JP2933122B2 - Circulating food immersion equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a circulating food immersion apparatus, and more particularly to a circulating food immersion apparatus for immersing food in a liquid for a certain period of time such as frying.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art A circulation type food immersion apparatus as shown in FIG. 4 is conventionally known as an apparatus for efficiently producing fried foods.

[0003] Such a conventional circulating food immersion apparatus,
A plurality of sweeping blades c are made to run on an endless conveyor belt d vertically mounted in an oil b put in an oil tank a, and e is a driving wheel for driving the belt d.
It is driven by a motor i via a gear i. f is a driven wheel, and h is an oil drain pad.

[0004] When the fried food g is fried, the fried food g is placed on the upper part of the belt d. Then, the fried product g travels in the heated oil b while being pushed by the sweeping blade c with the traveling of the belt d, and is fried in the process.

Then, the oil is discharged onto the oil draining pad h.

According to such a circulation type food immersion apparatus,
By adjusting the running speed of the belt d, the frying time can be set and changed arbitrarily, it is possible to eliminate the fluctuation of the frying time, and it is possible to supply the frying efficiently, so that it can be used in fast food stores, schools, It can be said that it is relatively suitable for providing fried food to general consumers, students, students, workers, and office workers in cafeterias such as factories and companies.

[0007]

However, the above-mentioned conventional circulating food immersion apparatus has the following problems.

That is, both the lower part and the upper part of the belt d are oil tanks a.
Therefore, there is a problem in that the amount of the oil b that must be put into the oil tank a is inevitably increased because the oil b is immersed in the oil b.

[0009] That is, when oil is heated to a temperature at which frying is performed (depending on the type of frying, for example, 180 ° C or the like), the oil is severely oxidized and deteriorates. In this case, not only the part of the oil a in the oil tank a that is actually fried, but also the entire oil b in the oil tank a is deteriorated. And if the deterioration progresses to some extent, the entire oil b must be replaced,
As the amount of the oil b in the oil tank a increases, the waste of the oil b increases. Originally, oil b is by no means inexpensive, and especially expensive ones are quite expensive, so such waste cannot be overlooked.

[0010] Further, the generation of a large amount of wasted oil b also causes an increase in the cost required for treating waste oil,
It is also a negative factor for environmental protection. Therefore, although it is very important to reduce the amount of the oil b to be put into the oil tank a,
The conventional circulation type food immersion apparatus shown in FIG. 4 cannot meet such a demand.

Further, the conventional circulation type food immersion apparatus includes sweeping blades c, c,..., A driving wheel e, a driven wheel f, and a belt d.
Is in the oil b, it is always very dirty, and it is necessary to frequently clean it. However, it is extremely troublesome to clean these, and the cleaning cannot be performed unless the oil b is extracted from the oil tank a. there were. In particular, during the frying, a large amount of oily debris and debris is generated in the oil b, and the frying must be performed while always taking it, which is extremely troublesome and hinders automation of the frying. Was a factor.

Further, the conventional circulation type food immersion apparatus shown in FIG. 4 has a problem that it is difficult to remove oily scum, debris, and the like in the oil b. In particular, oil residue and debris are swept blades c,
Due to c,..., there is a tendency to gather in the lower right part (near the driven wheel f) in the tank a in FIG. 4, which accumulates undesirably because it promotes deterioration of oil quality.

Further, in the conventional circulation type food immersion apparatus shown in FIG. 4, not only the belt f but also the driving wheel e and the driven wheel f on which the belt f is hung are immersed in the oil b in the oil tank a. It is necessary to maintain airtightness (liquid tightness) between the drive wheel e, the driven wheel f, and a mechanism for supporting or driving them, and the circulating food immersion apparatus is complicated and expensive, and However, there is also a problem that it easily breaks down.

The present invention has been made in order to solve such problems, and the amount of liquid to be immersed in food can be reduced in the liquid tank, and maintenance such as cleaning is easy. It is an object of the present invention to provide a novel circulating food immersion apparatus which does not require a mechanism for maintaining liquid tightness between the mechanism side and the liquid in the liquid tank, and therefore can have a relatively simple structure.

[0015]

According to a first aspect of the present invention, there is provided a circulating food immersion apparatus in which an endless traveling body is fixed on one side of a liquid tank at a position higher than a liquid in the liquid tank along an endless track. A driving mechanism for traveling in the direction is provided, and the traveling body is provided with a cantilever sweeping blade so as to extend from there above the liquid tank,
When the food passes through the lower part of the endless track, the food enters the liquid in the liquid tank, and the food moves while pushing, and is eventually swept out of the liquid tank.

