JPH0612987B2 - Method and apparatus for food processing - Google Patents

Description

Description: TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to the field of food extrusion processing, and more particularly to a method and apparatus for continuously extruding a flat sheet (flat plate) food.

(Prior Art) As an extruder used for processing pet food, feed, snack food, and the like, a single-screw or twin-screw extruder used for molding or kneading of plastics is used. This means that the functions of kneading, shearing, pressing and the like while heating the material and extruding the molten material from the die in a fixed amount are substantially the same.

The technology currently used for food processing is outlined with reference to FIGS. 11 (1) (2) (3).

That is, in FIG. 11 (1), the die plate 4 is attached to the tip of the cylinder 1 containing the screw 2 via the adapter 3.
And a removable die 5 is fitted in the die plate. The material heated, kneaded, melted, and fluidized in the extruder is pressure-fed through the adapter / die, and is depressurized / released under atmospheric pressure at the die outlet, and at the same time water vapor evaporates in the material and the extruded material is coarse. It becomes a porous dry food. Products with various cross sections can be made by variously processing the hole shape of the die as shown in Fig. 11 (2). Also, Fig. 11
As shown in (3), it is also possible to form a plurality of holes in the die plate 4'and insert the dies 5'fitted into each of them to replace and use only the die parts of various shapes. Another method is to remove the adapter and attach the die plate directly to the tip of the cylinder.

The above is the technology that has been mainly used in the past, but when the material is vegetable protein or fish meat, in order to have a food organization similar to natural foods unlike cereal snacks, the above dice It was found that the processing cannot be performed by the method described above, and that food organization is not performed due to the blowout of steam at the die exit, the defective orientation of fibers, and the like.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the conventional technology, the length of the die hole provided in the die is short,
There is no further function by simply molding the extruded material, and more advanced food production, such as plant protein organization, densification and continuous shaping, and other structured shaping of meat storage, fish meat, etc. Is extremely difficult to do.

Such problems can be solved to some extent by using a long die having a long material flow distance as the forming die.

That is, as shown in FIG. 13 to FIG. 15, the long die 10 is attached to the head of the cylinder 7 through the head adapter 9 including the perforated plate called the breaker plate 8 in the head of the cylinder 7. There is.

The adapter 9 can be heated and cooled, and the long die
Normally, 10 is divided into several parts in the longitudinal axis direction so that the length can be adjusted to be short or long, and each part is rapidly cooled by circulating cold water.

Also, the long die 10 has cooling water holes as shown in FIGS. 14 and 15.
There is a fixed die 10A having 11 and a movable die 10B, and by adjusting the movable die 10B with an adjusting bolt 12, the thickness of the plate-shaped flow passage can be adjusted from the outside.

This long-die method is currently being researched and developed mainly for the production and processing of dense structured foods (for example, those similar to the tissue of chicken) in which the vegetable protein material is melt-oriented.

That is, the melt-heated material is extruded from the tip of the extruder, its flow is rectified in the axial direction by the breaker plate portion 8, and enters the long die 10 through the flow path in the adapter 9. Since the material in the long die 10 advances under the shearing force having a velocity distribution in the thickness direction of the die opening, it is cooled while being oriented in the longitudinal direction, the orientation is fixed, and the material at the die exit is fibrous or The food material has a plane-oriented laminated structure.

Although a large amount of water contained in the food material is vaporized in the extruder, it is cooled and condensed while the generation of bubbles is suppressed by the internal pressure of the flow resistance of the material in the long die 10, so that steam is ejected from the die outlet. In addition, a fine structure of material fine bubbles is obtained.

However, even with this plate-shaped long die method,
As shown in Fig. 12, there is a drawing from the spectacle-shaped cylinder hole A of the twin-screw extruder to a circle in the adapter B, and further to a rectangular hole C in the die, so there is a smooth drawing without material retention. It is difficult to form the flow path, high precision is required for processing the die, material easily leaks from the joints of each part, and it is difficult to improve the cooling effect due to the structure of the die. However, there was a practical problem that the extrusion stability was not so good and the product quality was difficult to be constant.

The present invention does not shape the material into a rectangular shape and cool-molds it, but shapes it in the shape of a pipe, and cool-molds it. Another object of the present invention is to provide a method and an apparatus for continuously extruding a plate-shaped food product, which can be cooled from inside and outside the pipe to improve the cooling efficiency and make it uniform.

Further, according to the present invention, by cutting and separating the material flow, the cut surface is clean and the commercial value is improved, and by continuously flattening the product surface shape, the continuous extrusion processing of the plate-shaped food product having a better product shape The purpose is to provide a method.

