JP7448963B2 - Rice forming measuring and dividing machine - Google Patents

Description

Application of Article 30, Paragraph 2 of the Patent Act From June 1st to 4th, 2021, the rice shaping/measuring/dividing machine was exhibited and made public at FOOMA JAPAN 2021 held at Aichi Sky Expo.

The present invention relates to a rice forming/measuring/dividing machine that shapes cooked rice put into a lunch container into a free shape and divides it into pieces of predetermined weight.

2. Description of the Related Art Conventionally, there has been known a cooked rice processing apparatus that shapes cooked rice fed into a hopper into a predetermined shape and then divides the rice into predetermined weights.

This rice processing device transforms the rice into the desired form by putting it into a hopper into a weighing box with a predetermined shape, and then divides the transformed rice into pieces of a predetermined weight. It was shaped to match the shape of a lunch box.
The shaped cooked rice that has been shaped and divided by this cooked rice processing device is weighed by a weighing device located below the cooked rice processing device, and if it is less than a predetermined weight, the rice compensation mechanism makes up for the shortage, and then it is weighed by a weighing device located below the cooked rice processing device. It was transported to a location and placed in a bento container.

On the other hand, bento containers into which shaped cooked rice is placed have various forms depending on the product being sold. Therefore, various forms can be considered for the form of cooked rice put into the lunch box depending on the form of the lunch box.

Therefore, the cooked rice that is put into the bento container is shaped by a special cooked rice processing device that fits the shape of the bento container, or after the unformed rice is put into the bento container, an operator molds it to fit the shape of the container. The rice was shaped and molded to fit the bento container.

In order to mechanically deform the cooked rice according to the shape of the lunch container, it is necessary to match the shape of the measuring basin of the cooked rice processing device to the shape of the lunch container. Therefore, conventionally, the measuring basin of the cooked rice processing apparatus is a special product that matches the shape of the lunch container, and it is necessary to replace the measuring basin for forming cooked rice every time the lunch container into which cooked rice is changed.

In order to solve this problem, a cooked rice forming device that can transform cooked rice into any shape without replacing the measuring bowl has been disclosed (Patent Document 1).

Patent Document 1 discloses that a plurality of pairs of substantially plate-shaped regulation panels arranged opposite to each other are arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction, and the opposing surfaces of the regulation panels arranged opposite to each other are configured to be movable toward and away from each other. A cooked rice molding device is disclosed that can mold cooked rice into a predetermined shape by dropping the cooked rice from above and inserting it into a regulating hole formed by the method.

JP2019-149980A

However, the cooked rice forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 uses a plurality of regulation panels to finely control the forming form of the falling cooked rice, and although the rice can be formed into a desired form, the plurality of regulation panels are separated. control of the regulatory panel was complicated.
In addition, since the cooked rice forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 uses multiple regulating panels, it is necessary to remove all the regulating panels when performing maintenance on the apparatus after forming cooked rice. It was necessary to install all regulatory panels. In this way, it is a burden on the operator to attach and detach the regulation panel from the cooked rice forming apparatus every time maintenance is performed.
In addition, the cooked rice forming apparatus described in Patent Document 1 has a plurality of pairs of regulating panels arranged facing each other arranged in parallel in the front-rear direction perpendicular to the opposing direction, and each regulating panel is moved toward and away from the opposing surface of the regulating panel. A regulating hole is formed, and the regulating hole is used as a molding part for cooked rice. Therefore, depending on the form of cooked rice to be molded, not only the opposing surface of the regulating panel but also the side surface of the regulating panel may become part of the regulating hole.
In this case, the cooked rice comes into contact with the side surface of the regulation panel when the cooked rice is formed. There is a risk that the side surface that the cooked rice has come into contact with may become sticky, or that the cooked rice may adhere and remain on the side surface of the regulation panel.
If you try to change the form of cooked rice to be molded in this state, there is a risk that the viscous material adhering to the side of the regulation panel may interfere with the close/separate operation of the regulation panel, or the rice may adhere to the side of the regulation panel. When the control panels were moved closer and closer together under the condition, cooked rice adhering to the sides would enter between the adjacent control panels, creating a space between the control panels, and there was a risk that the control holes could not be transformed into the desired shape. .

The present invention was devised to solve this problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a rice forming/measuring/dividing machine that can easily and reliably form cooked rice into a desired shape and also has improved maintainability. do.

A first aspect of the present invention is that left and right tapered guide plates are disposed below the outlet of the cooked rice hopper, and the left and right guides are controlled to be tiltable at the lower edges of each of the left and right tapered guide plates in response to forming the cooked rice. The forming mechanism section is arranged further below the left and right guide bodies, and the forming mechanism section forms an endless belt by regulating the forming contour, and abuts against the outer peripheral side of the endless belt to form an endless belt. This rice forming/measuring/dividing machine consists of a belt guide rod for forming cooked rice in the formed inner space.

A second aspect of the present invention is a rice forming/measuring/dividing machine in which a cutter mechanism is disposed below the forming mechanism for cutting the formed cooked rice to a certain thickness.

A third aspect of the present invention is a cooked rice forming/measuring/dividing machine in which a load cell mechanism is disposed below a cutter mechanism to measure the weight of formed cooked rice crosswise formed to a constant thickness.

A fourth aspect of the present invention is that a conveyor that can move forward and backward for receiving and conveying formed cooked rice is disposed below the load cell mechanism, and as the conveyor moves backward, a falling gap is created between the conveyor and the front receiving section. This rice forming/measuring/dividing machine is configured to drop the shaped cooked rice remaining on the conveyor downward, and is provided above with an insufficient cooked rice compensating mechanism section for compensating for the insufficient amount of cooked rice falling downward.

The fifth aspect of the present invention is that below the cutter mechanism there is a load cell mechanism that measures and conveys the weight of the shaped cooked rice formed transversely to a certain thickness, and in front of the load cell mechanism that receives and conveys the shaped cooked rice before and after receiving and conveying the shaped cooked rice. A conveyor that can move forward and backward is provided, and formed rice remaining on the conveyor is dropped downward from a falling gap created between the conveyor and the front receiving section as the conveyor moves backward, and a conveyor is provided above the conveyor. This rice forming/measuring/dividing machine is equipped with a rice shortage compensation mechanism that compensates for the shortage of rice falling downward.

A sixth aspect of the present invention is that the cutter mechanism includes rotatable shutter support rods that are arranged facing each other so as to be able to approach and separate from each other; This is a rice measuring/forming/dividing machine consisting of an extended shutter rod.

According to the first aspect of the present invention, left and right tapered guide plates are disposed below the outlet of the cooked rice hopper, and the lower end edges of the left and right tapered guide plates are controlled to be tiltable in accordance with the formation of cooked rice. The left and right guide bodies are arranged in series, and a forming mechanism section is arranged further below the left and right guide bodies, and the forming mechanism section forms an endless belt by regulating the forming contour, and an endless belt that comes into contact with the outer peripheral side of the endless belt. It is composed of a belt guide rod to shape the rice in the inner space formed in the belt, so the rice put into the rice hopper decelerates and falls when it comes into contact with the left and right tapered guide plates from the rice hopper. Therefore, it is possible to reduce the impact received when the rice is dropped, and it is possible to eliminate the possibility that the rice fed into the forming mechanism will be deformed or crushed. In addition, since the feeding position of cooked rice can be adjusted in accordance with the movement of the upper end portion of the endless belt forming the forming contour, the cooked rice can be reliably fed into the forming contour.
Furthermore, by winding the endless belt around the belt guide rod, the shape of the endless belt can be easily changed just by moving the belt guide rod. Furthermore, since the cooked rice forming contour portion for forming cooked rice is formed by a single endless belt, maintenance can be performed by simply cleaning the endless belt, thereby improving maintainability.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, a cutter mechanism for cutting the formed cooked rice to a certain thickness is disposed below the forming mechanism, so that by simply moving the cutter mechanism, the cooked rice can be cut to a certain thickness. Because of this, rice can be divided into desired thicknesses with a simple configuration.

According to the third aspect of the present invention, a load cell mechanism is disposed below the cutter mechanism to measure the weight of the shaped cooked rice formed crosswise to a certain thickness, so that the shaped cooked rice can be simply placed on the load cell mechanism. The weight of the formed cooked rice can be easily measured, and the insufficient weight that deviates from the predetermined weight can be calculated.

According to the fourth aspect of the present invention, a conveyor that can move forward and backward for receiving and conveying the shaped cooked rice is disposed below the load cell mechanism, and as the conveyor moves backward, a conveyor is provided between the conveyor and the front receiving portion. The structure is configured so that the formed cooked rice remaining on the conveyor falls downward from the falling gap, and a lack of cooked rice compensation mechanism is provided above the conveyor to compensate for the lack of formed cooked rice that has fallen downward. The weight value can be adjusted to a desired value without changing the form of the molded cooked rice.

According to the fifth aspect of the present invention, below the cutter mechanism there is a load cell mechanism that measures and conveys the weight of the shaped cooked rice formed transversely to a constant thickness, and in front of the load cell mechanism, the loaded cell mechanism receives and conveys the shaped cooked rice. A conveyor that can move back and forth is provided, and formed rice remaining on the conveyor is dropped downward from a falling gap created between the conveyor and the front receiving part as the conveyor moves backward. Since the insufficient cooked rice compensating mechanism section for compensating for the shortage of downwardly falling cooked rice is disposed above, the possibility that the shaped cooked rice will lose its shape when measuring the shaped cooked rice can be reduced as much as possible. In addition, since the loaded cell mechanism can measure and transport the formed cooked rice, the cooked rice measuring, forming and dividing machine can be made compact.

