JPH0763313B2 - Steam heating time controller for tea making steamer - Google Patents

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD The present invention relates to a steaming time control device for a tea making steamer. More specifically, the present invention relates to improvement of adjustment accuracy of a device for adjusting the degree of steaming when steaming tea leaves in steaming.

(Prior Art) To produce green tea, fresh raw tea leaves collected from a tea garden are first steam-heated by a steamer.

Since the optimum steaming time for this raw tea leaf is empirically known depending on the time of plucking, the tea making steamer has a variable inclination angle of the tea barrel, and the inclination angle can be adjusted to adjust the inside of the tea barrel. The retention time of the tea leaves, that is, the steaming time, is adjusted.

(Problems to be Solved by the Invention) In the adjustment of the steaming time by the above-described conventional steamer for tea making, the steaming degree of steamed leaves discharged from the discharge end of the tea barrel is observed, and in accordance with this observation result, each time It was supposed to adjust the inclination angle of the body. This is because even for fresh tea leaves with the same plucking time, the hardness and size of the tea leaves will differ due to differences in plucking time and tea garden, etc., and the rolling characteristics in the tea barrel will differ, so the same inclination angle will be set. However, the same steaming time is not always obtained.

For this reason, the cost of steaming increases due to the need for manpower for observing the steaming degree, and since it is not possible to steam under always suitable conditions, the work efficiency decreases accordingly and the quality of the product green tea varies. There's a problem.

The present invention has been made to solve such problems, and its object is to automate the adjustment of the steaming time to reduce the working cost of steaming and to keep the steaming conditions constant to ensure a stable product green tea. It is an object of the present invention to provide a steaming time control device of a steamer for tea making, which can obtain the above.

(Means for Solving Problems) A steaming time control device for a steamer for tea making according to the present invention includes a tea barrel having a variable inclination angle, and a supply mechanism for supplying tea leaves from a supply end side of the tea barrel. Having a steam of tea leaves supplied by the supply mechanism, in a tea making steamer performed while transferring from the supply end side to the discharge end side of the tea barrel, the change in the discharge amount of the tea leaves from the discharge end of the tea barrel is changed. The discharge sensor for detection, the variable actuator for adjusting the inclination angle of the tea barrel, the discharge sensor and the variable actuator are electrically linked to each other, and the supply mechanism changes the supply amount of tea leaves, and the change in the discharge amount of tea leaves thereafter. A hand configured to provide a controller configured to issue an operation signal to a variable actuator according to a difference between a tea leaf passage time detected by an ejection sensor and a preset steaming time based on the hand. Adopt a step.

(Operation) In the steaming time control device for a steamer for tea making according to the present invention, for example, when the supply of raw tea leaves to the steamer by the supply mechanism is temporarily stopped, the influence appears as a change in the discharge amount of tea leaves after a certain period of time. Using the points, the discharge sensor detects the actual transit time (steaming time) of the tea leaves transferred in the tea barrel,
The controller compares the detection time with a set time determined based on the suitable steaming time according to the plucking time that is empirically known, and operates a variable actuator that changes the inclination angle of the steam barrel according to the comparison result. Is to adjust the steaming time of tea leaves.

(Embodiment) An embodiment of a steaming time control device for a tea making steamer according to the present invention will be described below with reference to the drawings.

The steamer 1 is a tea barrel 11 that stores and transfers tea leaves inside, as is the case with this type of steamer (more specifically, a rotating net cylinder 11C and a cover drum 11D).
And a steam port 13 for supplying steam into the tea barrel 11, and a stirring mechanism mounted inside the mesh drum 11C to assist in stirring and transferring tea leaves.
14 and an inclination angle control device 15 for setting the inclination angle of the body 11
Further, a constant amount supply mechanism 12 for fresh tea leaves is provided at the supply end 11A of the tea barrel 11.

This steamer 1 has a supply end 11 of a tea body 11 by a constant amount supply mechanism 12.
The raw tea leaves supplied to A are set by the inclination angle control device 15 at an appropriate angle by the steaming drum 11 and the stirring mechanism 14 to form the tea drum.
The gas is transferred to the discharge end 11B of 11 and at the same time steam is supplied from the steam port 13 to heat the steam. That is, tea leaves
It is steamed while passing through the inside of 11, and the passing time is
Because it is adjusted by adjusting the tilt angle of 11,
The steaming time can be adjusted by adjusting the inclination angle.

With respect to this steam generator 1, a discharge sensor 2 is provided at a discharge end 11B of a steam cylinder 11, and a tilt angle control device 15 is provided with a variable actuator 3.
Attached, these discharge sensor 2 and variable actuator 3
Are electrically linked by the controller 4.

