JP7788136B2 - Mixing treatment device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to an agitation processing device that agitates mixtures of sticky and solid materials.

Conventional agitation processing devices include those shown in Figure 6 of Patent Document 1.

This stirring device, known as the Rheokneader (registered trademark), is widely used in food manufacturing, etc. Its performance is as follows: (1) The scraping blades rotate around the cylindrical vessel wall, which scrapes the material from the vessel wall, improving heat transfer and preventing burning.
(2) Mixing by the material moving over the blades as the scraping blades rotate.
(3) As a result of the effect of (2), the blades are angled in the axial direction, which causes the material in contact with the blades to move in the axial direction and mix.
(4) When the blades rise above the material layer, the material on the blades falls, causing mixing.
(5) The cylindrical arms of the blades rotate through the material, removing and sucking it in and mixing it through shear.
Due to the above effects, it has properties similar to those of a horizontal ribbon mixer with arm-based shear mixing, and is widely used for heating and mixing food, and can also mix sticky and solid materials.

However, because the blades are plate-shaped near the scraping blades, depending on the properties of the material, the material in the direction of the blade's movement may form a single mass including the blade and rotate together, which can be a problem, particularly when mixing sticky materials and solid materials, as it takes a long time to stir and mix them.

Another conventional stirring processing device is that described in Patent Document 2. This stirring processing device is a device that promotes heating, cooling, stirring , and mixing of solid materials and adhesive materials, and for example, coats solid materials such as nut kernels with an adhesive material such as caramel, and stirs the solid materials to dissolve them separately, thereby producing caramel-coated roasted nuts and other products.

This stirring treatment device is a vertical rotation-revolution type stirring device equipped with stirring blades consisting of blade-shaped stirring elements and rod-shaped stirring elements, and is configured so that the stirring blades consisting of blade-shaped stirring elements and rod-shaped stirring elements rotate and revolve laterally relative to the stirring vessel as the stirring drive shaft rotates and revolves.

As an example, roasting of granulated nuts placed in the stirring vessel and caramelization of granulated sugar are carried out by heating the stirring vessel and rotating and revolving stirring blades consisting of blade-shaped stirring elements and rod-shaped stirring elements.

Next, the stirring vessel is cooled to solidify the caramel, while the stirring blades consisting of the blade-shaped stirring bar and the rod-shaped stirring bar are rotated and revolved.

The result is roasted nuts that are individually broken down and coated with caramel.

However, such stirring processing equipment has limitations in mixing and stirring materials such as solids and adhesives because the blade-shaped stirring bar and rod-shaped stirring bar act as an integrated structure on the material being stirred, resulting in increased production time.

Patent No. 4152616 Patent No. 6633299

The problem to be solved was that there were limitations to the mixing and stirring process of the materials being stirred, which resulted in increased production time.

The present invention is an agitation processing device in which a scraping blade and a rod-shaped agitator are supported on a rotating shaft arranged laterally with respect to an agitation vessel having a curved bottom, and the scraping blade and the rod-shaped agitator rotate up and down as the rotating shaft is rotated, and the scraping blade scrapes the bottom while stirring granular or lumpy solid matter with an adhesive material attached thereto and loosens it by dropping it, and the rod-shaped agitator stirs the granular or lumpy solid matter with an adhesive material attached thereto, and the scraping blade is plate-shaped with a front surface that pushes the granular or lumpy solid matter with an adhesive material attached thereto in the direction of rotation, and is attached to the rotating shaft in the radial direction of rotation. The rod-shaped agitator is connected to the rotating shaft separately from the radial arm and is positioned so as to overlap in the rotational direction within the rotation range of the scraping blade, and at the overlapping position the rotation phase is shifted relative to the scraping blade and the tip is positioned so as to be close to the bottom, and the scraping blade pushes the granular or lumpy solid matter to which the adhesive material is attached in the rotational direction, causing it to come out into the upper space above the tank of the stirring vessel and drop , thereby loosening the material, and the rod-shaped agitator pushes into between the granular or lumpy solid matter to which the adhesive material has attached that has fallen, loosening it.