Therefore, according to the circulation type food immersion apparatus of the first aspect, only the sweeping blade when passing through the lower part of the endless track needs to enter the liquid in the liquid tank in the main components of the apparatus. Therefore, the amount of liquid to be put into the liquid tank can be smaller than before. Therefore, the amount of liquid used and the amount of disposal are small, and it is extremely economical, and the risk of polluting the environment can be reduced.

Further, since only the sweeping blades that pass through the lower part of the endless track need enter the liquid in the liquid tank in the main components of the apparatus, various kinds of maintenance including cleaning of the apparatus are extremely easy. it can. Of course, it is not necessary to drain the liquid in the liquid tank for various maintenance including cleaning.
That is, many of the main components of the apparatus can be cleaned or otherwise cleaned while the liquid remains in the liquid tank.

Further, the driving mechanism for driving the sweeping blades includes:
Originally, it is completely outside the liquid tank and has no place in contact with the liquid in the liquid tank, so that it is not necessary to provide a liquid-tight mechanism for separating the liquid and the drive mechanism.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, there is provided a circulation type food immersion apparatus according to the first aspect, wherein a tip of each sweeping blade slides on a bottom surface in the liquid tank when traveling on a horizontal line forming a lower part of an endless track. Or, it is configured to move at a position slightly separated from the inner bottom surface, and the bottom surface of the end of the liquid tank which is swept out by the sweeping blade is formed in an arc shape along the track of the tip of the blade. And

Therefore, according to the circulating food immersion apparatus of the present invention, not only can the food immersed in the liquid be automatically discharged from the end of the liquid tank by the sweeping blade, but also scum and debris in the liquid can be removed. It can be automatically discarded by being swept out of the end of the liquid tank by a sweeping blade.

Therefore, the immersed food can be automatically taken out of the liquid tank and the wastes and debris in the liquid can be automatically discarded outside the liquid tank.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, there is provided a circulation type food immersion apparatus according to the first or second aspect, wherein a sweeping blade is detachably attached to the traveling body.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, since the sweeping blade is detachable from the traveling body, the sweeping blade can be easily replaced, and the sweeping blade can be easily removed by removing the sweeping blade. Can be groomed. Therefore,
Extremely hygienic.

[0024]

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS Hereinafter, the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the illustrated embodiments.

1 to 3 show a first embodiment of the circulating food immersion apparatus of the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view, FIG. 2 is a front view, and FIG. 3 is a line 3-3 in FIG. FIG.

In the drawings, reference numeral 1 denotes an oil tank (corresponding to a liquid tank in the claims) in which an oil for frying (corresponding to a liquid in the claims) 2 is put. One end of the oil tank 1,
Specifically, the bottom surface of the left end in FIGS. 1 and 2 is formed in an arc shape. The reason will become clear later. Reference numeral 3 denotes a gas burner provided on the lower side of the oil tank 1 for heating the oil 2 in the oil tank 1.

Reference numeral 4 denotes one side of the oil tank 1, specifically, FIG.
A drive mechanism holding box, which is provided upright on the rear side in FIG. 2 and on the left side in FIG. 3, holds a drive mechanism for driving the sweeping blades in the box 4. Reference numeral 5 denotes a bottom surface of the box 4, which faces the oil tank 1 side, and is referred to as a surface of the box 4 on the oil tank 1 side.

Reference numeral 6 denotes a chain (corresponding to a traveling body in the claims) provided inside the box 4 so as to be able to travel along one track-like endless track. 7 and the driven wheel 8 are engaged and suspended.

The track-shaped endless track 9 on which the chain 6 travels (see the lower part of FIG. 1) includes a pair of horizontal lines 9a and 9b which are vertically separated from each other and parallel to the longitudinal direction of the oil tank 1, and the position thereof is the oil tank. The height is appropriately higher than the surface (liquid level) of the oil 1 in the liquid. Arrow 10 indicates the running direction of the chain 6.

Reference numeral 11 denotes a motor for rotating the driving wheels, and 12
Is a control box in which a control unit for controlling the motor 9 and the like is stored.

Numerals 13, 13... Are sweeping blades attached to the chain 6, which run above the oil tank 1 and enter the oil 2 when running on the horizontal line 9a below the endless track 9 to feed food. When the product reaches the end, the product is swept out to the food discharge section 14 outside the oil tank 1.

