JP2724367B2 - Continuous slicing device for sponge cake block - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a continuous slicing apparatus for a sponge cake block, and more particularly, to a method for continuously thinly slicing a pre-baked sponge cake block. The present invention relates to a continuous slicing apparatus that detects a rear end face of a sponge cake, automatically removes remaining slice pieces deviating from a predetermined thickness, and obtains only slice pieces of a predetermined thickness.

2. Description of the Related Art In recent years, confectionery containing a content such as custard cream in a skin such as a sponge cake or a castella has been popularized as a confectionery having both a Japanese confectionery flavor and a Western confectionery flavor.

This kind of confectionery is a sponge cake whose hull is once baked, and when the contents are changed to custard cream and changed to that, it becomes something similar to a Japanese confectionery, and it can be used well as a Japanese confectionery, If you add custard cream or fresh cream, you can produce confectionery with a strong Western flavor.

However, this kind of confectionery is mass-produced to a certain extent by the following method, etc. Is molded.

That is, JP-A-51-115959 and JP-A-51-115959
As shown in JP-A-1228459, for example, a kneaded product of eggs, sugar, flour, foaming agent, and milk is fired into a block of a sponge cake, and the sponge cake is sliced into thin pieces having a thickness of about 8 mm. Thereafter, the sliced piece of the sponge cake is cut out into a disk shape using a mold or the like, and the circular sliced piece is placed in a hemispherical mold to form a container. The crust is filled with the custard cream, the upper opening of the crust is closed with fresh sponge cake dough, and then steamed or fired again.

Further, in this method, as described above, it is necessary to slice the block-shaped sponge cake thinly and continuously to form the container-like outer skin, but this slicing is currently performed manually. Have been. However, the sponge cake itself is flexible, and it is extremely difficult to cut smoothly.In addition, performing this manually requires considerable skill, and it is impossible to mass-produce continuously. Significant debris will be produced, and the economics will be greatly impaired.

Therefore, as described in JP-A-63-196223, the present inventor adsorbs the front end surface of the pre-baked sponge cake block body by air pressure and regulates the front end surface in this adsorbed state. A method of cutting a block-shaped sponge cake into sheet-shaped slices was proposed. According to this cutting method, extremely soft and porous sponge cake can be continuously sliced into a sheet having a constant thickness by regulating the sponge cake without damaging the end face. However, according to this method, when slicing from the front end surface is continued and reaches the rear end surface, the thickness of the remaining sheet deviates from the reference thickness. If slicing is continued, the remaining sliced pieces will be sliced together with the sponge cake, and the resulting sliced pieces will be cut into the remaining sheet and the subsequent sponge cake. Is not preferable because it is composed of a part of

Problem to be Solved by the Invention The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned drawbacks. Specifically, the sponge cake is preliminarily baked in a block shape and positioned by suctioning the sponge cake. When slicing sequentially and continuously to the thickness, a part of the tip surface of the sponge cake following this sponge cake is cut off, and when this part reaches a certain distance from the cutting position, it is determined in advance. We propose a device that cuts only the number of cuts and collects the sliced pieces, removes the remaining sponge cake, and slices continuously.

Means for Solving the Problems and the Function thereof In other words, the apparatus according to the present invention has a suction unit for suctioning the block from the front end surface of the belt conveyor that feeds the block of the sponge cake continuously arranged. In a continuous slicing apparatus for slicing a sponge cake sucked by the suction unit to a predetermined thickness by a cutter provided close to the suction unit, an open / close gate is provided between the tip of the belt conveyor and the suction unit. On the other hand, an optical sensor for detecting the passage of the rear end face of the sponge cake at a certain distance from the cutter is provided,
A signal for slicing the block by the number of cuts based on the remaining length of the block obtained based on the detection signal from this optical sensor is sent, and when the number of cuts is reached, a drop signal is sent to the open / close gate to open And a control circuit for causing the control circuit to operate.

Therefore, the configuration and operation of these means will be specifically described with reference to the drawings as follows.

FIG. 1 is a front view of an example of an apparatus for practicing the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the apparatus when a residual sheet is removed, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a block-shaped sponge cake. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the apparatus shown in FIG.