Because of the above-described configuration, the present invention allows the scraping blade and rod-shaped stirrer to rotate vertically, with the scraping blade scraping the curved bottom of the stirring vessel while stirring the material, and the rod-shaped stirrer mixing and stirring the material. The radial arms can perform a mixing action on the material by rotating. Because the rod-shaped stirrer is connected to the rotation shaft between the radial arms, the rod-shaped stirrer can cooperate with the radial arms to perform multiple mixing actions such as shearing, material movement, and fine dispersion of the material. Therefore, while the scraping blade scrapes and stirs the material, the radial arms and the rod-shaped stirrer between the radial arms move directly against the scraped material, improving mixing.

Because of the above-mentioned configuration, the present invention allows the scraping blade and rod-shaped stirrer to rotate vertically, with the scraping blade scraping the curved bottom of the stirring vessel while mixing and stirring the material, and the rod-shaped stirrer to mix and stir the material. The radial arms can perform a mixing action on the material by rotating. Because the rod-shaped stirrer is connected to the rotation shaft between the radial arms, the rod-shaped stirrer can perform a mixing action on the material between the radial arms in cooperation with the radial arms. Therefore, while the scraping blade performs scraping and stirring of the material, it is possible to improve the mixing and stirring of the material by the radial arms and the rod-shaped stirrer between the radial arms.

These can enhance the mixing of the sticky substance and the solid, and shorten the stirring time.

1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an agitation treatment device according to an embodiment. FIG. 2 is a schematic perspective view of the embodiment as seen from the axial direction of the rotation shaft.

The present invention achieves its objective of improving the mixing and stirring process of materials to be stirred in the following ways:

The present invention is an agitation processing device in which a scraping blade and a rod-shaped agitator are supported on a rotating shaft that is arranged laterally with respect to an agitation vessel having a curved bottom, and the scraping blade and the rod-shaped agitator rotate up and down as the rotating shaft is rotated, and the scraping blade scrapes the bottom while stirring granular or lumpy solid matter having an adhesive material attached thereto and loosens it by dropping it, and the rod-shaped agitator agitates the granular or lumpy solid matter having an adhesive material attached thereto, and the scraping blade is plate-shaped and connected to the rotating shaft via a radial arm in the direction of the rotation radius, and the rod-shaped agitator is connected to the rotating shaft separately from the radial arm and is positioned so as to overlap in the rotational direction within the rotation range of the scraping blade, and at the overlapping position the rotation phase is shifted relative to the scraping blade and the tip is arranged so as to be close to the bottom, and the scraping blade pushes the granular or lumpy solid matter to which the adhesive material is attached in the rotational direction, causing it to come out into the upper space above the tank of the stirring vessel and drop, thereby loosening it , and the rod-shaped stirring bar pushes into between the granular or lumpy solid matter to which the adhesive material has attached that has fallen, loosening it.

The object to be stirred is, for example, a cooked product such as a material composed of a solid and an adhesive material, or a processed product obtained by disintegrating granular or lumpy solid material coated with an adhesive material into granules or lumps. Examples of cooked products include mixing rice and koji, kneading dough, producing gyuhi (soft rice cake), and Shiraae (sweet and soy sauce). Granular or lumpy solid materials can be anything that can be coated with an adhesive material, such as nuts, popcorn, or natto. The adhesive material can be anything that can coat a solid material by stirring , such as caramel, chocolate, or candy.

However, the material to be stirred is not particularly limited as long as it requires mixing or loosening and stirring. It is not limited to the above-mentioned materials, but can also be used to loosen other foods that require mixing or loosening, and not just foods, but also medicines, quasi-drugs, herbal medicines, various ingredients, etc.

The agitation vessel with a curved bottom is a horizontal agitation vessel whose bottom is the lower part of a cylinder in radial cross section as part of a horizontally placed cylinder, for example, a horizontal agitation vessel that forms an approximately semicircular bottom. However, the bottom can be realized in a range where the bottom is less than or more than a semicircle in radial cross section as long as scraping can be performed by the rotation of the scraping blade. It can also be realized as a vertical agitation vessel whose bottom forms part of a sphere.

