JPS6336751B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed Description of the Invention] [Industrial Application Field] The present invention is applicable to producing molded foods in short-time lots, or to molding foods on a test basis while exchanging various types of materials in a short time. This invention relates to a food molding device used in such cases.

[Conventional technology and problems to be solved] Conventionally, when producing molded foods in short batches or molding food on a test basis while exchanging many types of materials in a short period of time, The die had to be disassembled and cleaned every time reproduction was started or materials were replaced, and disassembly and cleaning took a lot of time.

In addition, if it is necessary to replace dies depending on the type of material or the type of molded food, it is necessary to prepare many types of dies, and it takes a lot of time to replace dies, resulting in production This resulted in a significant decrease in efficiency.

Furthermore, if you stop the extruder operation to clean or replace the die, you will not only lose time until you restart the extruder and return to normal operation, but you will also lose labor or material extrusion until the extruder returns to normal operation. The loss of understanding the conditions is immeasurable.

The present invention has been made in view of the above problems, and is useful for producing molded foods in short batches or for testing foods by exchanging many types of materials in a short period of time. The objective of the present invention is to provide food molding equipment with extremely high production efficiency, which eliminates the need to remove, disassemble, clean, or replace the die each time the extruder is operated, and which can maintain a steady state while continuously operating the extruder. do.

[Means for Solving Problems] In order to achieve the above object, the food forming apparatus of the present invention is an apparatus for sequentially extruding and forming materials kneaded by an extruder, and includes a die body connected in the extrusion direction of the extruder. In front of the extrusion molding nozzle,
A flow path member having a plurality of intermediate flow paths arranged side by side is configured to be movable in a direction perpendicular to the extrusion direction of the material.

[Example] Hereinafter, an example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings.

Figure 1 is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of the first embodiment;
The figure shows a front longitudinal sectional view of the first embodiment, FIG. 3 shows a longitudinal sectional view of the second embodiment, and FIG. 4 shows a front longitudinal sectional view of the second embodiment.

In these drawings, 1 is a cylinder of an extruder, and 2 is a kneading screw provided in the cylinder 1. Reference numeral 10 denotes a die body attached to the tip of the extruder by an attachment member 3, and in the case of this embodiment, a die for forming a thin plate-shaped food product is used.

The die main body 10 of the first embodiment has a base end flow path 11, intermediate flow paths 12a, 12b, 12c,
The extrusion nozzle 13 is divided into three stages and has a shape in which the cross-sectional area of the flow path is successively narrowed down. Among these, intermediate flow paths 12a, 12b, and 12c are formed in the flow path member 12. That is, a hole 14 that intersects the flow path at right angles is provided in the longitudinal direction of the intermediate portion of the die body 10, and the flow path member 12 is movably inserted into the hole 14.

The flow path member 12 is provided with three intermediate flow paths 12a, 12b, and 12c arranged in three locations in the vertical direction. And each of these intermediate flow paths 12a, 12b,
12c has the same shape as the inlet part and the outlet part of the proximal flow path 11, and the same shape as the outlet part and the inlet part of the extrusion molding nozzle 13, and each intermediate flow path 12a, 1
The inlet and outlet portions of 2b and 12c have a common shape, but the intermediate portions have different shapes.

That is, each intermediate flow path 12a, 12b, 12c
The cross-section of the intermediate portion in the material extrusion direction has the same horizontal dimension but different vertical (height) dimension, so the cross-sectional area is different for each intermediate flow path. For example, upper intermediate channel 1
If the cross-sectional area of 2a is 1, then the central intermediate flow path 12b
The cross-sectional area of the lower intermediate flow path 12c is set to 1/2, and the cross-sectional area of the lower intermediate flow path 12c is set to 1/4. In this way,
The viscosity of the material or the extrusion pressure during material molding,
Intermediate flow path 12 with a cross-sectional area depending on conditions such as foaming ratio
a, 12b, and 12c can be selected.

Although not shown, all or at least two of the intermediate flow passages of the flow passage member 12 may have the same cross-sectional area, and in this way, intermediate flow passages with the same cross-sectional area may be formed. Channel member 12
is mainly used in molding equipment that produces molded foods in short-run lots. In this way, the die body can be cleaned without disassembling the die body, as will be described later.

Two intermediate channels having the same cross-sectional area are often provided in a channel member. Therefore, in the channel member 12 in which two intermediate channels are formed, all of the intermediate channels have the same cross-sectional area.

Each intermediate flow path 12a, 12 in the flow path member 12
The interval between b and 12c is such that when one intermediate flow path communicates with the base end flow path 11 and the extrusion molding nozzle 13, the other intermediate flow path appears outside the die body 10 and can be cleaned. It is preferable to set the interval so that it can be easily performed.

