JP3234664B2 - Food molding 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 food molding apparatus for molding food into an arbitrary shape, and more particularly, to a small-sized food having a simple structure which is particularly effective for making rice balls and sushi balls from cooked rice or the like. It relates to a molding device.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, various food forming apparatuses for continuously supplying cooked rice supplied in a hopper to form rice balls and sushi balls have been provided for business use. In such a conventional food molding apparatus, cooked rice from a hopper is supplied from a supply passage formed into a narrowed end to a turntable disposed below the supply passage. The turntable is installed so that its rotation axis is upright, and a plurality of openings cut into a desired shape are provided inside the turntable at appropriate intervals near the circumference of the turntable. When a predetermined amount of cooked rice from the supply passage is sequentially supplied to these openings, for example, the turntable rotates by a predetermined angle and is pressed by a pressing member descending from above, and after the pressing member is raised again, When rotated, the bottom plate member located under the opening is removed from the cooked rice supply section to the pressing step of the pressing member, and is discharged to the opening of the turntable.

[0003]

As described above, the structure of the conventional food molding apparatus is complicated, and as a result, the apparatus becomes large and expensive. Therefore, large stores and franchise chain stores that need to process large amounts of rice balls and sashimi balls have a great advantage in installing them, but convenience is recognized in stores with small sales volumes. At present, it cannot be installed.

[0004] Therefore, an object of the present invention is to provide a small-sized and inexpensive product with a simple structure, and to automatically form food into a desired shape, similarly to a conventional large-sized commercial food molding apparatus. It is to provide a food molding device.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a food molding apparatus which can adjust the tension of the conveying means and can easily exchange the conveying means.

[0006]

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION The food forming apparatus of the present invention, an endless conveying means is passed to move by rollers disposed a pair of spaced, in the direction of movement upstream of the conveying means A supply unit configured to supply the molded food to the conveying unit, and a pair of molding units configured to form the molded food by moving in the direction in which the conveying unit is disposed in a detachable manner in the moving direction downstream and in the width direction of the conveying unit. A molding member, a plurality of extruded members attached to the conveying means at intervals, and extruding the molded food from the supply means in the moving direction of the conveying means, and the extruded member sends the molded food to the molding member. And a control mechanism for controlling the mold members so as to allow the molded food to pass through by opening these molded members, positioning the food to be molded therebetween, and then reopening to allow the molded food to pass therethrough. To have.

[0007] In this case, one of the pair of rollers is supported so as to be able to adjust the distance from the other roller, and a link mechanism that movably supports the one roller, and an adjusting means that adjusts the angle of the link mechanism. Is further provided.

Further, the control mechanism may be constituted by a cam plate provided on the molding die member and a cam shaft provided on the pushing member, and the control mechanism may be performed by engaging these members.

[0009]

According to this configuration, the food to be molded supplied from the supply means is supplied to the moving transport means, and is sent to the molding die member by the extrusion member. The molding member is held in an open state by the control mechanism, and the molded food delivered by the extruding member is located between the molding members. After the molded food is located between the mold members, the control mechanism controls the molded mold member to be closed, and by closing the molded food, the molded food is shaped to follow the mold member. The formed molded food is opened again by the control mechanism and the molded food is allowed to pass through.

[0010] One of the pair of rollers supporting the conveying means is supported so as to adjust the distance from the other roller, so that the tension of the conveying means can be easily adjusted by adjusting the adjusting means. In addition to the adjustment of the tension, the exchange of the transport means can be performed very easily.

By forming the control mechanism with a cam plate and a cam shaft, for example, the cam plate is interlocked with the forming die member, and by providing the cam shaft on the extruding member, the forming mechanism is interlocked with the movement of the extruding member. The mold members can be separated from and separated from each other, and the mechanism can be easily configured.

[0012]

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the present invention; In this embodiment, an example is described in which cooked rice is formed into a rice ball having a substantially triangular side edge. In addition, the front end and the rear end refer to a case along the traveling direction of the rice ball. The food forming apparatus 1 includes a hopper 2 that supplies a predetermined amount of cooked rice, a feed unit 3 that takes out a predetermined amount of cooked rice from the hopper 2, and a forming unit that shapes and discharges the cooked rice from the feed unit 3 into triangular rice balls. And 4. Since the hopper 2 provided on the feed section 3 may be a conventional nipple for business use, a conventional ball forming apparatus may be used, and a detailed description thereof will be omitted.