According to the sixth aspect of the present invention, the cutter mechanism includes rotatable shutter support rods that are arranged facing each other so as to be able to approach and separate from each other, and a proximal end connected to the shutter support rod so that the cutter mechanism is perpendicular to the opposing shutter support rods. By rotating the shutter support rod, the formed cooked rice can be moved downward at a predetermined timing by rotating the shutter support rod. It can be extruded, and the falling speed and timing of the shaped cooked rice can be adjusted as desired. In addition, by configuring the shutter support rod to be rotatable, the risk of the shutter rod swinging down due to the rotation of the shutter rod connected to the shutter support rod and rice grains adhering to the bottom surface of the shutter rod can be minimized. It is possible to reduce as much as possible the possibility that the molded cooked rice will be formed to have less than a predetermined weight.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS FIG. 1 is a front view schematically showing an overall view of a cooked rice measuring, shaping and dividing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS It is a perspective view which shows typically the whole image of the cooked rice measuring, shaping, dividing machine based on embodiment of this invention. 1 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of a cooked rice input section according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) is a front view and (b) is a perspective view. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the operation of the cooked rice insertion unit according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view showing a forming mechanism part concerning an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a view showing a state where an endless belt is attached, and (b) is a view showing a state where the endless belt is removed. FIG. 2 is a front perspective view showing the configuration of a support body according to an embodiment of the present invention. It is a perspective view of the back side showing the structure of the support body concerning an embodiment of the present invention. 1 is a front perspective view showing the configuration of a belt-suspended pole support and a belt-stretched pole support according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a view showing the configuration of the belt-suspended pole support, and (b) 1 is a diagram showing a state in which an endless belt is wound around a belt suspension pole support. 1 is a perspective view showing a belt-suspended pole support and a belt-stretched pole support according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the belt-suspended pole support, and (b) is a diagram showing the belt-stretched pole support. FIG. FIG. 2 is a plan view schematically showing the configuration of a forming mechanism section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 4 is a plan view schematically showing the operation of the forming mechanism according to an embodiment of the present invention, in which (a) shows a state in which it is deformed into a trapezoidal shape, and (b) a diagram in which it shows a state in which it is deformed into a substantially hexagonal shape. FIG. FIG. 2 is a perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a metering and dividing section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 2 is an exploded perspective view schematically showing the configuration of a metering and dividing section according to an embodiment of the present invention. FIG. 3 is a perspective view showing the operation of the metering and dividing section according to the embodiment of the present invention. It is a schematic front view showing the dividing procedure of formed cooked rice by the measuring and dividing unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing a state in which the formed cooked rice is supported by a support shutter, and (b) is a diagram showing the formed cooked rice in a state where it is supported by a support shutter. It is a figure which shows the state which divides with a bar|rod shutter, and (c) is a figure which shows the state which drops the formed cooked rice after dividing into the measuring part. FIG. 3 is a schematic front view showing the dividing procedure of formed cooked rice by the measuring and dividing section according to the embodiment of the present invention, and (a) is a diagram showing a state in which formed cooked rice is pushed out to the measuring section by the rotational operation of the bar shutter; (b) is a diagram showing a state in which the divided shaped cooked rice is supported by the measuring section, and (c) is a diagram showing a state in which the shaped cooked rice after weighing is dropped into the supplementary conveyance section. 2 is a schematic front view showing the configuration and operation of the supplementary conveyance unit according to an embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing a state in which formed cooked rice is dropped into the supplementary conveyance unit, and (b) is a diagram of the shuttle conveyor. It is a figure showing the state where formed cooked rice is conveyed to a tip part. FIG. 2 is a schematic front view showing the configuration and operation of the supplementary conveyance unit according to the embodiment of the present invention, (a) is a diagram showing the middle of the process of dropping formed cooked rice onto the supplementary conveyor, and (b) is a diagram illustrating the supplementary conveyor. It is a diagram showing a state in which formed cooked rice is dropped into the container. FIG. 7 is a schematic front view showing the configuration and operation of a weighing division section and a supplementary conveyance section according to a second embodiment of the present invention. There are schematic diagrams showing the configuration and operation of the weighing and dividing section and the supplementary conveyance section according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and (a) is a diagram showing a state in which formed cooked rice has been conveyed to the tip of the shuttle conveyor. , (b) are diagrams showing the shuttle conveyor in an extended state. There are schematic diagrams showing the configuration and operation of the measuring and dividing section and the supplementary conveyance section according to the second embodiment of the present invention, and (a) is a diagram showing a state in which formed cooked rice is dropped into the supplementary conveyance section, (b) is a diagram showing a state in which the shaped cooked rice has been conveyed to the tip of the shuttle conveyor.

The gist of this invention is to arrange left and right tapered guide plates below the outlet of a cooked rice hopper, and connect left and right guide bodies to the lower edges of each of the left and right tapered guide plates, which are controlled to be tiltable in accordance with the formation of cooked rice. A forming mechanism section is arranged further below the left and right guide bodies, and the forming mechanism section forms an endless belt by regulating the forming contour section, and abuts against the outer peripheral side of the endless belt to form the endless belt. It consists of a belt guide rod for forming cooked rice in the inner space, and a cutter mechanism is installed below the forming mechanism to cross the formed cooked rice to a certain thickness, and further below the cutter mechanism. is equipped with a load cell mechanism that measures the weight of shaped cooked rice that has been cross-shaped to a certain thickness, and below the load cell mechanism is installed a conveyor that can move forward and backward to receive and convey the shaped cooked rice. Accordingly, the formed cooked rice remaining on the conveyor is configured to fall downward from the falling gap created between the front receiving part and the insufficient cooked rice compensating mechanism part that compensates for the shortage of the downward falling cooked rice above the conveyor. and a rotatable shutter support rod in which the cutter mechanism is arranged facing each other so as to be able to approach and separate from each other, and the base end is connected to the shutter support rod and extends in a direction perpendicular to the opposing shutter support rod. The object of the present invention is to provide a rice measuring/forming/dividing machine characterized by comprising a shutter rod and a shutter rod.

Embodiments of this invention will be described in detail based on the drawings.
FIG. 1 is a cooked rice measuring, forming and dividing machine according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a perspective view showing the cooked rice measuring, forming and dividing machine, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are views showing the state of the cooked rice input section. 5 to 12 are perspective views showing the configuration of the forming mechanism section, FIGS. 13 and 14 are diagrams showing the operation of the measuring and dividing section, and FIGS. 15 and 16 are diagrams showing the operation of the measuring and dividing section. 17 and 18 are schematic front views showing the configuration and operation of the supplementary conveyance section. FIG.

As shown in FIG. 1, the cooked rice forming/measuring/dividing machine M of the present invention includes a cooked rice input section 1 that drops cooked rice R into a predetermined place while unraveling it, and a cooked rice input section 1 that shapes the loosened cooked rice into a predetermined shape. A forming mechanism section 2 for forming the rice, a measuring division section 3 for dividing the cooked rice formed into a predetermined shape into a predetermined thickness, and a measuring division section 3 to compensate for the insufficient measurement of the formed cooked rice MR formed into a predetermined thickness. A supplementary conveyance section 4 is provided.

[Rice input section]
The cooked rice input unit 1 is a part for unraveling the cooked rice R to transport the cooked rice R to the forming mechanism unit 2 while unraveling the cooked rice R so that they do not adhere to each other and become independent grains in a loose shape.
As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3(a), the cooked rice input section 1 includes a cooked rice hopper 10 for storing cooked rice R, a cooked rice hopper outlet 11 provided at the front end of the lower part of the cooked rice hopper 10, and a cooked rice hopper outlet 11 provided at the front end of the lower part of the cooked rice hopper 10. A left and right tapered guide plate 12 is arranged in an inclined state at the hopper outlet 11, and a left and right guide body 13 is arranged at the lower edge of each of the left and right tapered guide plates 12 and is controlled to be tiltable in response to forming cooked rice. It consists of

As shown in FIGS. 2 and 3(a), the cooked rice hopper 10 is a container with an open top and a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, which transports the loaded cooked rice R to above the forming mechanism section 2, which will be described later. It has a cooked rice hopper outlet 11 at the front end of the bottom through which the cooked rice R can pass. The cooked rice hopper 10 includes a feed conveyor 10c for rice R disposed on the bottom, a feed roller 10d horizontally mounted on the front end of the feed conveyor 10c, and a feed roller 10d horizontally mounted diagonally above the front end of the feed roller 10d. It has a roller 10e.

The cooked rice R put into the cooked rice hopper 10 is conveyed by the feed conveyor 10c to the vicinity of the cooked rice hopper outlet 11, and then passes through the gap between the feeding roller 10d and the unraveling roller 10e, so that the rice grains do not stick to each other and become loose. After that, the rice is broken down into independent grains having a shape, and then dropped and supplied from the outlet 11 of the cooked rice hopper to the left and right taper guide plates 12a and 12b.
The feed conveyor 10c, the feeding roller 10d, and the unraveling roller 10e are electrically connected to a control section (not shown) that controls the entire operation of the cooked rice forming/measuring/dividing machine M, and the cooked rice R is placed on the upper surface of the feeding conveyor 10c. is placed so that each roller is driven in conjunction with the drive of the feed conveyor 10c.

The left and right tapered guide plates 12a and 12b guide the cooked rice R loosened by the feeding roller 10d and the loosening roller 10e to a predetermined location, and also cushion the impact when the cooked rice R is dropped into the forming mechanism section 2. It is a guide mechanism for

The left and right tapered guide plates 12a and 12b are connected to the left and right side walls 10a and 10b of the cooked rice hopper 10 in an inclined manner so that the opening shape of the cooked rice hopper outlet 11 becomes gradually narrower. That is, the left and right tapered guide plates 12a and 12b are arranged in an inclined manner so that the cooked rice R gathers at approximately the center in a plan view. Further, among the left and right taper guide plates 12a and 12b, one of the taper guide plates 12a is pivotally supported on a rotating shaft 12c provided near the lower end of the taper guide plate 12a, with the upper end facing toward the center in the left-right direction. It is configured so that it can rotate approximately 90 degrees.
Thereby, the taper guide plate 12a can deliver a portion of the cooked rice R scheduled to be fed into the forming mechanism section 2 to the supplementary conveyance section 4, which will be described later. The cooked rice R delivered to the supplementary conveyance section 4 is used as supplementary cooked rice FR to supplement the insufficient amount of cooked rice when the molded cooked rice MR formed into a predetermined shape is less than a predetermined weight. Left and right guide bodies 13 are connected to the lower portions of the left and right tapered guide plates 12a and 12b configured in this manner.

The left and right guide bodies 13 are guide mechanisms for reliably feeding the cooked rice R prepared by the cooked rice feeding section 1 into the forming contour section 20 constituting the forming mechanism section 2.
The left and right guide bodies 13 are comprised of four guide bodies 13a, 13a, 13b, and 13b, with guide bodies having substantially the same shape arranged in parallel in the front and rear.