The rod-shaped stirring bar can be realized as a rod-shaped stirring bar made of a straight round rod. A plurality of rod-shaped stirring bars can be set in the axial direction of the rotating shaft. These plurality of rod-shaped stirring bars can also be realized by making the lengths of the rod-shaped stirring bars different from each other. A plurality of rod-shaped stirring bars can also be set in the circumferential direction of the rotating shaft. These plurality of rod-shaped stirring bars can also be realized by making the lengths of the rod-shaped stirring bars different from each other. A single rod-shaped stirring bar can also be realized.

The rod-shaped stirring bar may be any bar capable of mixing and stirring the material to be stirred, and may be a rod-shaped stirring bar with a rectangular or elliptical cross section depending on the material to be stirred.

The rod-shaped stirring bar is not limited to a straight shape, but can also be realized in a curved or bent shape, taking into consideration the interrelationship with the radial arms.

The radial arms are realized as straight arms with circular cross sections.

The radial arm may be any arm that can connect the scraping blade to the rotary shaft and mix and stir the material to be stirred in cooperation with the rod-shaped stirrer , and may be an arm with a rectangular or elliptical cross section.

The radial arms are not limited to being straight, but can also be curved or bent in consideration of their relationship with the rod-shaped stirring bar.

The multiple scraping blades are arranged so that their ends overlap in the direction of rotation.

The scraping blades need only be capable of stirring the material being stirred while scraping the bottom, which forms part of the cylinder, and multiple scraping blades can be arranged so that they are spaced apart in the direction along the rotation axis without overlapping in the rotation direction.

This was achieved by arranging the rod-shaped stirring bar so that its rotation phase was shifted from that of the scraping blade.

This is achieved by setting the rotational phase shift to 90°.

However, it is sufficient that the rod-shaped stirring bar can loosen and stir the material to be stirred in cooperation with the radial arms, and to this extent, the rotation phase can be freely selected.

The multiple arranged scraping blades can be realized by shifting their rotational phases relative to each other to form a pseudo-spiral along the rotation axis, causing the material to flow along the rotation axis.

The rotational phase shift of the scraping blades can be freely set as long as the multiple arranged scraping blades form a pseudo-spiral and can cause the material to flow along the rotation axis.

The stirring vessel has a circular end wall around the axis and an end wall scraping blade that scrapes the end wall, and the end wall scraping blade is supported on the rotating shaft by a bent arm between the radial arms.

The bending arms are realized in a form that bends perpendicular to the radial direction of rotation and the direction of the rotation axis, but as long as the end wall scraping blades can be connected to the rotation axis between the radial arms, the bending form can be freely realized.

The bending arm can also be achieved by connecting it to a rotating shaft outside the radial arms.

The bent arms were realized with a rotational phase shift relative to the radial arms and rod-shaped stirrers .

In a configuration in which the bent arm is coupled to the rotary shaft outside the radial arms, it is possible to realize the rotation without shifting the rotation phase with respect to the radial arms and the rod-shaped stirring bar.

[ Stirring Treatment Device]
Fig. 1 is a schematic cross-sectional view of an agitation treatment device according to an embodiment, and Fig. 2 is a schematic perspective view taken along the line II-II in Fig. 1 according to an embodiment.

The agitation processing device 1 shown in Figs. 1 and 2 is a device for heating, cooling and mixing a sticky substance and a solid substance.

Example usage is shown below.

