JPH0471506B2 - - Google Patents

Description

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION (Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to an automatic steaming system that supplies steam to a steaming pot to boil beans when producing natto or the like.

(Prior Art) Conventionally, when producing natto or the like, there is a process of boiling a large amount of beans, and a steaming device is used. The steaming device consists of a steaming pot that stores beans in a sealed state, a supply pipe that supplies steam to the steaming pot, a discharge pipe that discharges the steam in the steaming pot, and a steaming pot that is installed in each of these supply pipes and discharge pipes. It is composed of a plurality of opening/closing valves, a pressure detector that detects the pressure inside the steamer, and a temperature detector that detects the temperature inside the steamer. Then, with steam at a predetermined pressure being supplied to the supply pipe, each detector detects the temperature and pressure inside the pot, and by manually adjusting the degree of opening of each valve on the supply side and discharge side. ,
Steaming was performed by controlling the temperature inside the pot to a predetermined temperature in each step (blow step, pressurization step, steaming step, depressurization step, and release step). -Refer to Publication No. 11092).

(Problem to be Solved by the Invention) However, in the prior art, each valve on the supply side and discharge side was operated manually, making it impossible to precisely adjust the temperature inside the pot. There was a problem in that it was difficult to improve the quality and uniformity of the beans after they were harvested. If the valves are manually operated, the temperature will rise or fall in a curved manner during the pressurization and depressurization processes, and it is difficult to maintain a constant temperature during the steaming process. Manual operation was not suitable for improving the quality and uniformity of the beans.

By the way, the quality and uniformity of boiled beans depends on the type of beans,
Since the amount of beans varies depending on the amount of beans and the method of simmering the beans, it is desirable to control the valve in a way that can sufficiently accommodate these factors.

Further, the steamer described in the above publication is of a fixed type, and cannot be directly applied to a rotary type.

Therefore, in the present invention, by program-controlling the set temperature and each valve using a control device consisting of a microcomputer, it is possible to adequately respond to each condition, improving quality and uniformity after boiling, and saving labor. The first objective is to provide an automatic steaming system that can be used for cooking, and the second objective is to apply the automatic steaming system to a rotary steaming pot.

(Means for Solving the Problems) The automatic steaming system of the present invention includes a large capacity first valve and a small capacity second valve that are interposed in parallel with each other in a supply pipe that supplies steam to a rotary steamer. , a third valve for releasing the atmosphere is installed on the downstream side of these, and a fourth valve with a large capacity and a fifth valve with a small capacity are installed in parallel with each other in the exhaust pipe for discharging steam from the rotary steamer. It is equipped with a control device consisting of a valve, a temperature sensor that detects the temperature of the steam that has passed through the boiler, and a microcomputer, and furthermore, both a supply pipe and a discharge pipe are connected to the steam boiler through the rotating shaft of the boiler. In the steaming equipment connected to the soybean, the blow 1 step is set at a temperature t ₁ of less than 100°C as the target preheating temperature for soybeans, and the temperature t ₂ is set at a temperature higher than 100°C as the target preheating temperature for soybeans.
A blowing process consisting of two blowing processes in which
A pressurizing process in which a temperature t ₃ higher than the temperature t ₂ is set as the target temperature, a steaming process in which the temperature t ₃ is set as the target maintenance temperature, and a temperature t ₄ lower than the temperature t ₃ is the target temperature. In _the blowing step, the pressure reduction step is set as Among the closed valves, the first, fourth, and fifth valves are driven open, and in the blow 2 process, the second valve is further opened and the pot is rotated, and in the pressurization process, the pot is rotated. The drive is stopped, and the first, fourth, and fifth valves are driven to close, and the second valve is driven to open and close intermittently, and in the steaming process, the temperature t is maintained while the valves are kept open and closed in the pressurizing process. _3, and in the depressurization process, while maintaining the third valve closed, the first, second, and fourth valves are driven to close, and the fifth valve is intermittently driven to open and close. However, in the opening step, the first and second valves are driven to close, and the third, fourth, and fifth valves are driven to open.

(Function) Therefore, by setting the temperature and time of each process, steaming control is automatically carried out, which saves labor. Also, by intermittent opening/closing of the valve, the pressure process can be controlled automatically. Temperature control is easier in the pressure reduction process, and more detailed control is possible in the steaming process, making it possible to steam according to the type and properties of the beans, improving the quality and uniformity of the beans after boiling. Further, since both the supply pipe and the discharge pipe communicate with the steaming pot through the rotating shaft of the steaming pot, the automatic steaming system can be applied to a rotary steaming pot.

(Example) An example of the present invention will be described below based on the drawings.

FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of the steaming apparatus of this embodiment, and 1
2a and 2b are steaming pots that store soybeans in a sealed state.
is a rotating shaft, and the pot 1 can be rotated around the rotating shafts 2a and 2b by a rotation drive device (not shown) while steaming. Further, a supply pipe 3 for supplying steam through a passage in the rotary shaft 2a is connected to the upper rotating shaft 2a of the pot 1, and a supply pipe 3 at a predetermined pressure (for example, 2 kg/cm ² ) is connected to the base end thereof. pipe steam 3
A steam supply device (not shown) is connected thereto. A large-capacity solenoid valve (first valve) SV1 and a small-capacity solenoid valve (second valve) SV2, which are turned on and off when energized, are installed in the supply pipe 3 in parallel with each other, and downstream of these valves, which are turned on and off when energized. An operating electromagnetic valve (third valve) SV3 for releasing the atmosphere is connected. On the other hand, pot 1
A discharge pipe 4 for discharging the coagulated water and steam in the pot 1 is connected to the lower rotating shaft 2b through a passage in the rotating shaft 2b, and a drainage tank is connected to the end of the discharge pipe 4 through a pump or the like. connected. A temperature sensor 5 is installed in the discharge pipe 4, and a small-capacity electromagnetic valve (fifth valve) is installed downstream of the temperature sensor 5.
A DV and a large-capacity electromagnetic valve (fourth valve) MV having an orifice that is always open at a predetermined degree are interposed in parallel with each other. Then, a detection signal from the temperature sensor 5 and a setting signal from a setting device (not shown) are input to a control device 6, which will be described later, and the control device 6 controls energization of each valve.

As shown in FIG. 2, the control device 6 includes a converter 7 that converts each input signal into a digital signal, a microcomputer (CPU) 8, a storage device 9,
It consists of a drive device 10 that drives each valve. The microcomputer 8 consists of ROM, RAM, memory, I/O port, control section, calculation section, etc.
The configuration is such that each input signal is read and processed according to a program stored in the ROM in advance.

Next, the operation of the automatic steaming apparatus of this embodiment will be explained based on FIG. 3. In addition, in this example, blow 1
The process consists of six steps: a blowing step, two blowing steps, a pressurizing step, a steaming step, a depressurization step, and a release step. The blowing step 1 mainly involves preheating the soybeans and the entire steaming pot until they reach a certain temperature, and the blowing step 2 involves preheating the soybeans evenly by driving the pot to rotate as described later.

First, in the setting input device, the maximum time T ₁ ...T ₆ of the 6 steps from the blow 2 step to the release step,
Set the set temperatures t ₁ , t ₂ , t ₃ , and t ₄ . For example, the maximum steam time is 30 minutes for T ₂ , 40 minutes for T ₃ , and 40 minutes for T _4.
is set to 40 minutes, T ₅ is set to 40 minutes, and T ₆ is set to 20 minutes. In addition, as the steam set temperature, for example, t ₁
is 98℃ and ^t2 exceeds 100℃ (e.g.
103°C), _t3 is set to approximately 132°C, and _t4 is set to 105°C. Incidentally, the time T ₁ of the blowing step 1 is an undefined period of time from the start to t ₁ and depends on the capacity of the steamer, the room temperature, etc.

Next, when the apparatus is started, the blow 1 process is started. In the blowing step 1, the drive device 10 drives the discharge side valves MV and DV both open to keep the discharge pipe 4 open, and at the same time opens the large capacity valve SV1 on the supply side to open the supply pipe 3. is opened, and steam at a predetermined pressure is passed from the supply pipe 3 through the pot 1 to the discharge pipe 4. Pot 1
Since a large amount of soybeans are stored inside the pot 1, the pressure inside the pot 1 increases as steam is supplied, and the temperature inside the pot gradually rises accordingly.In this process, the temperature detected by the temperature sensor 5 increases. The process is continued until the temperature reaches t ₁ (98℃). In this case, water condensed by the cold pot 1 is also discharged through the discharge pipe 4.

When the temperature t ₁ reaches 98° C. in the first blowing step, the process moves to the second blowing step. In this blowing step 2, steam is passed through the pot 1 while rotating so that the heat reaches the inside of each soybean, and in order to further raise the temperature inside the pot, a small capacity valve SV on the supply side is installed.
2 is also driven open until the temperature exceeds 100°C, for example 103°C, within the set time _T2 .