Each guide body 13a, 13a, 13b, 13b is pivotally supported by a rotating shaft protruding forward from the rear wall surface M1 of the cooked rice forming/measuring/dividing machine M. As shown in FIG. 3(b), the rotating shaft includes a hollow cylindrical body 14a having a doughnut-shaped cross section, and a solid cylindrical body 14b inserted into the hollow part of the hollow cylindrical body 14a.

The hollow cylindrical body 14a is a rotation mechanism for rotating the guide body 13b located on the rear side, and the solid cylindrical body 14b is a rotation mechanism for rotating the guide body 13a located on the front side. The hollow cylindrical body 14a and the solid cylindrical body 14b have their rear ends connected to the rotating shafts of different drive motors, respectively, and are configured so that their rotations can be controlled independently of each other. With this configuration, each guide body 13a, 13a, 13b, 13b can be individually controlled to rotate.

Further, the rotating shafts of the guide bodies 13a and 13b are configured to be able to rotate 90° toward the substantially central portion of the cooked rice hopper outlet 11, similar to the rotating shaft 12c of the tapered guide plate 12a described above.

The guide bodies 13a, 13b include a guide part 13c for guiding the cooked rice R that falls while rolling on the inclined surfaces of the left and right tapered guide plates 12a, 12b to the forming mechanism part 2, and a guide part 13c at either the front or rear end of the guide part 13c. It has a continuous thin plate-like arc-shaped contact sliding part 13d.

As shown in FIG. 3(b), the guide part 13c is an inclined guide that guides the falling direction of the cooked rice R, and has a shape similar to a flipper used in a pinball where the thickness gradually becomes thinner toward the tip. Department. The cooked rice R falls while rotating on the inclined guide surface 13c1 of the guide portion 13c.
A support hole 13e penetrating back and forth is provided near the upper end of the guide portion 13c. The guide bodies 13a, 13a, 13b, and 13b are pivotally supported by the hollow cylinders 14a and solid cylinders 14b by respectively inserting them into the support holes 13e.

Further, each of the guide bodies 13a, 13a, 13b, and 13b has a contact sliding portion 13d connected to the front or rear end thereof.
The contact sliding portion 13d has a generally fan-like shape when viewed from the front, and is connected to the side that contacts another guide body arranged in parallel. For example, in this embodiment, the guide body 13a has a contact sliding portion 13d connected to its rear end, and the guide body 13b has a contact sliding portion 13d connected to its front end.

By providing the contact sliding portion 13d at the contact portion of the front and rear guide bodies 13a, 13b, even if the front and rear guide bodies 13a, 13b are rotated to different angles, there is a gap between the front and rear guide bodies 13a, 13b. No gaps are formed. For example, as shown in FIG. 4, when the front guide body 13a is rotated closer to the center of the cooked rice hopper outlet 11 than the rear guide body 13b, the inclined guide surfaces 13c1, 13c1 of each guide body 13a, 13b are shifted. , the rear side surface of the contact sliding portion 13d of the front guide body 13a is exposed. If the front guide body 13a is not provided with the contact sliding part 13d, a gap will be created between the front and rear guide bodies 13a and 13b when the front and rear guide bodies 13a and 13b are fixed at different angles, and the cooked rice R will be removed from the gap. There is a risk that it may fall. Therefore, since each guide body 13a, 13b is provided with a contact sliding part 13d, even if the fixed angles of the front and rear guide bodies 13a, 13b are different, the contact sliding part 13d functions as a wall surface for preventing the cooked rice R from falling. However, the cooked rice R supplied falling from the tapered guide plates 12a and 12b can be reliably supplied to the forming mechanism section 2 without falling through the gap created between the front and rear guide bodies 13a and 13b.

In addition, since the front and rear guide bodies 13a and 13b rotate while the contact sliding parts 13d and 13d are in contact with each other, the rear end of the front guide body 13a and the front end of the rear guide body 13b are connected to each other. This eliminates the possibility that either the upper or lower end of the rotor may come into contact with the rotor and become unable to rotate.

That is, the front and rear guide bodies 13a, 13b enable the guide bodies 13a, 13b to rotate reliably by rotating while the contact sliding parts 13d, 13d are in contact with each other, and the front and rear guide bodies 13a, 13b are rotated while being in contact with each other. It is possible to reliably feed the cooked rice R into the forming mechanism part 2 by eliminating the possibility that the cooked rice R may fall from between the holes.

Furthermore, as shown in FIGS. 3 and 4, sag 13f, 13f, 13f, 13f is pivotally provided at the lower end portions of the left and right guide bodies 13a, 13a, 13b, 13b.
The sag 13f is a thin plate, and one end in the longitudinal direction is pivoted to the guide bodies 13a and 13b, and the other end is placed in a forming space for the cooked rice R surrounded by an endless belt 21 of the forming mechanism section 2, which will be described later. positioned. Therefore, the sag 13f functions as a guide to close the gap between the guide bodies 13a, 13b and the molded contour part 20 of the endless belt 21, and to ensure that the cooked rice R can be thrown into the endless belt 21.
Thereby, no matter what form the endless belt 21 is transformed into, the cooked rice R rolling on the inclined guide surfaces 13c1 of the guide bodies 13a and 13b can be reliably dropped into the interior of the endless belt 21.

A molding mechanism section 2 is disposed below the guide bodies 13a and 13b configured in this manner, and the cooked rice R, which is made into independent grains in the form of a crumble without adhering to each other, is placed in the molding mechanism section 2 at the cooked rice input section 1. will be put into the

Further, a sensor camera 15 is installed approximately at the center below the cooked rice hopper outlet 11, that is, approximately at the center of the left and right tapered guide plates 12a, 12b.
The sensor camera 15 is an optical laser sensor, and measures the height of the cooked rice R deposited on the forming mechanism section 2, that is, the distance between the sensor camera 15 and the upper end of the cooked rice R accumulated on the forming mechanism section 2. There is. The sensor camera 15 can set the threshold value to an arbitrary value. The threshold value of the sensor camera 15 in this embodiment is set at the upper end of the endless belt 21, which will be described later. That is, the sensor camera 15 is set to drive the measuring and dividing section 3 to start measuring and dividing the accumulated cooked rice R when the cooked rice R exceeds the upper end of the endless belt 21.

In this way, the sensor camera 15 reduces as much as possible the possibility that the cooked rice R located at the bottom of the piled rice R will be crushed by the cooked rice R piled up on the top, and makes the shaped cooked rice MR put into the lunch container fluffy. The pressure applied to the cooked rice R is controlled to maintain the same state. In addition, since a certain amount or more of cooked rice R is always deposited in the forming mechanism section 2, the sensor camera 15 eliminates the possibility that the formed cooked rice MR will be formed thinner than a predetermined thickness, and ensures that the formed rice R has a predetermined thickness. Can be molded separately.

[Forming mechanism]
The forming mechanism section 2 is a forming section for forming the cooked rice R into a predetermined shape, which forms the cooked rice R into a predetermined shape without adhering to each other in the cooked rice inputting section 1 and forming independent grains.
The forming mechanism section 2 includes an endless belt 21 that forms the forming contour section 20, a belt guide rod 22 that contacts the outer circumferential side surface and the inner circumferential side surface of the endless belt 21, and the belt guide rod 22 that is movable back and forth and left and right. and a drive mechanism 23 for.

As shown in FIGS. 5(a) and 5(b), the molded contour portion 20 is provided between belt guide rod supports 24 provided at the four corners of a substantially rectangular shape in plan view and the front and rear belt guide rod supports 24. a belt suspension pole support 25, a belt tension pole support 26 provided on the left and right sides of the belt suspension pole support 25, each belt guide rod support 24, a belt suspension pole support 25, and a belt tension pole. It has an endless belt 21 wound around each belt guide rod 22 erected on a support 26 and a belt tension rod 26c.

The belt guide rod support 24 is formed into a substantially U-shape by connecting the ends of a substantially flat lower body 241, a side body 242, and an upper body 243.
The lower body 241 has three support holes formed in a substantially V-shape when viewed from above. The upper body 243 has fixing holes formed at positions opposite to the support holes of the lower body 241 .
The ends of the belt guide rods 22, 22, 22 are inserted and fixed into each support hole and each fixing hole of the belt guide rod support 24.

As shown in FIGS. 6 and 7, the belt guide rod 22 is composed of a solid, cylindrical guide tube portion 221, and shaft portions 222, 222 extending from the upper and lower ends of the guide tube portion 221, respectively. ing.
The belt guide rod 22 has a shaft portion 222 extending downward inserted through one of the support holes of the lower body 241, and extending upward into a fixing hole opposite to the support hole through which the lower shaft portion 222 was inserted. The shaft portion 222 is inserted therethrough. Thereby, the belt guide rod 22 can be fixed to the belt guide rod support 24 in a substantially vertical state.
Further, the belt guide rod support 24 connects the drive mechanism 23 to the back side of the side body 242 at approximately the vertical center thereof.

The drive mechanism 23 has a left-right moving mechanism 231 and a back-and-forth moving mechanism 232, as shown in FIGS. 6 and 7.
The left/right movement mechanism 231 is connected to a drive motor 233, a drive side bevel gear 234a connected to the rotating shaft of the drive motor 233, a driven side bevel gear 234b meshed with the drive side bevel gear 234a, and a driven side bevel gear 234b. A power transmission shaft 235, a moving box 236 that can be moved left and right by the rotational power of the power transmitting shaft 235, a sliding guide 237 inserted through the moving box 236, and a sliding guide 237 extending from the side of the moving box 236 to the side surface 242. It has a protruding support rod 238.

The rotational power generated by the drive motor 233 rotates the power transmission shaft 235 via the drive side bevel gear 234a connected to the rotation shaft of the drive motor 233 and the driven side bevel gear 234b.
The power transmission shaft 235 is screwed into a moving box body 236, and by rotating the power transmission shaft 235, the moving box body 236 can freely move back and forth in the axial direction of the power transmission shaft 235.

The moving box body 236 configured in this manner has a guide hole provided in the front and rear substantially in the center in the vertical direction. A sliding guide 237 is inserted into this guide hole. The sliding guide 237 is installed between plates vertically provided at the left and right ends of the support frame 230 that supports the drive mechanism 23 .
As a result, the moving box body 236 can move forward and backward in the left-right direction along the sliding guides 237, 237 while maintaining a horizontal state using the power transmission shaft 235 and the sliding guides 237, 237.