Note that the base end channel 11 of the die body 10 and the extrusion molding nozzle 13 can be formed integrally with the intermediate channels 12a, 12b, and 12c in the channel member 12, or by forming the intermediate channels 12a, 12b, and 12c in the channel member 12, for example. Road 12
It is also possible to integrate them with the intermediate flow path by lengthening a, 12b, and 12c, or to omit them.

15 is a moving means rotatably attached to the upper part of the flow path member 12, and a long screw rod 15 is connected to the motor 1.
5b is configured to rotate and move. As the moving means 15, it is also possible to adopt a manual type in which the screw rod 15a is rotated with a spanner or the like, or an automatic type in which the screw rod 15a is moved by an air or hydraulic cylinder.

The second embodiment shown in FIGS. 3 and 4 is
The difference is that the channel member 12 is moved in the lateral direction of the intermediate portion of the die body 11, and the other points are the same as the first embodiment. That is,
The channel member 12 in the second embodiment is the die body 1
It is movably inserted into a hole 14 provided in the lateral direction of the middle part of the 0, intersecting the flow path at right angles. In this flow path member 12, two intermediate flow paths 12a and 12b having different cross-sectional areas are arranged side by side in the lateral direction. In the second embodiment, an air cylinder 15c is used as the moving means 15, and the flow path member 12 is moved by a connecting rod 15d.

Further, the modification of the flow path member 12 of the first embodiment described above can also be applied to the flow path member 12 of the second embodiment.
Of course, it can be applied to 2.

Next, the operation of the apparatus according to the embodiment of the present invention will be explained.

When producing molded foods in short batches,
When a new die is used after the production of one lot is finished, or when testing molding while exchanging various materials in a short period of time, it is necessary to change the die according to the change of materials. The moving means 15 is operated to move the channel member 12 a predetermined distance. That is, by moving the flow path member 12, one intermediate flow path 12a located between the base end flow path 11 and the extrusion molding nozzle 13 is replaced with other intermediate flow paths 12b and 12c according to the following molding conditions. exchange with.

On the other hand, one intermediate flow path 12a used in preforming
Since it appears on the outside of the die body 10, it is cleaned by a cleaning device (not shown) or the like.

In this way, the unused intermediate flow path is always kept clean and ready for new use. Therefore, there is no need to remove the die body 10 from the extruder, disassemble it, and clean it.

Note that the part in the flow path of the die where material is most likely to adhere is the constricted part of the flow path, which is the intermediate flow path in this example, and normally, if this cylinder is cleaned,
The entire molding device can be used to mold new foods. However, if the proximal channel or extrusion nozzle also needs to be cleaned, the proximal channel or extrusion nozzle can be integrated with the intermediate channel and cleaned along with the intermediate channel, as described above. Just do it like this.

It is also possible to temporarily block the flow path using the wall of the flow path member and extrude the material intermittently. In this way, it is possible to change the flow and activate the material flowing through the channel while shaking and pulsating it, thereby preventing the material from stagnation and decomposition, thereby improving the quality.

The foods to which the above-described molding apparatus of the present invention is applicable include a wide range of seafood paste products, pet foods, and the like.

[Effects of the Invention] According to the present invention as described above, molded foods can be produced in a short time lot by moving a channel member having a plurality of intermediate channels arranged in parallel in a direction perpendicular to the extrusion direction of the material. Even when molding food on a test basis while exchanging various materials in a short period of time, there is no need to remove, disassemble, clean, or replace the die each time. It is possible to obtain a die with the following properties, and the productivity can be significantly improved.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 and 2 are longitudinal cross-sectional views and front vertical cross-sectional views of the first embodiment of the present invention, and FIGS. 3 and 4 are
The figures show a longitudinal section and a front longitudinal section of a second embodiment of the invention. 1: Cylinder, 2: Screw, 10: Die body, 11: Base end channel, 12: Channel member, 12
a, 12b, 12c: intermediate flow path, 13: extrusion molding nozzle, 14: hole, 15: moving means.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In an apparatus for sequentially extruding and molding materials kneaded by an extruder, a plurality of intermediate channels are arranged in parallel in front of an extrusion molding nozzle of a die body connected in the extrusion direction of the extruder. 1. A food molding device characterized in that a flow path member is provided movably in a direction perpendicular to the extrusion direction of a material. 2. The food forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the plurality of intermediate channels have different cross-sectional areas in the material extrusion direction. 3. The food forming apparatus according to claim 1, wherein all or two of the plurality of intermediate flow paths have the same cross-sectional area in the material extrusion direction. 4. The food forming apparatus according to claim 1, 2 or 3, characterized in that a plurality of intermediate channels of the channel member are arranged in parallel in the vertical direction.