The discharge sensor 2 detects a change in the discharge amount of tea leaves that are steamed and discharged from the discharge end 11B of the tea barrel 11, and uses, for example, a conveyor-type measuring device that continuously detects the discharge amount per unit time. .

The variable actuator 3 controls the tilt angle control device 15, and uses a servomotor, an air cylinder, or the like corresponding to the structure of the tilt angle control device 15. The controller 4 has a built-in microcomputer having a simple arithmetic circuit, and stores a suitable steaming time and a relationship between the steaming time and the inclination angle of the steamer, which is determined by the plucking time, which is empirically known. Further, a mechanism for temporarily stopping the supply of raw tea leaves to the steamer 11, a mechanism for detecting the passage time of the tea leaves in the steamer 11 from the fluctuation of the discharge amount of the tea leaves by the discharge sensor 2, and the like are provided. The designated steaming time is compared with the passing time detected by the discharge sensor 2, and if there is a difference between them, an operation signal is sent to the variable actuator 3 to adjust the inclination angle of the steam cylinder 11. ing.

In order to adjust the steaming time, first, the supply of raw tea leaves to the tea barrel 11 is temporarily stopped (for example, 10 seconds). As a result, the discharge amount of tea leaves changes as shown in FIG. 2. Therefore, this change is detected by the discharge sensor 2 and the point P when the supply of raw tea leaves is stopped and the discharge amount of steamed leaves becomes the smallest. From the time point Q, the passing time of the tea leaves inside the tea barrel 11 is measured, and this measured value is compared with the set value of the steaming time input to the controller 4 in advance. When the measured value is longer than the set value, it is assumed that the inclination angle of the tea drum 11 is too small, and the variable actuator 3 is operated by an amount corresponding to the length to increase the inclination angle of the tea drum 11 to obtain the measured value. When is long, the inclination angle is made small so that the measured value matches the set value.

It is sufficient that this adjustment operation is performed at regular intervals or when the lot of fresh tea leaves is changed, and the required time is extremely short.
It is preferable to be able to control the supply amount of raw tea leaves and the supply amount of steam.
Further, in the present embodiment, the change in the amount of tea leaves input by the supply mechanism is realized by temporarily stopping the input, but the present invention is not limited to this, and it can be detected by the discharge sensor. What would you like to have? For example, temporarily decreasing or increasing the input amount is also applicable as long as the change can be detected by the discharge sensor.

(Effect of the invention) As described above, the steaming time control device of the steamer for tea making according to the present invention temporarily changes the supply amount of raw tea leaves, and by detecting the change in the discharge amount of the steamed leaves thereafter, Detects the actual steaming time, and automatically corrects the difference between the detected value and the set time determined based on the suitable steaming time according to the plucking time, which was empirically grasped, by electrical or mechanical operation. Therefore, there is an advantage that manpower for adjusting the steaming time is reduced and variation in quality of the product green tea is reduced.

In particular, from the difference between the supply amount change time and the discharge amount change time, it is possible to easily and accurately measure the time when the steamed leaves actually passed through the tea body, so the measured passage time becomes accurate and There is an advantage that the difference can be corrected accurately. Further, since there is no need to perform an operation such as accurately measuring the weight of the tea leaves to be put into the steamer in advance, the device for measuring the weight of the tea leaves only needs the discharge sensor provided on the discharge end side. Therefore, there is an advantage that the tea-steaming time can be controlled with a simple structure.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a control circuit diagram showing an embodiment of a steaming time control device for a steamer for tea making according to the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a diagram showing a detection investigation of a discharge sensor. 1; steamer, 2; discharge sensor 3; variable actuator 4; controller, 11; steam cylinder 11A; supply end, 11B; discharge end

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. A steam drum having a variable inclination angle and a supply mechanism for supplying tea leaves from the supply end side of the steam drum, wherein steam of tea leaves supplied by the supply mechanism is supplied to the tea drum. In a steamer for making tea, which is carried out from the end side to the discharge end side, a discharge sensor that detects a change in the discharge amount of steamed leaves from the discharge end of the steamer, a variable actuator that adjusts the inclination angle of the steamer, The discharge sensor and the variable actuator are electrically linked,
A variable actuator that changes the supply amount of tea leaves by the supply mechanism, and changes the tea leaf passage time detected by the discharge sensor based on the subsequent change in the steam leaf discharge amount and the preset steaming time. A steaming time control device for a tea making steamer, comprising: a controller configured to emit an operation signal.