First, in FIG. 1, reference numeral 1 denotes a block-shaped sponge cake (hereinafter, simply referred to as a block), and this block 1 is usually made of flour, chicken eggs, syrup, butter, etc. in advance like ordinary castella. It is manufactured by firing. These block bodies 1 are placed on a conveying track such as a conveyor 2 so that their end faces are pressed against each other, and are fed in the direction of the arrow. A roller 3 is provided on the leading end side of the belt conveyor 2, and a pulley 3a is coupled coaxially with the roller 3, and the pulley 3a is connected to a pulse motor 3c via a drive belt 3b, and the roller 3 is driven by the pulse motor 3c. Usually, it is configured to rotate continuously.

Next, at the tip of the conveyor 2, at least one suction portion such as at least one suction plate 4, usually four suction plates 4 are provided as shown in FIG. And the rotating shaft 4a is intermittently rotated at predetermined intervals.

That is, each suction portion can be configured as long as it can suck the tip end surface of the block body 1. However, usually, a suction hole is formed, and the suction hole is sucked by a suction device provided therein, and the tip end of the block body 1 is formed. Adsorb surface. That is, the rotating shaft 4a that rotates intermittently connects one suction plate 4 to the conveyor 2.
When it stops so as to face the tip surface of the upper block body 1,
The suction plate 4 sucks the front end surface of the block body 1 by air pressure, and the front end surface of the block body 1 comes into close contact with the surface of the suction plate 4. In order to continuously slice the block body 1 in this close contact state, a cutter 5 is provided adjacent to the suction plate 4 and the cutter 5 is lowered to cut the block body 1 into a sheet into a predetermined size.

More specifically, the block body 1 is a sponge cake, the structure of which is extremely porous throughout, and the suction force from the suction hole extends through the pores to the entire block body 1 and the block body 1 The tip surface is sucked, and the position of one end surface is regulated by the suction plate 4.
At this time, if the suction force due to the air pressure from the adsorbent 4 is too large, there is a risk that a part of the front end surface of the block body 1 may enter the suction hole. Part of the end face of the body 1 does not enter the suction hole.

In this close contact state, when the upper cutter 5 is lowered as shown in FIG. 1, it can be cut into a predetermined thickness, an appropriate dimension, for example, a sheet-like slice 6 having a thickness of 2 to 5 mm. Sliced pieces 6 remaining adsorbed on
Means that the suction plate 4 reaches the lowermost position by the rotation of the rotating shaft 4a,
At this time, when the air pressure is removed, the cut sliced pieces 6 fall onto a feed conveyor (not shown), move there, and are sent out by the conveyor.

As described above, the block body 1 is continuously cut into a sheet, and the cut reaches the rear end face of one block body 1, but the sheet 6a that does not reach the predetermined thickness at the rear end face is obtained. For this purpose, a cutter 5 is provided above the conveyor 2.
A rear end face detection device such as an optical sensor 7 is provided at a predetermined distance (l) from the rear end. In this case, the block 1
When the light sensor 7 detects the rear end face, it is difficult to detect the rear end face. From this point, when one corner of the front end face of the subsequent block body 1 is cut as shown in FIG. The rear end face 1a of the block 1 being sliced through 1b
Can be easily detected by the optical sensor 7, and when the rear end face 1a passes immediately below, the length (l) of the remaining portion of the block body 1 to be sliced thereafter is known, and the number of cuts (N) after passing Is required.

That is, since at least one corner of the front end face of the subsequent block body 1 is cut off, a part of the rear end face 1a of the block body 1 being sliced is exposed as shown in FIG. 7, the rear end face 1a is easily detected. In this state, the block 1 in the slice is
The remaining length as a non-sliced portion is a predetermined distance (l). If this length (l) is reduced by, for example, the thickness (t) to be sliced, the number of cuts (N) due to the vertical movement of the cutter 5 is reduced. Desired. For example, the predetermined distance (l) is set to 100 mm
If the thickness (t) to be sliced is 6 mm, the number of cuts (N) is 16.66.
A slice having a thickness of 4 mm remains at the end, and after cutting 16 times, the remaining slice is removed as described later. However, at each cutting, cutting is generated at least by the thickness of the cutter 5,
After about 16 cuts, the 16th slice may not reach a thickness of 6 mm. For this reason, the number of cuts (N) is limited to about (N-1) or (N-2), and 15 or
Cut about 14 times to remove remaining slices.