(Means for Solving Problems) The first feature of the technical means taken by the present invention to achieve the above-mentioned object is that a food material in an extruder is extruded through a forming die. , The food material flowing in at the inlet side of the forming die is shaped like a pipe, and is subsequently cold-formed in the form of a pipe so that the material is continuously extruded in at least one place until it leaves the forming die. It's about cutting open.

The second feature is that, in addition to the first feature described above, the material that has been cut open is continuously drawn while being flattened.

Further, as a device used for the above-mentioned first feature which is the third feature, a molding die is connected to the pipe shaping die in which the molding die is connected to the extruder cylinder side in communication with the shaping die. At least one separator is provided on the outlet side of the pipe cooling molding die for holding the die opening thickness constant and extending into the die opening to cut and separate the material in the die. Especially.

In addition to the above-mentioned third feature, the fourth feature is that in the shaping die, the core body having the spindle portion on the extruder cylinder side on the die axis is supported on the inner peripheral wall of the die via the spider. The pipe cooling molding die is provided with a mandrel extending in the direction of the die on the die axis, and further, a refrigerant passage communicating with each other is provided inside each of the core body and the mandrel. A cooling supply / discharge means for circulating a cooling medium is provided in the refrigerant passage.

The fifth feature is that, in addition to the third feature described above, a material heating means is provided inside the core body, and a material cooling means is provided inside the mandrel. .

(Embodiment and Action) Hereinafter, an embodiment of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings.

In FIGS. 1 to 4, 20 is a cylinder of an extruder, and in this example, two screws 21 are inserted therein.

This screw 21 may be one.

A breaker plate 23 is attached to the tip (head) of the cylinder 20 via a head adapter 22.

Here, the extruder heats and kneads the food material put into the cylinder 20, and sends the heated and kneaded melt-fluidized material to the molding device via the adapter 22.

A molding device (molding die) 24 is composed of a pipe shaping die 25 and a pipe cooling molding die 26.

The pipe shaping die 25 is composed of a die body 27 whose inner peripheral wall has a circular cross section, and a core body 28 having a circular cross section which is fitted and fitted on the axial center of the die body 27. Is supported by the inner peripheral wall of the die main body 27 via four spiders 29 which are equally distributed in the circumferential direction as shown in FIG. 2, and a spindle portion 30 is formed on the side facing the extruder side. .

The cooling molding die 26 is a die body whose inner peripheral wall has a circular cross section.
31 and a mandrel 32 which is fitted and fitted on the axis of the die body 31 and has a circular outer shape, and one axial end of the die body 31 is attached to the die body 27 of the shaping die 26. The heat insulating material 33 is sandwiched between the mandrel 32 and the mandrel 32 so as to be detachably connected so that the inner peripheral walls of the mandrel 32 and the core 28 of the front end shaping die 26 are screwed together.

A cooling jacket 35 is formed on the outer peripheral portion of the die body 31 of the cooling molding die 26, and a cooling medium can be continuously discharged to the jacket 35 through a supply / discharge pipe 36, and a mandrel.
Inside 32 is a cooling cavity 37.

In the present embodiment, the die body 31 of the cooling molding die 26 is exemplified as one that can be joined and separated in the axial direction.
31 may be integrally formed in the axial direction. In short, as shown in FIG. 3, a pipe-shaped molding passage 38 is formed in the axial direction by the inner peripheral wall of the die body 31 and the outer peripheral wall of the mandrel 32. I wish I had it.

A separator 39 is provided on the outlet side of the molding die 24.

In this embodiment, the head metal fitting 41 is attached to the head of the die main body 31 of the cooling molding die 26 so as to extend in the radial inward direction via the bolt 40, and the head metal fitting 41 is provided on the end face of the mandrel 32 on the outlet side. 42, the concavo-convex portion 42 is connected with a bolt 43, and the sharpened portion 39A is inserted into the head metal fitting 41 inside the die opening, that is, in a part of the molding passage 38.
A separator 39 having the above is continuously provided.

Therefore, the head fitting 41 keeps the axis of the die body 31 and the mandrel 32 concentric, and keeps the die cross-section opening thickness constant.

In addition, in the embodiment of FIG. 1, the pipe is a shaping die 25.
Internal cooling means is provided, the refrigerant supply pipe 44 is communicated with a passage 45 radially penetrating the die body 27 and the spider 29 and a passage 46 formed on the axis of the core body 28, and the passage 46 A cooling circular pipe 47 is connected to the core body 28 and screwed to the core body 28, and the cooling inner pipe 47 is installed in the cooling cavity 37 of the mandrel 32.

Further, a passage 48 communicating with the cooling cavity 37 is formed in the axial direction of the core body 28, and a refrigerant discharge pipe 49 is communicated with the passage 48.

Therefore, in this embodiment, the core body 28 and the mandrel 32 are each provided with a cooling supply / discharge means for circulating a cooling medium therein.

