JPS5929229B2 - Tobacco raw material processing equipment - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a device for improving the aroma and taste of tobacco.

In the tobacco manufacturing process, various processing devices have been proposed for reducing or removing only the bad taste components without damaging the flavor components of tobacco raw materials.

However, conventional treatments have the disadvantage that when intense treatment is performed to remove the bad habit components, the aroma components are likely to be weakened, as well as the appearance of harshness and entanglement.

The present inventors have discovered that by freezing with liquid nitrogen and then spraying with humidified steam, it is possible to reduce only the bad habit components without damaging the aroma components of tobacco raw materials. This led to the invention.

The subject matter of the invention is as set forth in the claims set forth at the beginning.

The apparatus of the present invention will be explained below with reference to the drawings.

As shown in FIG. 1, the apparatus of the present invention has a raw material supply section A.
, a freezing section B, and a thawing section C.

The raw material supply section A includes a supply conveyor 1, a scraping conveyor 3 provided at a subsequent stage, and a hopper 6 provided downward from the upper end of the scraping conveyor 3.

A scraping pin 3-1 is installed on the conveying surface of the scraping conveyor 3.
is provided, and the enclosure is covered with a cover 5.

At the bottom of the hopper 6, there are photoelectric detectors 7 and 8 at two locations, upper and lower.
is provided.

9 is an exhaust duct for dust removal, 2 is a supply conveyor driving motor, 3-1 and 3-2 are pulleys of the scraping conveyor 3, and 4 is a scraping conveyor driving motor.

The freezing section B includes a stainless steel caterpillar-shaped transfer conveyor 11 provided on a pedestal 10, and upper, lower, left, and right heat insulating walls 12-1 provided around the transfer conveyor 11.
12-2.12-3゜12-4 and upper insulation wall 12-1
It has a liquid nitrogen spray nozzle 13 and an agitation fan 14 provided therein toward the transfer conveyor 11.

11-1 and 11-2 are transfer conveyor pulleys, and the entrance side of the transfer conveyor 11, which is hung between the pulleys, is located below the hopper 6.

The liquid nitrogen spray nozzle 13 is connected to a liquid nitrogen tank (not shown) provided outside the heat insulating wall by a pipe 13-1 via a valve 13-2.

The drive motor 15 of the stirring fan 14 is connected to the upper heat insulating wall 12-
It is attached to the outer surface of 1.

16 is an exhaust duct 17 is a motor for driving the transfer conveyor 11.

The indoor atmospheric temperature in the freezing section B is maintained at a set temperature within the range of -30°C to -170°C by adjusting the amount of liquid nitrogen sprayed.

The thawing section C has a transfer tube 20 connected to the outlet end of the freezing section B.
and a rotating drum 24 provided after the transfer cylinder 20.

An exhaust duct 21 is provided in the upper part of the transfer cylinder 20, and the lower part is inclined downward toward the rotating cylinder 25.
A large number of water vapor spouts 22 are provided on its lower surface.

A heating jacket 23 is provided around the exhaust duct 21 and the steam outlet 22 .

Steam piping 22-1 and 23-1 are connected to the large number of steam outlets 22 and heating jacket 23.

The rotating drum 24 is driven by a drive roller 2 provided on a pedestal 25.
A push plate (not shown) is provided on the inner surface of the hollow cylindrical body, and a heating jacket 27 is provided on the outer periphery of the press plate.

The outlet side of the rotating drum 24 is covered with a hood 28,
An exhaust duct 29 is provided at the upper end of the hood 28, and a humidified steam spraying means 30 is provided inside the hood 28 toward the inside of the rotating drum 24.

The water vapor spraying means 30 has a nozzle 30-1 connected to a carrier steam distribution f30-2 and a water pipe 30-3.

The ambient temperature within the rotating drum is maintained at a set temperature within the range of 40°C to 80°C by adjusting the amount of sprayed steam.

2T-1 is a steam pipe for a heating jacket, and 31 is a rotary cylinder driving motor.

In addition to the structure described above, the water vapor spraying means 30 may have a water vapor spray nozzle and a water spray nozzle separately.

The exhaust volumes from the exhaust ducts 16, 21, and 29 are set so as to eliminate air going in and out between the freezing section B and the thawing section C.

The supply conveyor 1 and the scraping conveyor 3 start operating when the height of the raw material decreases to the photoelectric detector 8 below.
When the height of the raw material rises to the upper photoelectric detector 7, the operation is stopped, and the amount of raw material supplied to the freezing section B is kept constant.

The tobacco raw material dropped onto the transfer conveyor 11 through the hopper 6 by the supply conveyor 1 and the scraping conveyor 3 is transferred to the transfer conveyor 11 driven by the electric motor 17, and then transferred to the heat insulating walls 12-1.12-2.12-3.12. -4, and is rapidly frozen by being sprayed with liquid nitrogen from the liquid nitrogen spray nozzle 13.

The temperature of the indoor atmosphere in the freezing section B is maintained uniformly by the rotation of the stirring fan 14.

The frozen tobacco raw material transferred from the freezing section B to the thawing section C is thawed by heat from the heating jacket 23 and steam from the steam outlet 22 while falling through the transfer tube 20.
It is immediately fed into the rotating drum 24.

The tobacco raw material is stirred by the rotation of the rotary drum 24, while receiving the steam spray from the nozzle 30-1 and the heat from the heating jacket 27, is transferred to the exit side, and is taken out and sent to the next process by the conveyor 40.

In tobacco raw materials that have undergone such treatment, the bad taste components are removed or reduced without damaging the flavor components.

The apparatus of the present invention also has exhaust ducts N6, 2L, and 29, and by adjusting the respective exhaust volumes, heat loss can be minimized. Since the raw material is fed into the rotating drum 24, it has a feature that it is possible to reduce the crushing of the raw material.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of the device of the present invention. A: Raw material supply section, B: Freezing section, C
... Defrosting section, 3 ... Raising conveyor, 11 ... Transfer conveyor, 12-1, 12-
2, 12-3, 12-4...Insulating wall, 13
...Liquid nitrogen spray nozzle, 14...Stirring fan, 20...Transfer tube, 22...
・Steam outlet, 24...Rotating drum, 30・
...Hydrogenated steam spraying means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1 having a raw material supply section, a freezing section, and a thawing section sequentially, the raw material supply section including a hopper having a level detector at the bottom;
A scraping belt conveyor is provided in the front stage of the hopper, and the freezing section includes a transfer conveyor extending from below the hopper, and upper/lower belt conveyors provided around the transfer conveyor.
The thawing section consists of left and right insulating walls, a liquid nitrogen spray nozzle and a stirring fan provided on the upper insulating wall facing the transfer conveyor, and the thawing section includes a humidified steam spraying means provided downstream of the freezing section. 1. A tobacco raw material processing apparatus comprising: a rotating drum; and a transfer cylinder having a water vapor spraying means provided between the freezing section and the rotating cylinder.