The feeding section 3 and the forming section 4 are mounted on a rectangular casing 5 extending in the traveling direction of the rice ball. The housing 5 has an upper plate 6 and left and right (up and down in the drawing) side plates 7, and the inside is hollow. On one side of the housing 5, there is provided a table 8 which is one step lower. The table 8 is composed of switches, a controller and the like for turning on / off the power of the food molding apparatus 1 and adjusting the molding speed. A control panel 9 is mounted.

The feeding section 3 includes a tension roller 11 provided on the rear side below the dropout port 10 of the hopper 2,
The tension roller 11 and a drive roller 12 disposed in front of the housing 5 with a space therebetween in the longitudinal direction, and an endless transport belt 13 that rotates between the tension roller 11 and the drive roller 12. Have. Each axis 14, 15 of the tension roller 11 and the drive roller 12
Are rotatably supported by both side plates 7. The outer peripheral surface of one end in the axial direction of the drive roller 12 has a gear shape, and this portion meshes with an intermediate gear 19 that meshes with a gear 18 of a drive shaft 17 of a drive motor 16 provided in the housing 5. 1 and rotate clockwise in FIG. The conveyor belt 13 is coated on its surface with a synthetic resin having a small coefficient of friction such as a tetrafluoroethylene resin so that cooked rice does not stick. At the approximate center of the conveyor belt 13, a plurality of press dies 21 each having a surface coated with a synthetic resin having a low coefficient of friction such as tetrafluoroethylene resin are fixed at appropriate intervals by bolts 22 and the like. . Stamping die 21
Has a thickness approximately equal to the thickness of the rice ball,
The front end has an arc portion 23 having substantially the same shape as one side edge of the triangular rice ball, and the rear end has an inclined surface formed so that the vertex is located at the center in the width direction. The two bolts 22 are provided at an interval in the width direction of the conveyor belt 13, and each lower end thereof is connected to the conveyor belt 13.
Of the cam shaft 2 having a smooth cylindrical portion.
It is four.

The forming part 4 is provided in front of a support part 25 for supporting the dropper 10 of the hopper 2 on the upper side of the conveyor belt 13 on the side of the tension roller 11. Upper surface forming plate member 26 for forming the upper surface of the triangular onigiri and covering the upper surface of the triangular onigiri so as to be positioned with a large gap therebetween, and an arc surface 30 for forming the two side edges of the triangular onigiri. Have a pair of side edge forming mold members 27 and 28 formed respectively. A leveling roller 20 for leveling the rice cooked from the dropper 10 of the hopper 2 is rotatably supported by the supporter 25. The upper surface forming plate member 26 and the side edge forming die members 27 and 28 have their surfaces coated with a synthetic resin having a small coefficient of friction such as a tetrafluoroethylene resin like the pressing die 21. Side edge mold member 2
Each of the rear ends of the members 7 and 28 is rotatably supported by a support pin 29, and the front ends are elastically biased to be in contact with each other by a spring 31 as shown by a dotted line in FIG. . The spring 31 is provided so as not to hinder the traveling of the cam shaft 24 of the pressing die 21. The lower ends of the support pins 29 fix rotatable cam plates 32 and 33, respectively, and are rotatably supported by a support portion 34 provided on the upper plate 6 of the housing 1. Therefore, the cam plates 32, 33
Rotates together with the side edge forming mold members 27 and 28. In addition,
If the pins for supporting the ends of the springs 31 are fixed to the side edge forming members 27 and 28 from the cam plate 32 or 33, the positioning of the cam plates 32 and 33 is further ensured.