(1) Rice koji production (seed koji is spread over the rice, mixed and rubbed in evenly to ensure the next cultivation proceeds evenly)
A small amount of seed koji is sprinkled onto steamed rice (a mixture of polished and brown rice steamed and cooled to about 50°C) from a height of about 50cm, then placed in the mixer shown in Figure 1. Mix at 4 rpm for 40 minutes to complete (2) Cultivation. Then, keep at 35°C for 48 hours, mixing occasionally at 5 rpm.
The obtained rice koji had good shape retention, each grain was fine, had a koji aroma, and there were no problems with subsequent use.
Without the rod-shaped stirrer , the rice gathered in the center during mixing, resulting in insufficient product replacement. The seed removal was uneven and unsuccessful. On the other hand, when the rod-shaped stirrer was used, the top surface did not rise, the product was replaced smoothly, and the mixture was well mixed.
(3) Dough mixing Wheat flour, vegetable powder, bean powder, salt, black pepper, etc. were placed in a mixer , and the seasoning liquid was added little by little and kneaded to mix the dough for baked goods. Without a rod-shaped mixer , the dough became hard and co-rotated, which could not be resolved. On the other hand, when a rod-shaped mixer was used, a well-mixed dough could be produced. The dough was shaped and baked, and the desired baked goods were obtained.

The agitation processing device 1 shown in Figures 1 and 2 is used to obtain a processed product by coating granular or lumpy solid material with an adhesive and breaking it into particles or lumps. The granular or lumpy solid material may be any material that can be coated with an adhesive, such as nuts, popcorn, or natto. The adhesive may be any material that can be coated with a solid material by agitation , such as caramel.

1 and 2, the agitation processing device 1 vertically agitates granular or lumpy solid material and a high-melting, fluid adhesive material in an agitation container 3 using an agitation processing unit 5. This agitation process produces a processed product in which nuts are coated with caramel and the nuts are broken down into almost individual pieces.

The agitation vessel 3 of the agitation processing device 1 accommodates a mixture of granular or lumpy solid material and adhesive material as the material to be agitated, and is made of iron, stainless steel, copper, etc. The agitation vessel 3 has a hopper portion 14 integrally attached to the top of a horizontally placed cylindrical portion 7.

The cylindrical portion 7 has a bottom 9 that forms a part of a cylinder, and end walls 11, 13 on both sides in the axial direction. The axial direction is the direction of the central axis of the cylinder that the cylindrical portion 7 contains, and refers to the axial direction of a rotation shaft (described later) that is disposed on this central axis. A hopper portion 14 is integrally provided on the cylindrical portion 7 and has an open shape facing upward. The hopper portion 14 forms the upper opening of the stirring vessel 3.

The bottom 9 of the stirring vessel 3 forms an approximately semicircular cross section in the radial direction as part of a cylinder. The radial direction is relative to the central axis of the cylinder that the cylindrical portion 7 contains.

The bottom 9 is provided with a cooling fluid jacket 15 on its outer surface. The fluid jacket 15 is connected to a water supply unit via a water supply pipe (not shown). The fluid jacket 15 is designed so that cooling water can be supplied from the water supply unit by a control box (not shown). The temperature of the cooling water can be changed by controlling the control box.

The cylindrical portion 7 is closed at both axial ends by the end walls 11 and 13. The end walls 11 and 13 are circular around the axis of the cylindrical portion 7. The end walls 11 and 13 are configured with curved surfaces that protrude outward in the axial direction.

One and the other hollow shaft brackets 17, 19 are attached to the end walls 11, 13. The shaft brackets 17, 19 are rotatably supported on the equipment frame. The other shaft bracket 19 is interlocked with an electric motor for rotating the shaft bracket on the equipment frame via a reduction mechanism. Therefore, when the electric motor for rotating the shaft bracket is driven and rotated under the control of the control box, the agitator vessel 3 rotates around its axis, allowing the treated material to be removed, etc. The water supply piping for the fluid jacket 15 is routed through one of the shaft brackets 17.

The stirring processing section 5 is provided with a rotary shaft 21 at the axial center of the cylindrical section 7. The rotary shaft 21 is rotatably supported within the shaft brackets 17 and 19 via bearing metals and packings.

The rotating shaft 21 has an end (not shown) that protrudes from the other shaft bracket 19 side. This protruding portion of the rotating shaft 21 is inserted into, for example, a control box and is interlocked with an electric motor that rotates the shaft via a chain sprocket mechanism and a reduction mechanism.

The rotating shaft 21 is therefore driven to rotate via a reduction mechanism and a chain sprocket mechanism under the control of the control box.