Furthermore, a support rod 238 is provided at the lower end of the moving box body 236 to extend toward the belt guide bar support 24 . The support rod 238 has a proximal end connected to the moving box body 236 and a distal end connected to the back surface of the side body 242.

By configuring the left-right moving mechanism 231 in this way, the belt guide rod support 24 can be freely moved in the left-right direction while maintaining a horizontal state by the drive mechanisms 23 disposed on the left and right sides of the forming mechanism section 2. .

Furthermore, a back-and-forth moving mechanism 232 is disposed at the top of the support frame 230. The back-and-forth moving mechanism 232 allows the support frame 230 to move in the front-back direction, and its configuration is substantially the same as the left-right moving mechanism 231, and the only difference is in the direction of movement, so a detailed explanation will be omitted.

In this way, the left-right moving mechanism 231 and the back-and-forth moving mechanism 232 are configured, and the belt guide rod support 24 connected to the support rod 238 of the left-right moving mechanism 231 can freely move back and forth and left and right. Note that the belt guide rod supports 24, 24, 24, 24 and the drive mechanisms 23, 23, 23, 23 disposed at the four corners of the generally rectangular shape in plan view of the forming mechanism section 2 are all of the same configuration. Description of the belt guide rod support 24 and drive mechanism 23 will be omitted.

Further, a belt suspension pole support 25 is disposed approximately in the center of the belt guide rod supports 24, 24 disposed in the front and rear directions.

As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9(b), the belt suspension pole support 25 is formed into a substantially U-shape by connecting a generally plate-shaped lower body 251, side bodies 252, and an upper body 253.
A support hole 25a and a fixing hole 25b are formed in the centers of the lower and upper surfaces of the lower body 251 and the upper body 253, respectively. The support hole 25a and the fixing hole 25b are arranged vertically to face each other.

In the support hole 25a and fixing hole 25b of the lower surface body 251 and the upper surface body 253, belt suspension pole rotary plates 25c and 25c are horizontally rotatable about a straight line connecting both holes 25a and 25b as a rotation axis via clip bearings. installed.

The belt suspension pole rotary plates 25c, 25c disposed above and below are plate bodies formed in an elongated oval shape with the longitudinal direction being the front and back, and screw holes for fixing are provided at the front and rear ends.
Belt suspension poles 255, 255 are erected and fixed substantially vertically in the screw holes of the belt suspension pole rotary plates 25c, 25c via fixing screws or bolts.

The belt suspension pole supports 25, 25 configured in this manner have the drive mechanism 23 connected to the back side of the lower end portion of the side body 252.

The drive mechanism 23 is a mechanism that allows the belt-suspended pole support 25 to be moved back and forth to the left and right while maintaining it in a horizontal state.
As shown in FIGS. 8 and 9, the drive mechanism 23 includes a support bracket 250 that supports the belt-suspended pole support 25, and a left-right movement mechanism 254 connected to the support bracket 250.

The left-right moving mechanism 254 has substantially the same structure as the left-right moving mechanism 231 described above, and is an actuator that can horizontally move the belt-suspended pole support 25.
As a result, the belt-suspended pole support body 25 can move forward and backward while maintaining a horizontal state by the left-right movement mechanism 254 via the support bracket 250 connected to the side body 252.

Belt-stretched pole supports 26 are disposed on the left and right sides of the belt-suspended pole support 25.
The belt tensioning pole support 26 is a tensioning member of the endless belt 21 for tensioning the endless belt 21 which has been transformed into a predetermined molded form by the belt guide rod support 24 and the belt suspension pole support 25.

The belt-stretched pole support 26 is formed into a substantially U-shape when viewed from the front by connecting the ends of a lower body 261, a side body 262, and an upper body 263. Support holes are formed at opposing positions in the distal ends of the lower body 261 and the upper body 263, respectively.
Ends of belt tension rods 26c formed in substantially the same shape as the belt guide rod 22 are inserted and fixed into the support holes, respectively. Thereby, the belt tension rod 26c is supported and fixed in a substantially vertical state by the lower surface body 261 and the upper surface body 263.

Further, the belt-stretched pole support 26 is connected to an air drive unit 265 via a support rod 264, as shown in FIGS. 8 and 9(a).
The air drive unit 265 includes a guide rod 266 extending left and right, a guide rod 267 disposed in parallel below the guide rod 266, and an air cylinder 268 movable in the axial direction of the guide rod 267.

The guide rod 266 is a plate having a generally rectangular shape in plan view, and is connected and supported by a frame (not shown) of the drive mechanism 23 by brackets connected to the front and rear ends.
An air suction section 269 for driving an air cylinder 268 is disposed at one end of the guide rod 266, and the air cylinder 268 is movable according to the amount of air supplied to the air suction section 269. The air cylinder 268 can move left and right along the guide rod 267 inserted therethrough.

Further, a support rod 264 is connected to the lower part of the air cylinder 268. As described above, the support rod 264 has one end connected to the lower end surface of the air cylinder 268, and the other end connected to the lower end on the back side of the side body 262 of the belt tensioned pole support 26.
This allows the belt-stretched pole support 26 to move in the left-right direction in conjunction with the operation of the air cylinder 268. That is, the belt tensioning pole support 26 can be moved while maintaining the belt tensioning rod 26c in a substantially vertical state by the lower surface body 261 and the upper surface body 263, and in a horizontal state by the air cylinder 268. .

Further, as shown in FIG. 9(b), the belt tensioned pole support 26 has a sliding guide 270 connected to the front upper end of the side body 262.
The sliding guide 270 is slidably engaged with a connecting support portion 271 that supports the belt-suspended pole support 25 .
Thereby, the belt-stretched pole support 26 is able to move freely forward and backward and left and right in conjunction with the movement of the belt-suspended pole support 25. That is, when the endless belt 21 is transformed, the belt-stretched pole support 26 moves from side to side in conjunction with the movement of the belt-suspended pole support 25 while maintaining a constant positional relationship with the belt-suspended pole support 25. After the endless belt 21 is transformed into a predetermined shape, the belt tensioning pole support 26 is configured to be able to move left and right independently in order to eliminate the bending of the endless belt 21.

Furthermore, when the endless belt 21 is stretched, the belt suspension pole 255 is connected to the belt guide rod 22 located on the rear right side, the belt suspension pole 255 located on the rear side of the belt suspension pole support 25, and the belt tension rod 26c. and the angle β formed by the belt guide rod 22 located on the front right side, the belt suspension pole 255 located on the front side, and the belt tension rod 26c. 255, 255 is perverted. Note that the belt suspension pole 255 located on the left side has a configuration that is a left-right inversion of the configuration of the belt suspension pole 255 on the right side, so a description thereof will be omitted.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11(a), if the angle β is larger than the angle α, the rightward pressing force of the endless belt 21 applied to the rear belt suspension pole 255 will be applied to the front belt suspension pole. 255 to the right by the endless belt 21, and stops at a position where the rear belt suspension pole 255 is pulled to the right more than the front belt suspension pole 255.

Moreover, as shown in FIG. 11(b), when the angle β and the angle α are the same angle, the pressing force in the right direction by the endless belt 21 applied to each of the front and rear belt suspension poles 255, 255 is approximately the same. , the front and rear belt suspension poles 255 are aligned in a straight line.

In this way, the belt suspension pole 255 is configured to be horizontally rotatable with the straight line connecting the support hole 25a and the fixing hole 25b as the rotation axis, and the belt suspension pole 255 has a small angle formed in the relationship between the angle α and the angle β. 255 side is displaced to the belt tensioned pole support 26 side.
As a result, the endless belt 21 can be attached to the guide rod supports 24, 24 without forming a step even when the straight line connecting the front and rear belt guide rod supports 24, 24 becomes the oblique side at the belt suspension pole support 25 portion. can be connected in a straight line.

In this way, the belt guide rod supports 24, 24, 24, 24 arranged at the four corners, the belt suspension pole support 25 arranged approximately at the center of the front and rear belt guide rod supports 24, 24, and the belt suspension pole A belt guide rod 22, a belt suspension pole 255, and a belt tension rod 26c are respectively provided upright on each of the belt tension pole supports 26 provided on the left and right sides of the support body 25, and each rod and pole By suspending the endless belt 21 on the outer peripheral surface of the mold, the cooked rice R put into the molding contour part 20 can be molded.

The endless belt 21 is a forming sheet for forming the cooked rice R into a predetermined shape. The endless belt 21 is made of a flexible material having a certain elasticity. The inner circumferential surface 21a of the endless belt 21 has fine irregularities on the surface like embossing. The endless belt 21 includes a belt guide bar 22 erected on the front and rear belt guide bar supports 24 , a belt suspension pole 255 erected on the belt suspension pole support 25 , and a belt erected on the belt tension pole support 26 . The endless belt 21 can be transformed into a desired form by winding it around the tension rod 26c. That is, the cooked rice R is formed along the inner surface of the endless belt 21.

In addition, as shown in FIG. 10, the endless belt 21 before deformation in the present embodiment has each belt erected on belt guide rod supports 24, 24, 24, 24 disposed at the four corners of a substantially rectangular shape in plan view. It is wound around the guide rod 22, and further wrapped around the belt guide rod 22 and belt tensioning rod 26c which are installed upright on the belt suspension pole support 25 and the belt tensioning pole support 26, so that the belt tensioning rod 26c is endless. By moving the belt 21 in a direction away from the forming portion, the endless belt 21 can be formed in a tensioned state.

The forming mechanism section 2 is configured in this way, and the belt guide rod 22 around which the endless belt 21 is wound and the belt tension rod 26c are connected to the belt guide rod supports 24, 24, 24, 24 and the belt suspension pole supports. 25 and the belt-stretching pole support 26, the shape of the endless belt 21 can be freely transformed to match the shape of the lunch container into which the cooked rice R is placed.

For example, as shown in FIG. 11(a), the left and right belt guide rod supports 24, 24 located on the front side are moved closer together, and the belt is placed in a straight line position connecting the front and rear belt guide rod supports 24, 24. By moving the suspension pole support 25, the endless belt 21 assumes a substantially trapezoidal shape in plan view. At this time, the upper and lower belt suspension pole rotating plates 25c, 25c rotate so as to be substantially parallel to the angle formed by the left and right sides 21b, 21c of the endless belt 21. By rotating this belt suspension pole rotating plate 25c, the left and right sides of the endless belt 21 can be formed on a straight line.