As shown in FIGS. 5 to 8, the cam plates 32 and 33 are provided with cam shafts 24 of the pressing mold 21 on side edges facing each other.
Are formed at the rear end portions of the first cam surface 35 having an arcuate shape for engaging the cam shaft 24 in a desired manner.
And extends substantially linearly from the tip of the first cam surface 35,
A second cam surface 36 for expanding the distal end portions of the side edge forming die members 27 and 28 so as not to hinder the passage of the pressing die 21, and a rear end connected to the front end of the second cam surface 36, and the side edge forming die When the leading ends of the members 27 and 28 come into contact with each other, the third surfaces 37 are in contact with each other. In addition, one press die 21 is disengaged from these cam plates 32 and 33, and
In addition, when the engagement with the side edge forming mold members 27 and 28 is released, the interval between the respective pressing dies 21 is adjusted in advance so that the next pressing mold 21 engages with the side edge forming mold members 27 and 28. Keep it.

Next, the operation of the food molding apparatus 1 will be described with reference to FIGS. First, cook rice 41 in hopper 2
Is turned on, the power switch of the control panel 9 is turned on, and the drive motor 16 is driven. As a result, the drive roller 12 rotates, and the transport belt 13 is also sent clockwise in FIG. As shown in FIG. 5, the cooked rice 41 dropped from the dropper 10 of the hopper 2 and positioned on the conveyor belt 13 is pushed forward by the arc portion 23 of the pressing die 21 b passing under the dropper 10. The upper surface of 41 is leveled by the leveling roller 20 to some extent. At this time, the cam shaft 24 of the pressing die 21a located in front of the pressing die 21 is located at the tip of the second cam surface 36 of the cam plates 32, 33, and the side edge forming die members 27, 28 are open. Holding. When the conveyor belt 13 is further advanced, the cam shaft 24 of the front pressing die 21a is moved to the third cam surface 3 of the cam plates 32 and 33.
7, the engagement with the cam plates 32 and 33 is released, and the side edge forming members 27 and 28 are about to be closed by the spring 31. At this time, as shown in FIG.
Since the front end portions of the molds 7 and 28 are engaged with the side portions of the press mold 21a, the side edge forming mold members 27 and 28 are held in an open state, and are pushed out by the press mold 21b located at the rear. The cooked rice 41 can be located between the side edge forming mold members 27 and 28. When the engagement between the front pressing die 21a and the side edge molding members 27 and 28 is released, the side edge molding member 2
7 and 28 are closed, but at this time, the rear pressing die 21b is located at the rear end of the side edge forming die members 27 and 28 as shown in FIG. 7, and the cooked rice 41 extruded by the rear pressing die 21b is on the side. Two side edges are formed by the edge forming members 27 and 28. The remaining one side edge advances because the cam shaft 24 of the rear pressing die 21b is located on each first cam surface 35 of the cam plates 32 and 33 and the side edge forming die members 27 and 28 are closed. , Formed by the arcuate surface 23 of the pressing die 21b. At this time, since the upper surface forming plate member 26 is located on the upper surface, the upper surface of the cooked rice 41 is also formed, and a triangular rice ball 42 is completed.

Further, as the transport belt 13 advances, the cam shaft 24 of the rear pressing die 21b is moved to the second position of the cam plates 32 and 33.
Since the engagement with the cam surface 36 and the opening of the distal end portions of the side edge forming mold members 27 and 28 are performed, the diaper 42 is not disturbed by the side edge forming mold members 27 and 28 as shown in FIG. Go forward with 13. Therefore, a container for receiving the diaper 42 may be provided at the leading end of the conveyor belt 13, and the completed diaper 42 may be accommodated in the container, or a conveying means such as a roller may be provided and sent out. The state shown in FIG. 8 is the same as the state shown in FIG. 5, and the further pressing die 21c falls from the drop opening 10 of the hopper 2 to move the cooked rice 41 between the side edge forming die members 27 and 28, Thereafter, the rice rice 41 sent by the further pressing die 21c is formed into a rice ball 42 by a similar operation.

Next, another embodiment of the support mechanism for the transport belt 13 will be described with reference to FIGS. That is, when the transport belt 13 is used for a long period of time, its tension is loosened and the driving force of the drive roller 12 cannot be transmitted accurately, or it is necessary to adjust the drive roller 12 or replace the transport belt 13 due to wear or the like. Occurs. Therefore, in this embodiment, the tension of the transport belt 13 can be adjusted, and the transport belt 13 can be easily replaced. Note that the same reference numerals are given to the substantially same components as those in the above-described embodiment, and detailed description thereof will be omitted. Also, the configuration other than the support mechanism of the transport belt 13 is substantially the same as that of the above-described embodiment, so that illustration and description thereof are omitted.