The rotating shaft 21 of the stirring vessel 3 is provided with scraping blades 23, 25, rod-shaped stirring bars 27, 29, and an end wall scraping blade 31. The scraping blades 23, 25, rod-shaped stirring bars 27, 29, and end wall scraping blade 31 are arranged symmetrically with respect to the center O of the can body of the stirring vessel 3.

That is, the stirring treatment device 1 of the embodiment has four scraping blades in the body including the bottom 9 and end walls 11, 13 and two on each side, for a total of six scraping blades, and the body also has four additional rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 that prevent particles from sticking together, etc. However, the six scraping blades and four additional stirrers can be selectively omitted, or their numbers can be increased or decreased as appropriate.

The four scraping blades 23, 25 and two end wall scraping blades 31 of the stirring vessel 3, and the four additional rod-shaped stirring bars 27, 29 are arranged with a 180° rotational phase shift between the left and right sides of the center O of the can body of the stirring vessel 3.

As the rotating shaft 21 is rotated, the scraping blades 23, 25, the rod-shaped agitators 27, 29, and the end wall scraping blade 3 rotate vertically, so that the scraping blades 23, 25 scrape the bottom 9 while stirring the material being stirred, and the rod-shaped agitators 27, 29 loosen and stir the material being stirred, and the end wall scraping blade 31 scrapes the end walls 11, 13.

The scraping blades 23, 25 are made of a material such as fluororesin, and are connected to the rotating shaft 21 via radial arms 33, 35, respectively, in the direction of the rotation radius, and are arranged along the rotating shaft 21.

The multiple arranged scraping blades 23, 25 are attached at a 30° inclination relative to the rotation shaft 21. This 30° inclination is set so that the portion furthest from the center O of the can body along the rotation shaft 21 leads in the direction of rotation.

The radial arms 33, 35 of the scraping blades 23, 25 have the same structure. For example, the radial arm 33 is made of stainless steel or the like and includes an arm main body 37, an attachment portion 39, and a blade support portion 41.

The arm main body 37 has a circular cross section and is linear along the radial direction of rotation. The attachment portion 39 is fitted onto the rotating shaft 21 and fixedly connected. The structure of the attachment portion 39 only needs to be able to connect the arm main body 37 to the rotating shaft 21, and may be either an integrated fitting structure or a disassemblable attachment structure.

The blade support portion 41 rotatably supports the knuckle portion 43 on the scraping blade 23 side. The knuckle portion 43 is formed on a blade mounting plate 45 made of stainless steel or the like to which the scraping blade 23 is attached. The shape relationship between the blade support portion 41 and the knuckle portion 43 can also be reversed. A knuckle spring (not shown) is interposed between the blade support portion 41 and the knuckle portion 43, which urges the scraping blade 23 to rotate relative to the radial arm 33, causing the scraping blade 23 to rotate and scrape while being pressed against the bottom portion 9.

The blade support portion 41 is angled relative to the arm main body 37, and the 30° mounting angle of the scraping blade 23 is set by the angle of this blade support portion 41 relative to the arm main body 37. At this 30° mounting angle, the tip edge of the scraping blade 23 is curved so that it can scrape the bottom portion 9.

The radial arm 35 of the scraping blade 25 has the same configuration as the radial arm 33. However, the radial arm 35 is mounted in a position that lags the radial arm 33 by 15° in rotation phase.

The ends of the scraping blades 23, 25 overlap in the direction of rotation, and the angle setting creates a pseudo-helical surface between them, giving them a shape similar to a ribbon screw. This pseudo-helical surface allows the scraping blades 23, 25 to move the material being stirred from the end wall 13, which is the innermost side of the stirring vessel 3, toward the center O of the vessel.

The end wall scraping blades 31, like the scraping blades 23 and 25, are made of fluororesin or the like and are supported on the rotating shaft 21 by bent arms 47. The configuration of the bent arms 47 is the same as that of the radial arms 33, except that they are bent. They are made of stainless steel or the like and include an arm main body 49, an attachment portion 51, and a blade support portion 53.