In addition, the endless belt 21 can be attached to the left and right belt guide rod supports 24, 24 on the front side and the left and right belt guide rod supports 24, 24 on the rear side without moving the left and right belt suspension pole supports 25, 25. By being closer than the distance between the belt suspension pole supports 25, 25, it is possible to transform into a substantially hexagonal shape in plan view, as shown in FIG. 11(b). At this time, the belt-suspended pole rotary plate 25c is maintained in a longitudinally linear state, thereby forming a substantially hexagonal shape.

In this way, the forming mechanism section 2 can be transformed by making the belt suspension pole rotary plate 25c of the belt suspension pole support 25 freely rotatable in the horizontal direction about the straight line connecting the support hole 25a and the fixing hole 25b. It is possible to have a wide range of shapes.
The cooked rice R formed in the forming mechanism section 2 in this manner is dropped into the measuring and dividing section 3.

[Measuring division]
As shown in FIG. 12, the measuring and dividing section 3 is a section for dividing the cooked rice R formed by the forming mechanism section 2 into a predetermined thickness.

The measuring and dividing section 3 includes a cutter mechanism 30 that cuts the cooked rice R to a predetermined thickness, and a measuring section 40 that measures the weight of the formed cooked rice MR cut by the cutter mechanism 30.

The cutter mechanism 30 includes a bar shutter 300 located below the molded contour portion 20 and a support shutter 350 located below the bar shutter 300.

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the bar shutter 300 includes front and rear guide frames 310, 311, left and right shutter support rods 320, 321 installed on the front and rear guide frames 310, 311, and left and right shutter supports. It has a plurality of shutter bars 330, 330, .

As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the front and rear guide frames 310 and 311 are prismatic columns having a substantially rectangular cross section and extending left and right. The front and rear guide frames 310 and 311 have oblong sliding guide portions 310a and 311a, respectively, which penetrate from the front surface to the rear surface. Regarding the front and rear sliding guide parts 310a and 311a, the opening height of the rear sliding guide part 311a bored in the rear guide frame 311 is lower than that of the front sliding guide part 310a bored in the front guide frame 310. It is formed like this.

The shutter support rods 320, 321 include approximately cylindrical rotation transmission rods 320a, 321a connected to the rotation shafts of drive motors 340, 340, and approximately prismatic shutters connected to the front end sides of the rotation transmission rods 320a, 321a. It is composed of rod support parts 320b and 321b.

As shown in FIG. 13, the rotation transmission rods 320a and 321a have one end connected to driving motors 340 and 340, respectively. The motors 340, 340 are each connected to an air cylinder (not shown), and are configured so that each motor can independently move in the left-right direction while maintaining a horizontal state.
As a result, the rotation transmission rods 320a, 321a can freely move in the left and right directions while maintaining a horizontal state, and also rotate around the axis of the rotation transmission rods 320a, 321a due to the rotational operation of the motors 340, 340. It can be configured freely.
In this embodiment, the rotation transmission rod 320a is configured to be able to rotate approximately 5 degrees clockwise, and the rotation transmission rod 321a is configured to be rotated approximately 5 degrees counterclockwise. There is. The rotational operation of the rotation transmission rods 320a and 321a causes the cooked rice attached to the lower surface of the shutter rod 330 to fall downward when the molded cooked rice MR is cut with the shutter rod 330, which will be described later, and also at a predetermined timing and a predetermined location. The shaped cooked rice MR can be dropped. In the above explanation, the rotation angle of the rotation transmission rods 320a and 321a is approximately 5 degrees, but the action of shaking off the cooked rice adhering to the lower surface of the shutter rod 330 and dropping the formed cooked rice MR to a predetermined location are also possible. If possible, the rotation angle is not limited to 5 degrees.

The rotation transmission rods 320a, 321a are hollow cylindrical bodies having a diameter that is approximately the same as the opening height of the rear sliding guide portion 311a of the rear guide frame 311, and have front end portions attached to the left and right rear guide portions 311a, 311a, respectively. It is inserted. Shutter rod support parts 320b and 321b are connected to the front ends of the rotation transmission rods 320a and 321a configured in this way.

The shutter rod supports 320b and 321b are prismatic members having a substantially rectangular cross section and extending in the front-rear direction, and have shutter rod supports 320d and 321d cut out in a substantially rectangular shape in the left-right direction on the lower surface. Further, the shutter bar support parts 320b, 321b have substantially cylindrical supports 320c, 321c protruding from the front end portions.

The shutter rod supports 320b, 321b insert the supports 320c, 321c into the front sliding guide part 310a of the front guide frame 310, and connect the base ends of the shutter rod supports 320b, 321b to the rotation transmission rods 320a, 321a. The sliding guide portions 310a and 311a of the front and rear guide frames 310 and 311 are connected to each other and are installed between them.

The shutter support rods 320, 321 configured in this way can be slid by inserting the rotation transmission rods 320a, 321a and the supports 320c, 321c through the sliding guide portions 310a, 311a of the front and rear guide frames 310, 311, respectively. It is supported so as to be slidable in the left-right direction while maintaining a horizontal state along the movable guide portions 310a and 311a.

Furthermore, the shutter support rods 320 and 321 have a larger diameter than the rotation transmission rods 320a and 321a, which are inserted through the rear guide frame 311, than the supports 320c and 321c, which are inserted through the front guide frame 310. As a result, the shutter support rods 320, 321 can reduce the sliding resistance generated in the supports 320c, 321c and the sliding guide parts 310a, 311a, thereby reducing the frictional resistance caused by the left and right sliding of the shutter support rods 320, 321. This reduces the risk that the shutter support rods 320, 321 will be damaged or deformed. That is, by forming the diameters of the supports 320c and 321c to be smaller than the diameters of the rotation transmission rods 320a and 321a, the ground contact area between the supports 320c and 321c and the sliding guide portion 310a is reduced so that the rotation transmission rods 320a and 321a slide together. The contact area of the movable guide portion 311a is made smaller than that of the movable guide portion 311a, thereby reducing the sliding resistance on the front end side of the shutter support rods 320, 321 compared to the rear end side.
With this configuration, even if the bar shutter 300 continuously performs the operation of forming and dividing the cooked rice R, the load applied to the distal ends of the shutter support bars 320 and 321 is small, and the risk of each shutter support bar being damaged or deformed is reduced. can be effectively reduced.

Further, the base end portion of the shutter rod 330 is connected to the shutter rod support portions 320d, 320d, . . . of the shutter support rods 320, 321, and the shutter rod support portions 321d, 321d, . .
As shown in FIG. 13, the shutter rod 330 includes a support portion 331 that is solid and formed in a substantially cylindrical shape, and an engagement portion that is convex on the lower side and has a substantially semicircular shape that extends from the base end of the support portion 331. 332, and a substantially conical cutting portion 333 extending from the tip of the support portion 331.

The engagement part 332 is a semi-cylindrical body connected to the base end of the support part 331, and has a flat surface 332a with a flat top. The flat surface 332a is in contact with the upper surface of the shutter bar support portions 320b, 321b of the shutter support bars 320, 321, and is fixed with bolts, screws, etc. (not shown).

With such a configuration, the flat surface 332a of the engaging portion 332 is engaged with the flat surface of the upper surface of the shutter rod support portions 320b, 321b, and the shutter rod 330 is held horizontally on the shutter rod support portions 320b, 321b. It is attached. Furthermore, since the end surface of the support portion 331 on the engaging portion 332 side contacts the side walls of the shutter support rods 320 and 321, the attachment position of the shutter rod 330 to the shutter support rods 320 and 321 can be easily adjusted. That is, when attaching the shutter bar 330 to the shutter bar supports 320d and 321d, first, the flat surface 332a is brought into contact with the flat surface of the shutter bar supports 320d and 321d, and then the end surface of the support section 331 is brought into contact with the flat surface of the shutter bar supports 320d and 321d. The position can be determined by contacting the side walls of the portions 320b and 321b.

Further, the cutting portion 333 is a substantially truncated conical member that tapers toward the tip, and has a hemispherical tip.

Due to the above-described configuration, the shutter rod 330 is kept in a horizontal state by contact between the upper surface of the shutter rod support parts 320d and 321d and the flat surface 332a, and contact between the side walls of the shutter rod support parts 320b and 321b and the end surface of the support part 331. It is supported by the shutter support rods 320, 321 so as to be maintained, and swings in the front-rear direction by bringing the front and rear end portions of the flat surface 332a of the engaging portion 332 into contact with the front and rear side walls of the shutter rod support portions 320b, 321b. is regulated.
Furthermore, the side surface of the support portion 331 on the engaging portion 332 side contacts the front and rear side walls of the shutter rod support portions 320d and 321d, thereby restricting movement of the shutter rod 330 in the left-right direction.

Thereby, the shutter rod 330 is formed by the left and right shutter rods 330, 330 which are arranged oppositely by moving the shutter support rods 320, 321 left and right along the sliding guide parts 310a, 311a while maintaining a horizontal state. The opening 335 can be closed or opened.

In addition, a plurality of shutter rods 330 are provided side by side at a certain interval in the front-rear direction. That is, each shutter bar 330 has a storage space 334 between adjacent shutter bars 330 . By configuring the shutter rod 330 in this way, when the left and right shutter rods 330 are closed, the shutter rod 330a enters the storage space 334b, and the shutter rod 330b enters the storage space 334a, causing the left and right shutters to close. The rods 330a and 330b can move left and right without interfering with each other.

Moreover, by making the tip of the cutting part 333 semispherical, it is possible to prevent the possibility of crushing or cutting the rice R that is divided when the opening part 335 is closed with the left and right shutter rods 330a and 330b. The rice mass can be divided into predetermined thicknesses.

A support shutter 350 is disposed below the bar shutter 300 configured in this manner.
As shown in FIGS. 12 and 13, the support shutter 350 includes a shutter support portion 351, guide blocks 352 and 353 disposed before and after the shutter support portion 351, and a shutter regulation member that is engaged and fixed to the guide blocks 352 and 353. portion 354, and left and right shutters 356, 356 surrounded by a shutter support portion 351, guide blocks 352, 353, and a shutter regulating portion 354.

The shutter support portion 351 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view, and has a support opening 351a in the center that is substantially rectangular in plan view. Guide blocks 352 and 353 are placed and fixed on the front and rear ends of the shutter support section 351.