In this embodiment, both ends of each of the shafts 14 and 15 of the tension roller 11 and the driving roller 12 are rotatably supported by a support plate 51, respectively. The shaft 14 is the support plate 5
1, the shaft 15 is fitted into a long hole 52 extending in the longitudinal direction of the support plate 51, and the shaft 15
The fixing knobs 53 provided at both ends of the lock 5 are tightened to fix their positions. A collar 54 is loosely fitted between the drive roller 12 of the shaft 15 and the support plate 51. One end of a link plate 55 is rotatably attached to each collar 54. The other end of one link plate 55 is rotatably mounted on a bearing 56, and the other link plate 55 is rotatably mounted on a feed screw nut 57. The bearing 56 and the feed screw nut 57 are mounted on a screw shaft 58 supported in parallel between the support plates 51 at a distance from the shaft 15. The bearing 56 is mounted so as to be rotatable with respect to the screw shaft 58 and the movement of the screw shaft 58 in the axial direction is regulated by a washer 59, and the feed screw nut 57 is screwed to the screw shaft 58. The screw shaft 58 has an inner peripheral thread, and the screw shaft 58
It is mounted so as to reciprocate in the axial direction. One end of each link 54 is further rotatably attached to the other end of a link plate 61 whose one end is rotatably attached to the support plate 51. Feed screw nut 5 of screw shaft 58
An end on the 7 side protrudes outward from the support plate 51, and a knob 62 for adjustment is attached to the end thereof. Screw shaft 58
When the screw of the feed screw nut 57 is rotated counterclockwise, the feed screw nut 57 moves in the direction of the bearing 56, and when rotated in the clockwise direction, the feed screw nut 57 moves in the direction away from the bearing 56. Is set to

Therefore, by loosening the fixing knob 53, the shaft 1
When the knob 62 is rotated clockwise after the movement of the feed screw nut 57 in the elongated hole 52 of the support plate 51, the feed screw nut 57 moves in a direction away from the bearing 56. Feed screw nut 57
Are connected to the link plates 55 and 61, and the link plate 61 is supported by the support plate 51.
Is applied to the right in the drawing. Further, the bearing 56 moves upward in the drawing by the rotation of the screw shaft 58, so that the bearing 56
Also move upward, and the link plate 55 on the bearing 56 side also applies a force to move rightward in the drawing. The forces by the two link plates 55 are uniform, and the driving rollers 12 can be moved in the left direction in parallel by these forces. In this way, tension can be applied to the conveyor belt 13 to adjust the slack of the conveyor belt 13. Since the feed screw nut 57 is located at the apex of an isosceles triangle formed by the link plates 55 and 61, the amount of movement of the feed screw nut 57 is twice as large as the amount of movement of the feed screw nut 57. A large amount of movement can be obtained by turning the knob 62.

On the other hand, when replacing the transport belt 13,
Contrary to the above, when the knob 62 is rotated counterclockwise, the feed screw nut 57 moves in a direction approaching the bearing 56. As a result, the two link plates 55 move the drive roller 12 to the left in the drawing. Thus, the tension on the transport belt 13 is released, and the transport belt 13 can be easily removed from the rollers 11 and 12.

In the above embodiment, the case where a triangular rice ball is formed has been described as an example. However, by forming the inner surfaces of the side edge forming mold members 27 and 28 into a semicircular shape or a semicylindrical shape, a cylindrical shape or a semicylindrical shape can be obtained. It is also possible to mold cooked rice into a straw shape, and it can also be used to mold bread dough and hamburgers and croquettes. Further, when the molding of the food is completed by the side edge molding members 27 and 28,
The pressing mold 21 may have the function of simply pushing out the food.

