JPH0118707B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION The present invention relates to a mechanism for continuously cooling tofu and an apparatus in which the cooled tofu floats to the surface of water at the end.

Conventionally, this type of tofu cooling device was simply for cooling tofu and had the following problems. First of all, with the net type cooling tank, as shown in Figure 8, (1) the drive unit is located outside the tank, so a seal is required on the tank wall, which can cause water leakage.

(2) If tofu comes into contact with the chain, the tofu will lose its shape, so a cover will have to be attached. Not only will this area become a dead space, but the cover will need to be removed during washing to remove clogged tofu. However, since it could not be completely removed, various germs were generated, which was a serious hygienic problem.

(3) Since an electric motor is used for power, electrical accidents such as short circuits often occur.

The belt type also has many problems as described below.

(1) Like the net type above, the drive unit is located outside the tank, so a seal is required on the tank wall, which can cause water leakage.

(2) It is difficult to clean the lower part of the belt.

(3) Running costs are high due to very poor cooling efficiency.

(4) Workers injure their lower backs because they pick up tofu while bending over.

(5) Picking up tofu requires placing hands in chiller water at low temperatures (2° to 5°C), which can cause frostbite.

The object of the present invention has been made in view of the conventional problems, and is to continuously and automatically cool tofu, and to
It is an object of the present invention to provide a device that also facilitates the treatment of cooled tofu.

The apparatus of the present invention will be explained below based on the attached drawings. In Fig. 1 showing the outline of the apparatus, uncooled tofu 2 slides on the slope of a plate cover 1 having a slope, which is located at the right end of the apparatus. It falls and rests on the bottom plate 3 on the lower surface. With the tofu placed on the bottom plate 3, the bottom plate 3 is continuously conveyed toward the end by driving the bottom plate feed claw 4 attached to the shaft 9 of the cylinder 5. The bottom plate 3 that has reached the terminal end in this way is turned upside down like the bottom plate 3-a by the upwardly curved guide 6 provided at that part, and then turned upside down like the bottom plate 3-b. Once lifted, the tofu placed on the bottom plate is cooled. The cooled tofu is treated in bulk and then transferred to the next step. Next, as described above, the lower end of the inverted bottom plate 3-b is separated from the end of the guide 6, has a substantially equal curvature at the lower stage, and is one bottom plate wider than the guide 6. The bottom plate 3-b falls to a long lower stage, and in this lower guide 8, the bottom plate 3-b slides by its own weight on a slope with curvature, becoming a horizontal return bottom plate 3-c, and the bottom plate 3-c is connected to the cylinder 5 mentioned above. The bottom plate is conveyed from the terminal end to the beginning end, that is, from the left to the right, by driving the bottom plate return feed claw 10 mounted on the shaft 9 of the bottom plate.
The bottom plate 3-d returned to the initial end is first converted to the slope plate 1 by the slope plate 11 at the initial end and the flat plate 12 connected thereto.
1, the tip rises in the shape of the bottom plate 3-e, and then is placed horizontally on the flat plate 12 like the bottom plate 3-f, where this bottom plate 3-f becomes the initial end bottom plate 3 of the swing. A new piece of uncooled tofu is placed on top, and as described above, the bottom plate feed claw 4 repeats the conveyance from the beginning to the end.

As explained in detail above, according to this device,
It is hygienic because you never touch the tofu, and the structure of the bottom plate on which the tofu is placed is natural, and it is transported smoothly, so the shape of the tofu does not collapse, and the bottom plate is transported by a cylinder. Due to the driving method of the feed pawl, there are fewer failures than other driving methods, and the bottom plate returns smoothly due to the two-stage curved guide at the end, and this returned bottom plate is automatically returned to the starting position. This structure completely covers the drawbacks of the conventional method, and since the power is air, there is no electrical failure. In other words, even if water is used in various places, electric power is not used, which prevents electrical leakage.

Also, the bottom plate 3 on the top surface and the feed claw 1 for the return on the bottom surface.
Since 0 moves in the opposite direction, there is a stirring effect and the temperature at the top and bottom of the tank becomes uniform, resulting in uniform quality and high cooling efficiency. In addition, the bottom plate can be easily removed in its entirety, making it easy to clean. However, the bottom plate returns automatically and has many effects.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

Fig. 1 is an assembled view of the continuous cooling device of the present invention, Fig. 2 is an enlarged view of the starting end of the device, Fig. 3 is an enlarged view of the terminal end, and Fig. 4 is an enlarged view of the bottom plate feeding claw. Figure 5 is an enlarged view of the feed pawl for returning the bottom plate, Figure 6 is a side view of the return bottom plate and the feed pawl for returning the bottom plate,
FIG. 7 is a plan view of the bottom plate, FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram of a conventional net type cooling tank, and FIG. 9 is a diagram showing a conventional belt type cooling tank. 1... Board cover, 2, 2a, 2b, 2c... Tofu, 3, 3-a, 3-b, 3-c, 3-d, 3-
e, 3-f... Floor plate, 4, 4'... Bottom plate feed claw,
5... Cylinder, 6, 8... Guide, 7... Cooling water, 9... Shaft, 10... Feeding claw for bottom plate return, 11... Slope plate, 12... Flat plate, 13... Rotating shaft, 14... Nail weight, 15...
... Frame, 16 ... Motor, 17 ... Coupling link, 18 ... Seal part, 19 ... Gold steel net, 20 ... Water surface, 21 ... Sprocket, 22
...water tank wall, 23...cover, 24...sprocket and chain, 25...belt.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. In a device that continuously transports a plurality of bottom plates 3 from the beginning end to the end end in an aquarium, driven by the bottom board feed claw 4 attached to the shaft 9 of the cylinder 5, a plate cover 1, slope board 1
1 and a flat plate 12, etc., a guide 6 curved upward in an arc shape at the end thereof, and a lower guide 8 having approximately the same curvature as the guide 6 was installed at the lower stage, and was attached to the shaft 9 of the cylinder 5. This continuous cooling device for tofu has a structure in which a return bottom plate is returned to its starting point by driving a bottom plate return feeding claw 10.