Since the sweeping blades 13, 13,... Are not directly attached to the chain 6, the attachment thereof will be described in detail.

The oil tank 1 of the box 4 is attached to the chain 6.
Are provided to project toward the oil tank 1 through holes formed in the side surface 5, and a receiver 16 is provided at a tip of each of the support members 15. Each of the receivers 16 has a hole into which a substantially cylindrical fitting portion (18) described later fits, and when the substantially cylindrical fitting portion (18) fits into the hole, the detachment is prevented. In addition, for example, two springs for defining the direction (extended direction of the sweeping blade) are incorporated.

On the other hand, a support piece 17 is attached to the bottom surface of one end of each sweeping blade 13, and a column-shaped fitting portion that fits with the receiver 16 at an end of the support piece 17 opposite the sweeping blade. 1
The sweeping blade 13 is attached to the chain 6 by fitting the cylindrical fitting portion 18 to the receiving member 16.
It is indirectly attached to. Then, when the sweeping blade 13 is pulled against the elasticity of the built-in spring of the receiver 16, the columnar fitting portion 18 comes off the receiver 16. Therefore, the sweeping blades 13, 13,... Are detachable from the chain 6.

The direction of each sweeping blade 13 is defined so as to extend outward at a right angle to the chain 6 when viewed from the front with respect to the chain 6 by the action of a spring built in the receiver 16. The sweeping blades 13 are formed in a net shape in order to reduce the resistance when traveling in the oil 2.

In the present circulation type food immersion apparatus, the motor 1
When 1 rotates, the chain 6 becomes a track-like endless track 9
Drive on. Each sweeping blade 13 is connected to the chain 6
When the part to which the vehicle is attached travels on the horizontal line 9a below the endless track 9, the vehicle travels in the oil 2 in the direction shown by the arrow 10a in FIG. The bottom surface of the oil tank 1 is at the height of a trajectory drawn by the tip 13a of the sweeping blade 13 traveling in the oil 2 (that is, the tip 13a of the sweeping blade 13 slides on the inner bottom surface of the liquid tank or slightly from the inner bottom surface. To move away from each other), and
The left end of the oil tank 1 in FIG. 1 is formed in an arc shape according to the trajectory drawn by the tip 13a of the sweeping blade 13. 1b is a portion whose bottom surface is formed in an arc shape. This is because there is no gap between the sweeping blade 13 and the bottom surface of the oil tank 1 so that even the oily debris and debris settled on the bottom surface of the oil tank 1 can be removed by the sweeping blade 13 from the food discharging unit on the left side of the oil tank 1. 14 so that it can be scrapped.

When frying the fried food with this circulation type food dipping apparatus, the oil 2 in the oil tank 1 is heated to a predetermined temperature (for example, 180 ° C.) by the gas burner 3 and the motor 6 is rotated to rotate the chain 6. The vehicle is driven at a speed corresponding to a predetermined frying time. Then, for example, a material to be fried (for example, fish or vegetables with rolls made of flour or the like, or fish or vegetables that do not stick) is placed in the portion shown in FIG. Then, the object is swept in oil 2
3 and is advanced in the direction of the arrow in FIG. 1 and fried in the process.

Then, the fried food is swept out to the food discharge section 14 outside the oil tank 1 through the discharge side end 14 of the oil tank 1. In addition, oil scum and debris generated in the oil 2 are also discharged from the food discharge unit 1.
It is scraped by 4.

According to such a circulation type food immersion apparatus,
The main components of the apparatus (such as a thermometer for measuring the temperature of the oil 2 in the oil 2, which is not an essential component in the circulating food immersion apparatus of the present invention) enter the oil 2 in the oil tank 1. Is sufficient only for the sweeping blades 13 when passing through the lower part 9a of the endless track 9, so that the oil 2
Is smaller than before. Therefore, the amount of oil 2 to be used and the amount of disposal are small, which is extremely economical and can reduce the risk of polluting the environment.

Further, since most of the main components of the apparatus do not enter the oil 2, various kinds of maintenance including cleaning of the apparatus can be extremely easily performed. Of course, it is not necessary to drain the oil 2 in the oil tank 1 for various maintenance including cleaning. That is, many of the main components of the apparatus can be cleaned or otherwise cleaned while the liquid remains in the liquid tank.

In addition, since the sweeping blade 13 can be freely attached and detached, it can be removed for maintenance such as cleaning and repair, and the maintenance is extremely easy.