The guide blocks 352 and 353 are block bodies having a substantially rectangular cross section and extending in the left-right direction, and have engaging recesses 354a and 354b near the left and right ends. Shutter regulating portions 354, 354 are engaged with the engaging recesses 354a, 354b. In addition, the guide blocks 352 and 353 have fixing holes penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface at the left and right ends of the guide blocks 352 and 353, and by inserting screws or bolts into the fixing holes, the shutter support portion 351 It is fixed at

The shutter regulating portion 354 has a generally rectangular shape in a plan view and has engaging recesses 354a and 354b extending from the front and rear ends. The engaging recesses 354a and 354b have holes penetrating from the upper surface to the lower surface. The shutter regulating portion 354 is fixed to the guide blocks 352, 352 by inserting screws or bolts (not shown) into the holes.

As a result, the support shutter 350 has a shutter opening 355 that is closed by the shutter support section 351, guide blocks 352, 353, and shutter regulation section 354.
Left and right shutters 356, 356 are arranged in the shutter opening 355 so as to be movable forward and backward.

As shown in FIG. 13, the left and right shutters 356, 356 are plate bodies that are substantially rectangular in plan view, and have a recess 356a on the upper surface.
The recesses 356a have a substantially arcuate cross section and extend in the left-right direction, and are formed in plural at a certain distance in the front-rear direction of the shutters 356, 356.
Thereby, the left and right shutters 356, 356 reduce the contact area with the cooked rice R placed on the upper surface, thereby reducing the possibility that the cooked rice R remains on the upper surface when the shutters 356, 356 move forward and backward.
Furthermore, a fixing hole 356b having a substantially rectangular cross section is bored from the front surface to the rear surface at the rear end portion of the shutters 356, 356 in the advancing and retreating direction, and a connecting rod 357 is inserted into the fixing hole 356b.

As shown in FIG. 13, the base end of the connecting rod 357 is connected to an air cylinder 358 that is horizontally movable left and right.
As a result, the left and right shutters 356, 356 can move toward and away from each other while maintaining a horizontal state using the connecting rod 357 formed by the air cylinder 358 and the shutter support portion 351 that supports the left and right shutters 356, 356.

The cutter mechanism 30 configured in this manner can support the cooked rice lump formed by the forming mechanism section 2 by closing the support opening 351a by bringing the left and right shutters 356 close to each other. Furthermore, the cutter mechanism 30 can divide the cooked rice mass into predetermined thicknesses by bringing the left and right shutter rods 330 close to each other so as to close the opening 335.

Furthermore, a fixed block body 312 is provided at approximately the center in the left-right direction of the front guide frame 310 so as to protrude forward. The fixing block body 312 has fixing holes 312a and 312b penetratingly formed near both left and right ends of the upper surface from the upper surface to the lower surface.
Further, connecting rods 359, 359 are provided upright at the front end of the shutter support portion 351 at positions facing the aforementioned fixing holes 312a, 312b.
The connecting rods 359, 359 are inserted into the fixing holes 312a, 312b of the fixed block body 312, and by changing the lengths of the connecting rods 359, 359, the distance between the bar shutter 300 and the support shutter 350 can be adjusted. That is, the thickness of the formed cooked rice MR can be adjusted according to the length of the connecting rod 359.

The measuring section 40 is a section for measuring the weight of the formed cooked rice MR formed into a predetermined shape by the forming contour section 20 and the cutter mechanism 30.
The measuring section 40 has a load cell mechanism 400 that converts a load into an electrical signal.
The load cell mechanism 400 includes a metering shutter 410 that is substantially rectangular in plan view, a guide frame 415 for holding the metering shutter 410, and support rods 417, 417 located at the left and right ends of the guide frame 415.

The metering shutter 410 is a plate configured to be movable left and right, and has a recess 411 on the upper surface and a metering recess 412 having a generally T-shaped cross section on the lower surface.

The recess 411 has a substantially arc-shaped cross section and extends in the left-right direction. A plurality of recesses 411 are formed at regular intervals in the front-rear direction of the metering shutter 410. Thereby, the measuring shutter 410 reduces the contact area with the cooked rice R placed on the upper surface, and reduces as much as possible the possibility that the cooked rice R remains on the upper surface when the measuring shutter 410 is operated.

The metering recess 412 is formed from the rear surface to the front surface of the metering shutter 410, and extends approximately three-fourths of the way in the front-rear direction of the metering shutter 410. A support rod 413 is inserted into the measuring recess 412 configured in this manner.
The support rod 413 connects a load cell 414 at its base end. Thereby, the weighing shutter 410 can transfer the weight of the shaped cooked rice MR placed on the upper surface to the load cell 414 via the support rod 413 and measure it.
Further, the front end of the metering shutter 410 is loosely fitted and supported by the guide frame 415.

The guide frame 415 has a substantially rectangular shape in plan view and has a rectangular metering opening 415a in the center.
The guide frame 415 has support holes 415b and 415c drilled in the left and right side surfaces from the front to the rear, and a shutter guide 416 provided on the back side of the lower front surface across both the left and right ends.
Support rods 417, 417 are inserted through the support holes 415b, 415c, respectively, to maintain the horizontal state of the guide frame 415. Further, as described above, the front end portion of the metering shutter 410 is loosely fitted into the shutter guide 416 so as to be slidable left and right.

By configuring the weighing section 40 in this way, it is possible to accurately measure the weight of the shaped cooked rice MR that has been shaped into a predetermined shape by the shaping contour section 20 and the cutter mechanism 30, and also to accurately measure the weight of the shaped cooked rice MR that has been shaped into a predetermined shape by the shaping contour section 20 and the cutter mechanism 30. The measuring shutter 410 is moved to either the left or right to open the measuring opening 415a, and the shaped cooked rice MR can be dropped from the measuring opening 415a and delivered to the supplementary conveyance section 4.

A procedure for dividing the formed cooked rice MR formed by the forming mechanism section 2 into predetermined thicknesses will be described with reference to FIGS. 15 and 16.

As shown in FIG. 15(a), the cooked rice R fed into the forming mechanism section 2 is transformed into formed cooked rice MR in a predetermined form, and the left and right shutter bars 330a and 330b of the bar shutter 300 are opened, and the supporting shutter By closing the left and right shutters 356, 356 of 350, the particles are deposited on the shutters 356, 356.

Next, the shaped cooked rice MR deposited on the shutters 356, 356 is removed by closing the opening 335 by bringing the left and right shutter bars 330a, 330b of the bar shutter 300 close together, as shown in FIG. 15(b). Cut the MR to a predetermined thickness. At this time, the support shutter 350 starts its opening operation before the shutter rods 330a, 330b completely close the opening 335, that is, just before the tips of the cutting parts 333, 333 overlap. This can reduce as much as possible the possibility that the shaped cooked rice MR will be pressed from above and below and crushed between the shutter rods 330a, 330b and the shutters 356, 356.

Next, as shown in FIG. 15(c), the shaped cooked rice MR cut into a predetermined thickness with the shutter rods 330a, 330b is placed in the shutter 356, 356 with the opening 335 closed with the shutter rods 330a, 330b. is opened and the shaped cooked rice MR is dropped from the support opening 351a.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16(a), by rotating either the left or right shutter rods 330a, 330b, the molded cooked rice MR formed to a predetermined thickness is extruded downward from the top, so that the measuring shutter 410 let it fall. At this time, by rotating either the left or right shutter rods 330a, 330b, it is possible to reduce the possibility that cooked rice R will remain on the shutter rods 330a, 330b, and to adjust the timing and direction in which the formed cooked rice MR falls. .

Next, as shown in FIG. 16(b), the molded cooked rice MR can be supported by dividing the molded cooked rice MR into a predetermined thickness by positioning the metering shutter 410 so as to close the metering opening 415a. can. At this time, the shaped cooked rice MR is weighed by a load cell 414 (see FIG. 13) connected to a weighing shutter 410.

Next, as shown in FIG. 16(c), the shaped cooked rice MR after weighing is dropped onto the belt conveyor of the supplementary conveyance unit 4 by horizontally moving the weighing shutter 410 so that the weighing opening 415a is opened. placed.

[Supplementary transport section]
The replenishment conveyance unit 4 is a part that conveys the formed cooked rice MR to a predetermined location while compensating for the insufficient amount of cooked rice R so that the weight value becomes a predetermined weight value.
As shown in FIG. 17, the replenishment conveyance unit 4 includes a shuttle conveyor 60 located below the load cell mechanism 400, and an insufficient cooked rice replenishment mechanism 70 located below the front end of the shuttle conveyor 60 in the advancing direction.

As shown in FIGS. 17(a) and 17(b) and FIGS. 18(a) and 18(b), the shuttle conveyor 60 includes a fixed portion 61 located on the rear side with respect to the traveling direction, and a front end portion of the fixed portion 61. The shuttle part 62 is configured to be movable forward and backward with respect to the traveling direction and connected to the shuttle part 62.

The fixed part 61 includes flat plate-like frames 610, 610 arranged opposite to each other on the left and right, a drive roller 611 pivotally supported at the rear of the frames 610, 610, and a drive roller 611 located diagonally below the front side of the drive roller 611, and the left and right frames. 610, and a guide roller 612 pivotally supported by the guide rollers 610 and 610.

The drive roller 611 is connected to a motor (not shown). The drive roller 611 and the motor are connected via a pulley and a belt, and the rotation speed of the drive roller 611 can be arbitrarily adjusted by making the diameter of the pulley variable.

The guide roller 612 is located diagonally below the front side of the drive roller 611, and directly transmits to the drive roller 611 changes in the tension of the conveyor belt 613, which alternately changes between a relaxed state and a tension state according to the forward and backward movements of the shuttle section 62. This is the part to prevent it from being transmitted. That is, by keeping the distance between the guide roller 612 and the drive roller 611 constant, the drive roller 611 and the conveyor belt 613 can be kept in contact with each other at all times.

A shuttle portion 62 is connected to the front end portion of the fixing portion 61 configured in this manner.
The shuttle section 62 includes flat shuttle section frames 614, 614 that are arranged opposite to each other on the left and right and can move forward and backward, a driven roller 615 that is pivotally supported at the front end of the shuttle section frames 614, 614, a shuttle section frame 614, 614, and a tension roller 617a located diagonally below the front of the driven auxiliary roller 616.