The bent arm 47 has a mounting portion 51 attached to the rotary shaft 21 midway between the radial arms 33, 35. The bent arm 47 is shifted in rotation phase with respect to the radial arms 33, 35 and the rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29. This rotational phase shift is set to 180° with respect to the radial arm 33 of the scraping blade 23. However, this rotational phase shift can be set to a value other than 180° to avoid an excess of arms.

The arm main body 49 of the bent arm 47 bends along the rotation axis 21, forming a bending angle of 90° toward the end wall 13. The blade support portion 53 is angled relative to the arm main body 49, and the mounting angle of the end wall scraping blade 31 is set by the angle of this blade support portion 53 relative to the arm main body 49. This mounting angle is set to, for example, 15° so that the blade leans forward in the direction of rotation relative to the rotation axis 21, as shown in Figure 2.

This mounting angle can also be set to a value other than 15°. At this mounting angle, the tip edge of the end wall scraping blade 31 is curved so that it can scrape the curved surface of the end wall 13 when pressed by the knuckle spring.

The rod-shaped stirrer 27 is attached to the rotating shaft 21 between the radial arm 33 and the bent arm 47. The rod-shaped stirrer 29 is attached to the rotating shaft 21 between the radial arm 35 and the bent arm 47. At this position, the rod-shaped stirrer 27 is located within the rotation range of the scraping blade 23 in the axial direction of the rotating shaft 21, and the rod-shaped stirrer 29 is located within the rotation range of the scraping blade 25. The rod-shaped stirrer 29 is close to the overlapping portion between the scraping blades 23 and 25. The rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 are also relatively close to the radial arm 33 and the bent arm 47. The rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 are arranged parallel to each other.

The rod-shaped stirring bars 27 and 29 have the same configuration. For example, the rod-shaped stirring bar 27 has an attachment portion 55 for attachment to the rotary shaft 21 and a rod-shaped portion 57. The structure of the attachment portion 55 only needs to be such that the rod-shaped portion 57 can be connected to the rotary shaft 21, and may be either an integral fitting structure or a disassemblable attachment structure. The rod-shaped portion 57 is formed in a straight shape.

Furthermore, the particle groups that fall from the scraping blades 23, 25 during stirring tend to form large clumps at the bottom 9 of the tank of the stirring vessel 3, with some adhesion between the particles. When the scraping blades 23, 25 are positioned upward, the rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 are caused to bite into the large, stationary clumps due to the influence of the vessel wall, causing them to behave in a manner that breaks down the adhesion between the particles. The rod-shaped portions 57 of the rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 are selected to have a round rod shape with a circular cross section. A round rod-shaped portion 57 provides a structure that is suitable for applying external force without damaging the particles.

The length of the rod-shaped portion 57 is such that the tip is close to the bottom 9. The rod-shaped portions 57 of the rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 can be changed in length and shape. The rod-shaped portion 57 can also be bent or otherwise formed. The rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 are set to have the same rotational phase relative to the rotating shaft 21 and are set to lead the radial arm 33 of the scraping blade 23 by 90°. The rotational phase of the scraping blade 23 relative to the radial arm 33 can also be set to a value other than 90°. The rotational phase of the rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 can also be set to lead the radial arm 33 of the scraping blade 25 by ... changed relative to each other.

[Stirring drive of stirring processing unit]
A mixture of granular or lumped solid material and adhesive material is contained in the stirring vessel 3. This mixture is obtained by stirring the granular or lumped solid material and raw adhesive material in a previous stirring treatment device that involves heating. However, even in this stirring treatment device 1, by selectively supplying superheated steam to the fluid jacket 15, it is possible to produce an intermediate processed product, which is a mixture of granular or lumped solid material and adhesive material, by scraping and stirring .

Here, the intermediate processed product, which is a mixture of granular or lumpy solids and adhesive material, is used as the material to be stirred , and temperature-controlled cooling water is selectively supplied to the fluid jacket 15 via a water supply pipe under the control of a control box.