When the temperature reaches t ₂ (103° C.) in the blowing step 2, the rotation of the pot 1 is stopped and the pressure step is started. In the pressurization process, both valves MV and
With DV closed and large capacity valve SV1 on the supply side closed, small capacity valve SV2 on the supply side.
is driven to open and close intermittently at a predetermined period, and as a result, the temperature inside the pot reaches _{t 2 (} 103
Proportional control of the temperature is performed so that the temperature increases linearly from the set temperature t ₃ (132°C). Then t ₃
When the temperature within the pot is reached, the temperature inside the pot is reduced by intermittently driving only the small capacity valve SV2 at even smaller intervals.
The soybeans are steamed by controlling the constant temperature so that t ₃ is maintained for a predetermined time T ₄ . Then, after a predetermined time _T4 has elapsed, the valve SV is stopped and the small capacity valve DV on the discharge side is operated for a predetermined time.
By intermittent driving within T ₅ , proportional temperature control is performed so that the temperature falls linearly from t ₃ to t ₄ (105°C) during a predetermined time T ₅ , and the pressure inside pot 1 is reduced. be done. Furthermore, when the temperature drops to t ₄ , the supply side release valve SV3, the output side valve MV
and DV are driven open to open the channel for a predetermined time _T6 , and the opening step is completed.

In this way, in this embodiment, the steaming control is automatically performed at a preset temperature and time, so that it is possible to save labor. In addition, by installing a small-capacity valve in parallel with a large-capacity valve and controlling the small-capacity valve intermittently, it is possible to achieve proportional temperature control in the pressurization and depressurization processes, which was previously difficult to do manually. It becomes possible to control the temperature to rise and fall linearly with respect to the time axis, and
Because the steaming process allows for more precise temperature control,
It becomes possible to steam beans according to the type and properties of the beans, and improves the quality and uniformity of the beans after boiling.

In addition, the set temperature and set time in each of the above steps can be set arbitrarily depending on the type of beans and your preferences.
Corresponding to these, it is also possible to arbitrarily change the contents of the process, such as instantaneously setting only the steaming process.

(Effects of the Invention) As explained above, according to the present invention, beans are automatically steamed by setting the temperature and time of each step, which makes it possible to save labor and to In the depressurization process, temperature control is facilitated by intermittent valve operation, and in the steaming process, steaming can be performed at a constant temperature by finely intermittent valve operation, improving the quality and uniformity of boiling. , and therefore, the marketability can be improved. Further, since both the supply pipe and the discharge pipe communicate with the steaming pot through the rotating shaft of the steaming pot, the automatic steaming system can be applied to a rotary steaming pot.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

1 to 3 relate to one embodiment of the present invention, in which FIG. 1 is a schematic diagram of a steaming system, FIG. 2 is a block diagram of a control device, and FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram of the operation of the system. 1... Steam boiler, 3, 4... Supply and discharge pipe, 5... Temperature sensor, 6... Control device, SV1
...First valve, SV2...Second valve, SV3...
...3rd valve, MV...4th valve, DV...5th valve.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. A large-capacity first valve and a small-capacity second valve that are installed in parallel with each other in a supply pipe that supplies steam to a rotary steamer, and a valve that is installed downstream of these valves. A third valve for releasing the atmosphere, a fourth large-capacity valve and a fifth small-capacity valve that are interposed in parallel with each other in the exhaust pipe for discharging steam from the rotary steamer, and the steam that has passed through the pot. The steaming apparatus is equipped with a temperature sensor for detecting the temperature of the steam boiler, and a control device consisting of a microcomputer, and further, a supply pipe and a discharge pipe are both connected to the steam boiler through the rotary shaft of the steam boiler. , a blow 1 step in which a temperature t ₁ of less than 100°C is set as the target preheating temperature of soybeans, and a temperature t ₂ of more than 100°C as the target preheating temperature of soybeans
A blowing process consisting of two blowing processes in which
A pressurizing process in which a temperature t ₃ higher than the temperature t ₂ is set as the target temperature, a steaming process in which the temperature t ₃ is set as the target maintenance temperature, and a temperature t ₄ lower than the temperature t ₃ is the target temperature. In _the blowing step, the pressure reduction step is set as Of the valves in the closed state, the first, fourth, and fifth valves are driven open, and in the blowing step 2, the second valve is further opened and driven to rotate the pot, and in the pressurization step, the hook is rotationally driven. and the first, fourth, and fifth valves are driven to close, and the second valve is driven to open and close intermittently, and in the steaming process, the temperature t ₃ is maintained while maintaining the open and closed states of the valves in the pressurizing process. In the depressurization process, while maintaining the third valve closed, the first, second, and fourth valves are driven to close, and the fifth valve is driven to open and close intermittently. An automatic steaming system characterized in that, in the release step, the first and second valves are driven to close, and the third, fourth, and fifth valves are driven to open.