The embodiment shown in FIGS. 5 (1) (2) (3) is the head fitting 4
In FIG. 1, separators 39 are provided above and below the molding passage 38, whereby a pipe-shaped material is incised and separated at two places in the die.

The separator 39 may be provided on the left and right sides or may be provided at three or more places.

In the embodiment shown in FIGS. 1 to 5 described above, the material which has been heated and kneaded in the extruder to be melted and fluidized is pressure-fed to the forming die 24 through the adapter 22.

Then, at the inlet side of the molding die 24, it is shaped into a pipe shape through the pipe-shaped shaping die 25, and subsequently cooled from inside and outside of the material by the pipe-shaped cooling molding die 26 to be cold-molded into a pipe shape. By the time the material leaves the molding die 24, it is continuously cut in the extrusion direction at least at one position (one position in FIGS. 1 to 4 and two positions in FIG. 5).

6 to 9 show the material take-up means 50 in front of the forming die 24.
Is an example in which the above-mentioned material is cut open in the extrusion direction of the separator 39 while being flattened and continuously drawn into a plate-shaped product.

That is, the flattening guides corresponding to the separators 39 are formed in the forward direction.
51 is provided, and the expanding roll 25 is provided below the guide 51.

Further, a pair of upper and lower nip belts 53 that are circulated and fed back on a horizontal plane are provided below the spreading rolls 52, and the material spread by the nip belts 53 is pressed from above and below to take up the plate. It is designed to be a shaped product.

As the nip belt 53, a different material such as a heat resistant rubber belt or a stainless mesh belt can be used in addition to the stainless belt, and a belt lap caterpillar take-up machine can also be used.

In addition to the belt type, a pair of upper and lower rolls 54 shown in FIG.
9 or a double nip roll 55 shown in FIG. 9, and in the case of a belt type, it is desirable to provide a guide 56 as shown in FIG.

Further, as shown in FIG. 6 and FIG. 9, a heating means 57 such as an infrared heater is provided at the nip portion to heat the food from above and below during the take-up, thereby facilitating post-processing.

The expanding roll 52 can be omitted, and at this time, it is desirable that the nip portion of the take-up means 50 is vertically arranged so that the back bending operation of the pipe material can be performed.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 10, the core 28 in the pipe shaping die 25 is
And the mandrel 32 in the pipe cooling molding die 26 are separately provided, and the core 28 is internally heated and the mandrel 32 is internally cooled.

That is, a heater 58 is provided on the outer periphery of the die body 27 of the shaping die 25, a heating cavity 28A is formed in the core body 28, and the heating cavity 2 is formed.
The heat medium is circulated to the 8A through the spider 29 and the supply / discharge pipes 59, 60.

Further, the cooling inner pipe 49 penetrates the head metal fitting 41, and the front end side is a refrigerant inlet 49A, and a cooling outer pipe 62 having a clearance 61 and having a joint 61 is fitted over the cooling inner pipe 49 to fit the head metal fitting.
It is attached to 41, and the joint 61 serves as a refrigerant outlet 61A.

In this embodiment, the cooling outlet 61A of the joint 61 is the separator 39
It is in the part that is cut open by, and interference with the material is avoided, and a heat insulating material 63 is provided between the core body 28 and the mandrel 32 to heat the material on the core body 28 side and the mandrel 32 side. The cooling of the materials is made so as not to interfere with each other.

(Effect of the invention) According to the first feature of the present invention, the material is not shaped into a rectangular shape and cold-formed, but is shaped into a pipe and then cold-formed. There is little stagnation and the cooling efficiency is improved and it is made uniform.

Further, in the rectangular cross-section extrusion, the shape of the cross-section is difficult to change due to the accurate rectangular shape due to the fluidity of the material, but in the pipe extrusion, since the target flow is completely the target flow, a product with high uniformity can be obtained.

Furthermore, since the material formed into a pipe shape is continuously cut in the extrusion direction in the die until the material forming die is released, a plate-like product which is easy to cut and separate and has a clean section can be obtained.

That is, after going out of the die, it is difficult to incise the pipe, especially when the material is oriented and fixed, which requires a more complicated mechanism and makes the state of the cut worse.
The present invention does not have such a problem.

According to the second aspect of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned advantages, the following advantages are provided.

That is, since the material formed into a pipe shape is cut and separated and then flattened and continuously drawn, the surface shape of the product is further improved and the product can be drawn at a constant speed.

According to the third feature of the present invention, it is possible to provide a device that achieves the above-mentioned first feature and advantage, and further, the die itself can be processed by so-called rounding, which facilitates the processing and facilitates accuracy. .

Further, since the contact sealing surface of the member is small and the structure can be easily sealed, the trouble of material leakage can be reduced.

According to the fourth feature of the present invention, in addition to the third feature / advantage, there is the following advantage.