When the rotation of the rotary shaft 21 is controlled, the scraping blades 23 and 25, the end wall scraping blade 31, and the rod-shaped stirring bars 27 and 29 rotate up and down around the rotary shaft 21 to scrape, mix, and stir the solids and adhesive materials in the stirring vessel 3.

At this time, when the scraping blades 23, 25 and the end wall scraping blade 31 move upward, only the energy of the scraped intermediate processed material falling to the bottom 9 becomes the loosening force. The rod-shaped stirring bars 27, 29 drop to the bottom 9 and the rod-shaped portions 57 thrust into the loosened intermediate processed material. This thrusting action further loosens the intermediate processed material. At the same time, the solid material is cooled at the bottom 9 and the adhesive coating on the surface of the solid material gradually solidifies, facilitating the separation of the solid material from each other.

The intermediately processed material on the wall surface of the bottom 9 moves in the circumferential direction due to the circumferential motion of the scraping blades 23, 25, and also moves on the blades toward the axial center of the rotating shaft 21 due to the pseudo-helical angle of 30° between the scraping blades 23, 25. This axial movement moves the intermediately processed material on the end walls 11, 13 toward the center of the tank of the stirring vessel 3, and axial mixing is performed.

To explain further, when intermediate processing material (granular material and a relatively small amount of sticky liquid) is present in the tank of the agitator vessel 3 up to the axial height of the rotating shaft 21, mixing in the agitator vessel 3 using only the scraping blades 23 and 25 is as follows.

The intermediate-processed material is fluid. The portion of the bottom 9 in contact with the body wall adheres to the wall due to its own weight. The portion of the intermediate-processed material in contact with the scraping blades 23, 25, radial arms 33, 35, and bent arms 47 is pushed in the direction of rotation and flows within the mixing vessel 3. The scraping blades 23, 25 are plate-shaped, so they scrape and move the intermediate-processed material in front of them. The radial arms 33, 35 are roughly rod-shaped, so they mix by pushing the intermediate-processed material aside.

When the scraping blades 23, 25 reach the filling height of the intermediate-processed material near the height of the rotary shaft 21, the intermediate-processed material on the scraping blades 23, 25 is positioned in the space inside the agitator vessel 3 and falls appropriately due to gravity, adhesive force, etc. This falling and the movement of the scraping blades 23, 25, radial arms 33, 35, and bending arm 47 in the intermediate-processed material mix the intermediate-processed material.

The most important point in this mixing is when the sticky substance begins to solidify. It is important to apply mixing force to break the particles' adhesion before it becomes too strong due to solidification. At this time, the rod-shaped stirring bars 27 and 29 are particularly effective.

As shown in FIG. 2, the rod-shaped stirring bars 27 and 29 are positioned 90° ahead of the scraping blade 23 in the direction of rotation.

If we consider the case where the rotating shaft 21 is rotated from the state shown in FIG. 2, the scraping blades 23, 25 scrape and mix the intermediate processed material, and the radial arms 33, 35 mix it, and the rod-shaped stirring bars 27, 29 move upward from the intermediate processed material into the air.

When rotated 90° from the state shown in Figure 2, the scraping blade 23 carries the intermediate-processed material onto its blade and moves out into the upper space above the tank of the agitator vessel 3. The rod-shaped agitators 27, 29 are oriented vertically in the air directly above the rotation shaft 21. From this state, the intermediate-processed material falls and becomes loosened. On the tank side of the agitator vessel 3, if the agitation is slow, there is no mixing force. If the agitation is fast, the intermediate-processed material continues to mix due to its inertia.

This stirring and mixing acts on the particles as they fall, causing them to become coarser (the distance between the particles increases by the difference between the speed of the particles being scraped up and the speed of the particles falling due to gravity), but no external force acts to bond the particles together while they are falling, so the particles do not stick together but solidify into a dispersed state.

After another 90° rotation, the scraping blade 23 becomes vertical in the air directly above the rotation shaft 21, and the dropping of the intermediate-processed material is completed. At this time, the rod-shaped stirring bars 27, 29 are positioned above the intermediate-processed material, and the rod-shaped portion 57 penetrates between the granular material having a sticky surface as the intermediate-processed material, thereby loosening and mixing the material.