The shuttle frame 614 is approximately L-shaped when viewed from the side, and includes a flat frame body 614a having a generally rectangular shape whose longitudinal direction is the front and back, and a roller support portion 614b vertically disposed at the rear end of the frame body 614a. It is a shaped member and is arranged oppositely on the left and right.

The frame main body 614a pivotally supports a driven roller 615 at its front end. The frame main body 614a is connected to a drive mechanism (not shown), and the drive mechanism allows it to move forward and backward while maintaining a horizontal state.

Further, the roller support portion 614b connected to the rear end portion of the frame main body 614a is a member formed in a substantially J shape with the tip portion folded upward at the lower end, and the driven auxiliary roller 616 is formed in the J-shaped recess. It is pivoted.

The driven roller 615 and the driven auxiliary roller 616 are each pivotally supported by the frame main body 614a and the roller support part 614b connected to the frame main body 614a, so even if the frame main body 614a moves back and forth, the positional relationship of each roller does not change. never changes.
In addition, since the driven auxiliary roller 616 is located rearward and downward with respect to the driven roller 615, the conveyor belt 613 gently slopes rearward and downward as it goes from the driven roller 615 to the driven auxiliary roller 616. wrapped.

As a result, the upper surface (surface) of the conveyor belt 613 is pulled vertically between the driven roller 615 and the auxiliary driven roller 616, and the upper surface of the frame main body 614a, that is, the surface that the shaped cooked rice MR contacts and conveys, is bent. Molded cooked rice MR can be transported without any trouble.

Furthermore, a tension section 617 of the conveyor belt 613 is provided below the front of the driven auxiliary roller 616. As shown in FIG. 17, the tension section 617 includes a tension roller 617a around which the conveyor belt 613 is wound, a support bracket 617b that pivotally supports the tension roller 617a, and an elastic body 617c that urges the support bracket 617b forward. .

The tension roller 617a is located below and in front of the driven auxiliary roller 616. The conveyor belt 613 is wound around each roller in such a manner that it slopes gently downward from the auxiliary driven roller 616 toward the tension roller 617a.

Further, the support bracket 617b that pivotally supports the tension roller 617a is urged from the rear toward the front by an elastic body 617c.
With the above-described configuration, the tension roller 617a pulls the conveyor belt 613 downward and is urged forward by the urging force of the elastic body 617c, thereby pulling the conveyor belt 613 forward and putting it in a tensioned state.
Thereby, the possibility that the conveyor belt 613 loosens due to the forward and backward movement of the shuttle section 62 is reduced as much as possible.

In front of the shuttle conveyor 60, there is an insufficient cooked rice compensation mechanism 70 for compensating for the difference from the measured weight value, and a compensation conveyor 71 whose starting end is located below the insufficient cooked rice compensation mechanism 70.

The insufficient cooked rice compensating mechanism 70 transports the cooked rice R that has been processed by the cooked rice input section 1 to the input section IM via the intermediate conveyor MC, and when the formed cooked rice MR measured by the load cell mechanism 50 is less than a predetermined weight value, This is a rice rice replenishment mechanism that feeds the rice R that deviates from the desired weight and is in short supply to the starting end of the replenishment conveyor 71.
A front receiving part 72 is disposed below the input part IM of the insufficient cooked rice compensating mechanism 70.

The front receiving part 72 is a regulating member for regulating the shaped cooked rice MR placed on the upper surface of the conveyor belt 613 from jumping out forward when the shuttle part 62 of the shuttle conveyor 60 is moved back from the forward state.
That is, the front receiving part 72 prevents the formed cooked rice MR from jumping out from the front end of the conveyor belt 613 due to the conveying operation of the conveyor belt 613, and creates a fall gap formed between the front receiving part 72 and the conveyor belt 613. 73, the shaped cooked rice MR can be reliably dropped to the starting end of the replenishment conveyor 71.

The supplementary conveyor 71 has a driving roller 710 disposed on the starting end side and a driven roller 711 disposed on the terminal end side, and a conveyor belt 712 is wound around each roller.
The driven roller 711 is located above the driving roller 710. Therefore, the conveyor belt 712 wound around each roller is configured to have an inclined shape that gradually rises from the conveyance start end to the conveyance end.

With this configuration, the possibility that the shaped cooked rice MR that has passed through the drop gap 73 from the shuttle conveyor 60 and fallen to the starting end of the supplementary conveyor 71 will collapse due to the impact of falling is reduced as much as possible.

The reason for this will be explained by taking as an example the case where the supplementary conveyor 71 is inclined downward.
When the shuttle conveyor 60 moves backward, the front end of the shaped cooked rice MR is dropped first. Therefore, the falling shaped cooked rice MR falls from the shuttle conveyor 60 to the supplementary conveyor 71 in a downwardly inclined position.
Here, supplementary cooked rice FR is placed on the upper surface of the supplementary conveyor 71 to supplement the already insufficient cooked rice R, and the formed cooked rice MR falls from above onto the supplementary cooked rice FR.
When the supplementary conveyor 71 is inclined downward, the lower surface of the formed cooked rice MR falls while maintaining a parallel state to the inclined surface of the conveyor belt 712.
Therefore, the shaped cooked rice MR that has fallen from the conveyor belt 613 comes into contact with the supplementary cooked rice FR first, and a shear stress due to the total weight of the shaped cooked rice MR is generated on the contact surface.
Therefore, if the replenishment conveyor 71 is tilted downward with respect to the traveling direction, there is a risk that the formed cooked rice MR may be damaged by the replenishment cooked rice FR when it falls.

On the other hand, when the supplementary conveyor 71 is tilted upward, the front end of the shaped cooked rice MR that has fallen from the conveyor belt 613 comes into contact with the upper surface of the supplementary conveyor 71 first. Thereafter, the shaped cooked rice MR comes into contact with the supplementary cooked rice FR, and finally the rear end of the shaped cooked rice MR contacts the supplementary conveyor 71. In this way, when the supplementary conveyor 71 is formed in an upwardly inclined shape with respect to the traveling direction, the impact on the formed cooked rice MR when it falls is dispersed to the front end, middle part, and rear end of the formed cooked rice MR, so that the forming The risk of the cooked rice MR being damaged when it falls can be reduced as much as possible.

The order in which the shaped cooked rice MR is conveyed to a predetermined location after compensating for the insufficient cooked rice R in the supplementary conveyance unit 4 configured in this manner will be described with reference to FIGS. 17 and 18.

As shown in FIG. 17A, the shaped cooked rice MR weighed by the load cell mechanism 50 is dropped from the load cell mechanism 50 onto the upper surface of the conveyor belt 613 on the fixed part 61 side of the shuttle conveyor 60. This shaped cooked rice MR is conveyed from the state placed on the fixed part 61 side to the shuttle part 62 side by driving the drive roller 611. At this time, cooked rice R that is insufficient in the molded cooked rice MR to be conveyed is fed into the front end of the supplementary conveyor 71 from the input portion IM as supplementary cooked rice FR.

The shaped cooked rice MR transported to the shuttle section 62 side is transported above the front end of the replenishment conveyor 71 by moving the shuttle section frames 614, 614 forward, as shown in FIG. 17(b). .

The molded cooked rice MR located above the front end of the replenishment conveyor 71 is moved to the replenishment conveyor 71 by moving the shuttle frame bodies 614, 614 of the shuttle portion 62 backward, as shown in FIG. 18(a). It falls so as to cover the front end, that is, the supplementary cooked rice FR. At this time, since the shuttle conveyor 60 moves the shuttle part frames 614, 614 of the shuttle part 62 backward while rotating the driving roller 611 of the fixed part 61, the shaped cooked rice MR is moved by the advancing movement by the conveyor belt 613, The retreating movements of the shuttle frame bodies 614, 614 cancel each other out, and the shuttle parts fall vertically without moving forward or backward.

The formed cooked rice MR passed through the falling gap 73 and dropped and supplied to the front end of the supplement conveyor 71 is made into a predetermined shape and weight by supplementing the missing cooked rice R with the supplementary cooked rice FR.
Thereafter, by rotating the drive roller 710 of the replenishment conveyor 71, the shaped cooked rice MR is conveyed to a predetermined position in a charging container (not shown) and is loaded therein.

As explained above, according to the present invention, the cooked rice R is easily shaped into a desired form by transporting the cooked rice R from the cooked rice input section 1 through the forming mechanism section 2 and the measuring/dividing section 3 to the supplementary conveyance section 4. It also has the effect of being able to be molded reliably.

In particular, the endless belt 21 is wound around the belt guide rod 22 of the forming mechanism section 2, and cooked rice can be easily formed by simply moving the belt guide rod 22. After forming the cooked rice R, the endless belt 21 is It only requires cleaning, which has the effect of improving maintainability.

In addition, a load cell mechanism 400 is disposed below the cutter mechanism 30 to measure the weight of the shaped cooked rice MR formed transversely to a certain thickness, and below the load cell mechanism 400, it advances and retreats in the conveyance direction to receive and convey the shaped cooked rice MR. A movable conveyor is disposed, and the molded cooked rice MR remaining on the conveyor is dropped downward from a falling gap 73 created between the conveyor and the front receiving part 72 as the conveyor moves backward. By arranging the insufficient cooked rice compensation mechanism section above to compensate for the shortage of cooked rice falling downward, the weight of the formed cooked rice can be easily adjusted and the formed cooked rice can be automatically formed into the desired shape, thickness, and weight. be.

≪Second example≫
In the second embodiment of the present invention, as shown in FIG. 19, the shaped cooked rice MR is measured by the load cell mechanism 400 of the measuring section 40 in the first embodiment using a conveyor belt 613.
That is, the second embodiment of the present invention is configured so that the weighing can be performed on a conveyor that conveys the shaped cooked rice MR to a predetermined location. As a result, the apparatus for freely shaping cooked rice in the second embodiment can have a more compact structure as a whole than the first embodiment, and the number of steps in contact with the shaped cooked rice MR after shaping is reduced. The molded cooked rice MR has a structure that is difficult to metamorphose.
The other parts have the same configuration as the first embodiment, so the explanation thereof will be omitted.

As shown in FIG. 19, the weighing and dividing section 3 in the second embodiment includes a cutter mechanism 30 for cutting the cooked rice R into a predetermined thickness, and a cutter mechanism 30 for measuring the weight of the formed cooked rice MR cut by the cutter mechanism 30. It has a measuring section 40'. Note that the cutter mechanism 30 has the same configuration as in the first embodiment, so a description thereof will be omitted.