That is, since the mandrel is supported at a fixed position at the tip of the cooling molding die, the die cross-section opening thickness can be accurately maintained, and the accuracy and accuracy deteriorate due to the weight of the long mandrel, material pressure, and deflection due to unbalanced load. Does not fluctuate.

Furthermore, since the inside of the pipe cooling molding mandrel can be easily and efficiently cooled from the tip side of the spider and core of the pipe shaping die or the pipe cooling molding die, the cooling effect of the material is further improved.

According to the fifth feature of the present invention, in addition to the above-mentioned third feature and advantage, since the core of the pipe shaping die can be heated and the pipe cooling molding die can be cooled separately, shaping and cooling can be performed.・
The molding function can be expanded.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a sectional side view of a basic embodiment of the present invention, and FIG.
FIG. 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the line CC in FIG. 3, FIG. 3 is a view taken in the direction of arrow A in FIG. 1, FIG. 4 is a view in the direction of arrow B in FIG. 1, and FIGS. FIG. 6 is a sectional side view, a sectional front view, and a product shape view, FIG. 6 is a side view of the entire configuration of the present invention including the collecting means, and FIG. 7 is a plan view of the collecting means and the product shape in FIG. FIG. 8 and FIG. 9 are side views showing other two examples of the take-up means, and FIG. 10 is a cross-sectional side view of the embodiment of the present invention in which the shaping die is provided with heating means, and FIG. Figures (1), (2) and (3) are diagrams showing a vertical cross-sectional view and die shape (product shape) of a conventional extruder, and Fig. 12 shows an extrusion die, a molding die inlet and a die outlet of the conventional example. The explanatory views shown in FIGS. 13 to 15 are cross-sectional views of an extruder having a long die. 20 …… Extruder cylinder, 21 …… Screw, 24 …… Molding die, 25 …… Shaping die, 26 …… Cooling molding die, 28 …… Shaping die core, 30 …… Spindle part, 32… … Mandrel, 35 ……
Cooling jacket, 39 …… Separator, 50 …… Material collection means.

Claims (5)

[Claims] 1. A method for extruding a food material in an extruder through a molding die, wherein the food material flowing in at the inlet side of the molding die is shaped like a pipe, and subsequently, the pipe is cooled and shaped by cooling. Then, a method for extrusion processing of foods, characterized in that the material is continuously cut in the extrusion direction at least at one place before leaving the forming die. 2. A method of extruding a food material in an extruder through a forming die, wherein the food material flowing in at the inlet side of the forming die is shaped into a pipe, and subsequently, the pipe is cooled and shaped into a pipe. Then, the material is continuously cut in the extrusion direction at least at one place by the time the material leaves the forming die, and the material that has been cut open is continuously drawn while being flattened. Method. 3. A method for extruding a food material in an extruder through a forming die, wherein the forming die is connected to the extruder cylinder side in a communicating manner, and the pipe forming die is connected to the forming die. A pipe cooling molding die connected to the pipe cooling molding die, and at the exit side of the pipe cooling molding die, at least one separator is provided which maintains a constant die opening thickness and extends into the die opening to cut and separate the material in the die. An extruding device for foods, which is characterized in that 4. A method for extruding a food material in an extruder through a forming die, wherein the forming die is connected to the extruder cylinder side in a communicating manner, and the pipe forming die is connected to the forming die. A pipe cooling molding die connected to the pipe cooling molding die, and at the exit side of the pipe cooling molding die, at least one separator is provided which maintains a constant die opening thickness and extends into the die opening to cut and separate the material in the die. In the shaping die, a core body having a spindle portion on the extruder cylinder side is supported on the die inner peripheral wall via a spider on the die shaft center, and the pipe cooling molding die is on the die shaft center. A mandrel extending in the longitudinal direction of the die, and further, a refrigerant passage communicating with each other is provided inside each of the core body and the mandrel, and a cooling medium for circulating a cooling medium is circulated in the refrigerant passage. An extruding device for food, characterized in that it is provided with a supply / discharge means. 5. A method for extruding a food material in an extruder through a forming die, wherein the forming die is connected to the extruder cylinder side in a communicating manner, and the pipe forming die is connected to the forming die. A pipe cooling molding die connected to the pipe cooling molding die, and at the exit side of the pipe cooling molding die, at least one separator is provided which maintains a constant die opening thickness and extends into the die opening to cut and separate the material in the die. In the shaping die, a core body having a spindle portion on the extruder cylinder side is supported on the die inner peripheral wall via a spider on the die shaft center, and the pipe cooling molding die is on the die shaft center. And a mandrel extending in the longitudinal direction of the die. Further, a material heating means is provided inside the core body, and a material cooling means is provided inside the mandrel. Extrusion processing equipment.