To perform this automatically, a control circuit is interposed between the optical sensor 7 and the pulse motor 3c for driving the roller 3 and the pulley 3a, as shown in FIG. This control circuit comprises a sequence controller, a pulse oscillator and a pulse motor amplifier. The signal A and the signal B are selectively transmitted from the sequence controller and the pulse motor 3c
Is driven. That is, when the optical sensor 7 detects the rear end face of the block 1 during slicing, an A signal is sent from the sequence controller. The A signal is, for example, a pulse signal of a step corresponding to the thickness when slicing to a thickness of 6 mm. The pulse motor 3c is driven by the A signal from the pulse oscillator, and the block body 1 is continuously sliced. Is done. Thereafter, when the number of cuts reaches, for example, 15 or 16 times, a drop command is transmitted from the sequence controller, the opening and closing gate described later is opened, and the remaining slice pieces are removed.After the removal, the B signal from the sequence controller is removed. In other words, the signal of the step corresponding to the thickness of the removed slice (for example, 10 mm when the thickness is 10 mm)
mm step), the belt conveyor 2 is rapidly fed via the pulse motor 3c, and the leading end surface of the subsequent block body 1 abuts on the corresponding suction plate 4 to start slicing.

In order to remove the remaining slice pieces, an opening / closing gate 8 is interposed between the suction plate 4 and the tip of the belt conveyor 2 as shown in FIG. The opening / closing gate 8 is rotatable about a rotating shaft 8a, and its rotation is driven by a cylinder mechanism 9, and when a drop command is issued from a sequence controller, the cylinder mechanism is driven as shown in FIG. Then, when the opening / closing gate 8 is rotated downward, the remaining slice pieces are dropped and removed.

Further, a part of the subsequent block body 1 is cut at the tip end surface. When the sliced piece is formed into a container shape, as shown by hatching in FIG.

Further, in order to detect the rear end face of the block body 1 of the slice, a part of the rear end face of the block body 1 in the slice is cut without cutting a part of the front end face of the subsequent block body 1 and the subsequent block body 1 is cut. The tip surface of the block body 1 may be detected.

<Effects of the Invention> As described in detail above, the present invention is provided with a suction unit at the tip of a bell conveyor for feeding a block of sponge cakes continuously arranged, from the tip end surface of the bell, In a continuous slicing apparatus for slicing a sponge cake in a state of being sucked by the suction unit to a predetermined thickness by a cutter provided in proximity to the suction unit,
While an opening / closing gate is interposed between the tip of the belt conveyor and the suction unit, an optical sensor for detecting passage of the rear end face of the sponge cake is provided at a fixed distance from the cutter, and further, a detection signal from this optical sensor is provided. A control circuit is provided for sending a signal for slicing the block body by the number of cuts based on the remaining length of the block body determined based on this, and sending a drop signal to the open / close gate when the number of cuts is reached to open the block. It is characterized by the following.

Therefore, according to the present invention, the sponge cake block can be sliced continuously to a constant thickness, and the rear end face and the like of the block can be automatically removed, and the slice pieces adjusted to a constant thickness can be obtained. Can be obtained automatically.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view of an example of an apparatus for practicing the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory view of the apparatus when a residual sheet is removed, and FIG. 3 is a perspective view of a block-shaped sponge cake. FIG. 4 is a block diagram of a control circuit of the apparatus shown in FIG. Reference numeral 1 block body 2 belt conveyor 3 roller 3c pulse motor 4 suction plate 5 cutter 6 slice piece 7 light sensor 8 opening / closing gate

Claims (1)

(57) [Claims] 1. A suction section for sucking a block of sponge cake from a front end surface thereof is provided at a tip of a belt conveyor for feeding a block of sponge cakes arranged continuously, and the suction section is in a state of being sucked by the suction section. In a continuous slicing apparatus for slicing the sponge cake to a predetermined thickness by a cutter provided in the vicinity of the suction unit, an opening / closing gate is interposed between a tip of the belt conveyor and the suction unit, An optical sensor for detecting passage of the rear end face of the sponge cake is provided at a distance of, and further, the number of cuts corresponding to the number of cuts relative to the remaining length of the block obtained based on a detection signal from the optical sensor is provided. A control circuit for sending a signal for slicing, and sending a drop signal to the opening / closing gate when the number of cuts is reached is provided. A continuous slicer for sponge cake blocks.