The weighing section 40' is a weighing and transporting section for the shaped cooked rice MR that is formed into a predetermined shape by the cutter mechanism 30 and falls, and is configured to receive, weigh, and convey in a predetermined direction, and includes a weighing conveyor 420 as a load cell mechanism. have.

As shown in FIG. 19, the weighing conveyor 420 has rotatable rollers arranged at each apex of a substantially inverted triangle. The weighing conveyor 420 includes a drive roller 421 disposed at the lowest stage, a driven roller 422 disposed at the rearmost position with respect to the direction of movement of the formed cooked rice MR, and a driven roller 422 disposed at the frontmost position with respect to the direction of movement of the formed cooked rice MR. It has a tension roller 423.

An endless conveyor belt 424 is wrapped around each roller. A forward biasing force is generated in the tension roller 423. This prevents the conveyor belt 424 wound around the tension roller 423 from being bent.

A weighing load cell is disposed on the back side of the weighing conveyor 420. The load cell is connected to the frame 425 of the weighing conveyor 420. As a result, the frame body 425 sinks by the weight of the shaped cooked rice MR, and the pressure of the sinking amount is transmitted to the load cell, so that the weight can be measured.

Further, in front of the weighing conveyor 420, a shuttle conveyor 60' is arranged.
The shuttle conveyor 60' is composed only of the shuttle section 62 of the shuttle conveyor 60 described in the first embodiment, and its operation is the same, so the same reference numerals are given and the explanation thereof will be omitted.

The order in which the shaped cooked rice MR is conveyed to a predetermined location by compensating for the insufficient cooked rice R in the measuring/dividing section 3 and the supplementary conveyance section 4 configured as described above will be explained with reference to FIGS. 19 to 21.

As shown in FIG. 19, the shaped cooked rice MR transformed into a predetermined form by the cutter mechanism 30 of the weighing and dividing section 3 falls onto the weighing conveyor 420 located below the cutter mechanism 30.

The shaped cooked rice MR that has fallen onto the weighing conveyor 420 remains stationary for a certain period of time and is weighed by a load cell, then drives the drive roller 421 to rotate the conveyor belt 424, and is then dropped and supplied to the base of the shuttle conveyor 60'. At this time, the measurement information of the formed cooked rice MR is transmitted to the insufficient cooked rice compensation mechanism 70, and if the formed cooked rice MR is less than a predetermined weight, the insufficient cooked rice R of the formed cooked rice MR is transferred from the input part IM as the supplementary cooked rice FR. It is thrown into the base end of the replenishment conveyor 71.

The shaped cooked rice MR supplied to the shuttle conveyor 60' is moved toward the tip of the shuttle conveyor 60' by driving the drive roller 611, as shown in FIGS. 20(a) and 20(b). By moving the shuttle section 62 forward, it is transported to above the base end of the replenishment conveyor 71.

The molded cooked rice MR located above the base end of the replenishment conveyor 71 is transferred to the replenishment conveyor 71 by moving the shuttle frame bodies 614, 614 of the shuttle portion 62 backward, as shown in FIG. 21(a). In other words, the rice is dropped so as to cover the front end of the supplementary cooked rice FR. At this time, since the shuttle conveyor 60 moves the shuttle part frames 614, 614 of the shuttle part 62 backward while rotating the driving roller 611 of the fixed part 61, the shaped cooked rice MR is moved by the advancing movement by the conveyor belt 613, The retreating movements of the shuttle frame bodies 614, 614 cancel each other out, and the shuttle parts fall vertically without moving forward or backward.

The formed cooked rice MR that has passed through the falling gap 73 and has been dropped and supplied to the front end of the supplement conveyor 71 has a predetermined shape and weight by supplementing the missing cooked rice R with the supplementary cooked rice FR.
Thereafter, by rotating the drive roller 710 of the replenishment conveyor 71, the shaped cooked rice MR is conveyed to a predetermined position in a charging container (not shown) and is loaded into a lunch container or the like.

As described above, according to the second embodiment of the present invention, below the cutter mechanism 30 is a weighing section 40 that measures the weight of the shaped cooked rice MR formed cross-sectionally to a constant thickness and transports it to a predetermined location. By arranging '' so that the measurement and conveyance of the formed cooked rice MR can be carried out in one mechanism, the cooked rice measuring, forming and dividing machine can be made compact, and the formed cooked rice MR after forming can be carried out in the first embodiment. This has the effect of eliminating the risk of the metering shutter 410 losing its shape during the opening/closing operations described in 2010, thereby reducing the risk of molding defects as much as possible.

Although one embodiment of the present invention has been described, the above description is an example of the present invention, and the present invention is not limited to the above embodiment. Therefore, it goes without saying that various changes can be made to the embodiments other than those described above, depending on the design, etc., as long as they do not depart from the technical idea of the present invention.

M Rice measuring, forming and dividing machine R Rice MR Forming rice α, β Angle 1 Rice input section 10 Rice hopper 10a, 10b Side wall 10c Feeding conveyor 10d Feeding roller 10e Unraveling roller 11 Rice hopper outlet 12, 12a, 12b Taper guide plate 12c Rotation Shaft 13 Guide body 13a, 13b Guide body 13c Guide portion 13c1 Inclined guide surface 13d Contact sliding portion 13e Support hole 14a Hollow cylindrical body 14b Solid cylindrical body 15 Sensor camera 2 Molding mechanism portion 20 Molding contour portion 21 Endless belt 21a Inner circumference Surfaces 21b, 21c Left and right sides 22 Belt guide rod 221 Guide tube 222 Shaft 23 Drive mechanism 230 Support frame 231 Left and right movement mechanism 232 Back and forth movement mechanism 233 Drive motor 234a Drive side bevel gear 234b Driven side bevel gear 235 Power transmission shaft 236 Moving box 237 Sliding guide 238 Support rod 24 Support 241 Lower body 242 Side body 243 Upper body 25 Belt suspension pole support 25a, 25b Support hole 25c Belt suspension pole rotating plate 250 Support bracket 251 Lower body 252 Side body 253 Upper surface Body 254 Lateral movement mechanism 255 Belt suspension pole 26 Tension rod support 26c Tension rod 261 Lower body 262 Side body 263 Upper body 264 Support rod 265 Air drive section 266 Guide crown 267 Guide rod 268 Air cylinder 269 Air suction section 270 Sliding guide 271 Connection support part 3 Measuring division part 30 Cutter mechanism 300 Rod shutter 310, 311 Guide frame 310a, 311a Sliding guide part 312 Fixed block body 312a, 312b Fixing hole 320, 321 Shutter support rod 320a, 321a Rotation transmission rod 320b, 321b Shutter bar support part 320c, 321c Support body 320d, 321d Shutter bar support part 330, 330a, 330b Shutter bar 331 Support part 332 Engagement part 333 Cutting part 334, 334a, 334b Storage space 335 Opening part 340 Motor 350 Support shutter 351 Shutter support part 351a Support opening part 352, 353 Guide block 354 Shutter regulation part 355 Shutter opening part 356 Shutter 357 Connecting rod 358 Air cylinder 359 Connecting rod 4 Compensation conveyance part 40, 40' Measuring part 400 Load cell mechanism 410 Measuring shutter 411 Recessed part 412 Measuring recess 413 Support rod 414 Load cell 415 Guide frame 416 Shutter guide 417 Support rod 420 Light conveyor 421 Drive roller 422 Passive roller 423 Tension roller 424 Conveyor belt 425 Frame 60, 60' Shuttle conveyor 61 Fixed part 610 Frame 611 Drive Roller 612 Guide roller 613 Conveyor belt 614 Shuttle part frame 615 Driven roller 616 Driven auxiliary roller 617 Tension part 617a Tension roller 617b Support bracket 617c Elastic body 62 Shuttle part 70 Insufficient cooked rice compensation mechanism 71 Compensation conveyor 710 Drive roller 711 Driven roller 712 Conveyor Belt 72 Front receiving part 73 Falling gap part FR Compensation cooked rice IM Inserting part M Rice forming measuring/dividing machine M1 Rear wall surface MC Intermediate conveyor MR Formed cooked rice R Cooked rice

Claims (6)

A left and right tapered guide plate is installed below the rice hopper outlet.
Left and right guide bodies are installed in series on the lower edges of each of the left and right tapered guide plates, allowing them to freely tilt in response to forming cooked rice.
The molding mechanism is located further below the left and right guide bodies,
The forming mechanism part includes an endless belt that regulates and forms the forming contour part,
A machine for measuring, forming and dividing cooked rice, comprising a belt guide rod for forming cooked rice in an inner space formed in the endless belt by coming into contact with the outer peripheral side of the endless belt. 2. The cooked rice measuring, forming and dividing machine according to claim 1, further comprising a cutter mechanism disposed below the forming mechanism for cutting the formed cooked rice to a constant thickness. 3. The machine for measuring, forming and dividing cooked rice according to claim 2, further comprising a load cell mechanism disposed below the cutter mechanism to measure the weight of the shaped cooked rice formed transversely to a constant thickness. Below the load cell mechanism, a conveyor that can move forward and backward to receive and convey the shaped cooked rice is installed, and as the conveyor moves backward, the shaped cooked rice remains on the conveyor through the falling gap created between it and the front receiving part. 4. The machine for measuring, forming and dividing cooked rice according to claim 3, further comprising a mechanism for compensating for the lack of cooked rice falling downward, and a mechanism for compensating for the lack of cooked rice falling downward. Below the cutter mechanism is a load cell mechanism that measures and conveys the weight of the shaped cooked rice that has been cross-shaped to a certain thickness, and in front of the load cell mechanism is a conveyor that can move forward and backward to receive and convey the shaped cooked rice. The molded cooked rice remaining on the conveyor is configured to fall downward from a falling gap created between the conveyor and the front receiving part as the conveyor moves backward, and at the same time, the shortage of cooked rice falling downward is compensated for above the conveyor. The rice measuring, forming and dividing machine according to claim 2, further comprising a mechanism for compensating for insufficient cooked rice. The cutter mechanism is
rotatable shutter support rods arranged opposite each other so as to be able to approach and separate;
A shutter rod according to any one of claims 2 to 5, characterized in that the shutter rod has a proximal end connected to the shutter support rod and extends in a direction perpendicular to the opposing shutter support rod. Rice measuring, forming and dividing machine.

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