After another 90° rotation, the rod-shaped agitators 27 and 29 enter the intermediate treatment material vertically and start loosening and mixing. Meanwhile, the scraping blade 23 has just reached a position above the intermediate treatment material. From here, scraping and mixing will begin.

This behavior promotes loosening , stirring and mixing of each granular material.

As described above, the end wall scraping blade 31 is out of rotation phase with respect to the scraping blades 23 and 25. Therefore, the bent arm 47 of the end wall scraping blade 31 in particular has an effect on mixing.
In particular, the intermediate processed material lifted by the scraping blades 23, 25 often becomes lumpy, and the loosening blades have the effect of breaking these up.

As described above, the radial arms 33, 35 and the bent arm 47 also contribute to loosening and mixing by rotating. The rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 are arranged with a rotation phase shift between the radial arms 33, 35 and the bent arm 47, and are arranged overlapping within the rotation range of the scraping blades 23, 25. Therefore, the loosening function of the rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 can be efficiently performed by the cooperation of the scraping blades 23, 25, the radial arms 33, 35 and the bent arm 47.

The rod-shaped stirrers 27, 29 are expected to be effective in loosening granular ingredients, strengthening the movement around the main axis when kneading dough, and mixing viscous pastes such as mochi. They also have a shearing effect, which allows them to loosen and mix solid ingredients with good shape retention while suppressing excessive shear and breaking forces applied to the ingredients. They can also be used to mix viscous pastes while suppressing loss of viscosity (decrease in viscosity).

1 Stirring treatment device 3 Stirring vessel 7 Horizontally placed cylindrical portion 9 Bottom portion 11, 13 End wall 15 Fluid jacket 21 Rotating shaft 23, 25 Scraping blades 27, 29 Rod-shaped stirring bar 31 End wall scraping blades 33, 35 Radial arm 47 Bent arm 49 Arm main body 57 Rod-shaped portion

Claims (4)

A scraping blade and a rod-shaped agitator are supported on a rotating shaft arranged laterally relative to a stirring vessel having a curved bottom, and the scraping blade and the rod-shaped agitator rotate vertically as the rotating shaft is rotated, so that the scraping blade scrapes the bottom while stirring granular or lumpy solid matter to which an adhesive material has adhered, and the rod-shaped agitator stirs the granular or lumpy solid matter to which an adhesive material has adhered,
The scraping blade is a plate-like blade having a front surface for pushing the granular or lumpy solid matter to which the adhesive material is attached in the direction of rotation, and is connected to the rotating shaft via a radial arm in the direction of the rotation radius,
The rod-shaped stirring bar is coupled to the rotary shaft separately from the radial arm, and is positioned so as to overlap in the rotation direction within the rotation range of the scraping blade, and at the overlapping position, the rotation phase is shifted relative to the scraping blade, and the tip is disposed so as to be close to the bottom,
The scraping blade pushes the granular or lumpy solid matter to which the adhesive material is attached in the direction of rotation, causing it to drop into the upper space above the tank of the stirring vessel and loosen the material by this falling, and the rod-shaped stirring bar pushes into the gaps between the granular or lumpy solid matter to which the adhesive material is attached and loosens the material.
Agitation processing equipment. The stirring treatment device according to claim 1,
The scraping blades are arranged in a plurality of positions, and the rotation phases of the blades are shifted from each other to form a pseudo-spiral along the rotation axis, thereby causing the granular or lumpy solid material to which the adhesive material is attached to flow along the rotation axis.
Agitation processing equipment. The stirring treatment device according to claim 1 or 2,
The stirring vessel has an end wall in the axial direction of the rotation shaft,
an end wall scraping blade for scraping the end wall;
The end wall scraping blade is supported on the rotating shaft by a bent arm between the radial arms.
Agitation processing equipment. The stirring treatment device according to claim 3,
The bending arm is out of rotation phase with respect to the radial arm and the rod-shaped stirrer.
Agitation processing equipment.