sensor 5 and "Suitable" will be displayed. By supplying the water, the concentration of the mixture was adjusted to an appropriate concentration. If, on the other hand, the lamp L ₃ instead of the lamp L ₄ is turned on and "Concentration 1" is displayed, the timer circuit 13 will again operate the water supply lamp 3 for, for example, 2 seconds to fill the concentration adjustment tank 1. The mixture concentration is adjusted to an appropriate concentration by adding and replenishing water to further reduce the concentration of the mixture.

On the contrary, when the output signal of the concentration sensor 5 lights up the lamp L ₆ to indicate that the mixture concentration is "Low 2", the output of the timer circuit 14 causes the drain pump to 19 to drain water from the concentration adjustment tank 1 for, for example, 4 seconds. For example, after the draining operation has elapsed for 2 seconds and the proportion of seaweed has increased and the mixture concentration has become uniform, the lamp _L4 will light up based on the output signal of the concentration sensor, and if "Suitable" is displayed, the concentration of the mixture in the tank will be The concentration has been adjusted to an appropriate level, and if the lamp L ₄ does not light up and, for example, the lamp L ₅ lights up and "Light 1" is displayed, the timer circuit 14 operates the drain pump 19 again. For example, the mixture concentration is adjusted to an appropriate concentration by discharging water from the concentration adjustment tank 1 for 2 seconds to further increase the mixture concentration.

Note that when the mixture in the concentration adjustment tank 1 is sequentially supplied to the seaweed machine and the water level in the tank drops to the set lower limit water level, a signal generated by the float switch 6 causes the valve device of the blending machine 2 to be activated. is activated, a seaweed mixture with a concentration approximately close to the proper concentration is supplied to the concentration adjustment tank 1, and when the water level in the tank rises and reaches the set upper limit water level, a signal generated by the float switch 6 causes the mixture to be Supply will be stopped. The upper limit value of this float switch is set in consideration of the rise in water level due to concentration adjustment.

In this embodiment, the pump 19 is used to drain water from the concentration adjustment tank 1 when the concentration of the mixture is low. Alternatively, the stop may be controlled.

As can be easily understood from the above explanation, according to the method and apparatus of the present invention, the concentration of the seaweed mixture supplied to the seaweed machine can be easily adjusted whether the concentration is too high or too low. Moreover, since the concentration can be automatically adjusted to an appropriate level and kept almost constant, it is possible to achieve the effect of making the thickness of the product seaweed appropriate and uniform, making it extremely useful for seaweed production. be.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 of the accompanying drawings is a float sheet showing a method for adjusting the concentration of a seaweed mixture according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the apparatus for adjusting the concentration of a seaweed mixture according to the present invention. In the figure, 1 is a concentration adjustment tank, 2 is a blender, and 3
is a water supply pump, 4 is a water tank, 5 is a concentration sensor, 6 is a float switch, 7 is an optical signal generation circuit, 8 is a stirrer, 9 is an amplifier, 10 is a rectifier, 11 is a voltage discriminator, 12 is a display unit, 13 , 14 is a timer circuit;
15 is an alarm circuit, 16 is a buzzer, 17 and 18 are drive circuits, 19 is a drainage pump, and 20 is an overuse screen.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. After mincing raw seaweed and washing it with water, the minced seaweed is mixed with water in a blending machine to make a mixture of seaweed and water. The mixture is roughly mixed in advance in a ratio that will yield a mixture with a concentration close to the appropriate concentration suitable for supplying to the seaweed, and the resulting mixture is supplied to a concentration adjustment tank while stirring to prevent separation of seaweed and water. Once stored in a concentration adjustment tank, the concentration of the mixture is detected by a concentration sensor installed in this concentration adjustment tank, and when the detected concentration is higher than the appropriate concentration, an amount of water corresponding to the concentration difference is added to the concentration adjustment tank. When the detected concentration is lower than the appropriate concentration, only the required amount of moisture in the concentration adjustment tank corresponding to the concentration difference is passed through the mixture and discharged out of the tank, and after supplying or discharging that water, stirring. The concentration of the mixture in the concentration adjustment tank is adjusted to the appropriate concentration by repeating the above operation at predetermined intervals when the concentration in the concentration adjustment tank becomes uniform. A method for adjusting the concentration of a seaweed mixture, which comprises supplying the mixture to a seaweed machine. 2. Equipped with a blender that creates a mixture of seaweed and water roughly mixed at a concentration suitable for supplying to the seaweed machine, and a stirrer that prevents the mixture supplied in an appropriate amount from the blender from separating into seaweed and water. a concentration adjustment tank, a seaweed mixture concentration sensor equipped with the same concentration adjustment device, a water supply means for supplying dilution water into the concentration adjustment tank, and a filter that drains only water from the mixture in the concentration adjustment tank to the outside of the tank. When the signal detected by the drainage means and the concentration sensor indicates a high concentration, the water supply means supplies dilution water into the concentration adjustment tank, and when the signal indicates a low concentration, the overdrainage means drains the water out of the tank. It is equipped with a concentration control device that performs control to discharge water, and a timer circuit that operates the concentration control device at predetermined time intervals when the concentration in the concentration adjustment tank becomes uniform by stirring after water is supplied or discharged. Concentration adjustment device for seaweed mixture.