Furthermore, since the drive mechanism for driving the sweeping blades 13 is completely outside the oil tank 1 and has no place in contact with the oil 2 in the oil tank 1, a liquid-tight mechanism for separating the oil 2 and the drive mechanism is provided. No need to provide. Therefore, the mechanism does not need to be complicated, and the cost of the apparatus can be reduced.

Further, not only can the fried material immersed in the oil 2 and fried can be automatically discharged from the end of the oil tank 1 onto the food discharge section 14 by the sweeping blade 13, but also scraps and debris in the oil 2 can be swept. By means of 13, it is possible to scrape the food onto the food discharge section 14 and discard it.

Accordingly, the fried food can be automatically taken out of the oil tank 1 and the waste and debris in the oil 2 can be automatically discarded outside the oil tank 1, greatly contributing to labor saving.

In the above embodiment, the chain 6 is used as a traveling body driven by the motor 11 for traveling the sweeping blades 13, 13,...
It is not indispensable to do so, and for example, a belt may be used instead.

The present invention can be applied not only to fried foods, but also to boiled noodles such as buckwheat, udon and ramen.

[0047]

According to the circulation type food immersion apparatus of the first aspect, only the sweeping blade when passing through the lower part of the endless track needs to enter the liquid in the liquid tank in the main component of the apparatus. Therefore, the amount of liquid to be put into the liquid tank can be smaller than before. Therefore, the amount of liquid used and the amount of disposal are small, and it is extremely economical, and the risk of polluting the environment can be reduced.

Further, since only the sweeping blades that pass through the lower part of the endless track need enter the liquid in the liquid tank in the main components of the apparatus, various kinds of maintenance including cleaning of the apparatus are extremely easy. it can. Of course, it is not necessary to drain the liquid in the liquid tank for various maintenance including cleaning.
That is, many of the main components of the apparatus can be cleaned or otherwise cleaned while the liquid remains in the liquid tank.

Further, since the drive mechanism for driving the sweeping blade is completely outside the liquid tank and has no place in contact with the liquid in the liquid tank, there is no need to provide a liquid tight mechanism for separating the liquid and the drive mechanism.

According to the circulating food immersion apparatus of claim 2,
Not only can the food immersed in the liquid be automatically discharged from the end of the liquid tank by the sweeping blade, but also scraps and debris in the liquid can be automatically disposed of by scraping off the end of the liquid tank by the sweeping blade. It is possible.

Therefore, the immersed food can be automatically taken out of the liquid tank and scum and debris in the liquid can be automatically discarded outside the liquid tank, which can greatly contribute to labor saving.

According to the circulation type food immersion apparatus of the third aspect,
Since the sweeping blade is detachable from the traveling body, the sweeping blade can be easily replaced, and the cleaning blade can be removed for easy maintenance such as cleaning. Therefore, it is extremely hygienic.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a first embodiment of a circulation type food immersion apparatus of the present invention.

FIG. 2 is a front view of the first embodiment.

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken along line 3-3 of FIG. 2;

FIG. 4 is a schematic cross-sectional view of a conventional example.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Liquid tank (oil tank) 1b Sweep-side end part which formed the bottom of liquid tank in arc shape 2 Liquid (oil) in liquid tank 6 Carriage (chain) 9 Endless track 9a Horizontal line which constitutes the lower part of endless track 13 Sweeping feather

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. A liquid tank for storing a liquid in which food is immersed, and at least one horizontal line below one end of the liquid tank at a position higher than the liquid in the tank and an endless traveling body. A drive mechanism provided so as to travel in a certain direction while drawing one endless track, and a cantilever for the traveling body so as to extend upward from the liquid tank from there.
When the part attached to the traveling body passes through the horizontal line that forms the lower part of the endless track, it enters the liquid in the liquid tank, moves while pushing the food, and eventually moves out of the liquid tank. A circulating food immersion device, comprising: 2. The traveling blade moves along a horizontal line which forms a lower part of an endless track. The tip of each sweeping blade slides on the inner bottom surface of the liquid tank or moves at a position slightly separated from the inner bottom surface. 2. The circulation type food immersion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the bottom surface of the end of the sweeping blade that is swept out by the sweeping blade is formed in an arc shape along the trajectory of the tip of the sweeping blade. 3. The circulation type food immersion apparatus according to claim 1, wherein a sweeping blade is detachably attached to the traveling body.