[0024]

As described above, the food forming apparatus according to the present invention comprises an endless conveying means provided between a pair of rollers, and a supply means arranged upstream of the conveying means in the moving direction to supply the molded food. And a pair of molding members that are arranged detachably at the downstream in the moving direction of the conveying means and that form the food to be molded by moving in the contacting direction, an extruding member attached to the conveying means, and a molding die member. Since it is composed of a control mechanism for controlling separation and contact, the height of the supply means only needs to be high in the vertical direction, so that it can be configured low. Further, since the food to be molded is sent out by the endless conveying means, the molding can be sent out one after another even if the length in the longitudinal direction is short , so that the longitudinal direction can be shortened . Therefore, it is possible to provide a food molding apparatus that is small in size, simple in configuration, and easy to perform maintenance and inspection as compared with a conventional food molding apparatus.

According to a second aspect of the present invention, one of the pair of rollers is supported so that the distance between the pair of rollers and the other roller can be adjusted, and one of the rollers is movably supported. By providing the adjusting means for adjusting the angle of the roller, one of the pair of rollers supporting the conveying means is supported so as to adjust the interval with the other roller, so by adjusting the adjusting means Since the tension of the conveying means can be easily adjusted, the exchange of the conveying means as well as the adjustment of the tension can be performed very easily.

Further, as described in claim 3, the control mechanism is constituted by a cam plate and a cam shaft. For example, the cam plate is interlocked with a molding die member, and the cam shaft is provided on the extrusion member. The mold member can be separated from and brought into contact with the movement of the pushing member, and the control mechanism can be further simplified.

[Brief description of the drawings]

FIG. 1 is a cross-sectional view showing one embodiment of the present invention with a hopper removed.

FIG. 2 is a plan view showing FIG. 1 in a state in which an upper surface forming plate member is removed.

FIG. 3 is a side view showing the overall configuration of this embodiment.

FIG. 4 is a plan view of FIG. 3;

FIG. 5 is an operation explanatory view showing a state in which the first cooked rice is dropped, partially omitted.

FIG. 6 is an operation explanatory view showing a state in which the first cooked rice moves between the side edge forming die members, with a part thereof omitted.

FIG. 7 is an operation explanatory view showing a state where a first cooked rice is formed by a pressing die and a side edge forming die member, with a part thereof being omitted;

FIG. 8 is an operation explanatory view showing a state where the first cooked rice is molded, with a part thereof omitted.

FIG. 9 is a plan view showing another embodiment of the support mechanism of the transport belt with a part cut away.

FIG. 10 is a side view showing a part of FIG.

FIG. 11 is a partially cutaway plan view showing the operation of replacing the transport belt.

[Explanation of symbols]

 DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1 Food molding apparatus 2 Hopper 3 Feeding part 4 Molding part 5 Case 12 Drive roller 13 Conveying belt 16 Drive motor 21 Press type 24 Cam shaft 26 Top surface forming plate member 27, 28 Side edge forming member 32, 33 Cam plate 35 1 cam surface 36 second cam surface 37 third cam surface 41 cooked rice 42 rice ball 52 long hole 53, 62 knob 55, 61 link plate 56 bearing 57 feed screw nut

──────────────────────────────────────────────────続 き Continued on front page (58) Field surveyed (Int.Cl. ⁷ , DB name) A23P 1/00-1/12

Claims (3)

(57) [Claims] 1. An endless conveying means which is moved to be moved by a pair of spaced rollers, and is provided upstream of the conveying means in a moving direction of the conveying means and supplies the molded food to the conveying means. Supplying means and moving direction of the transporting means
A pair of mold members for molding the food to be molded by moving in the direction in which they are arranged to be detachable in the width direction of the conveying means and downstream , and a plurality of mold members are attached at intervals to the conveying means, An extruding member for extruding the molded food from the supply means in the moving direction of the transporting means, and when the molded food is sent to the molding die member by the extruding member, open these molding die members and between them. A food molding apparatus, comprising: a control mechanism that controls the molding die member so as to allow the molded food to pass therethrough after the molded food is positioned and then closed and opened again. 2. A link mechanism that supports one of the pair of rollers so as to adjust the distance from the other roller, and that movably supports the one roller, and an adjusting unit that adjusts an angle of the link mechanism. The food molding apparatus according to claim 1, further comprising: 3. The control mechanism according to claim 1, wherein the control mechanism is performed by engaging a cam plate provided on the molding die member with a cam shaft provided on the pushing member.
A food molding device according to claim 1.