JP2012196165A - Confectionery molding machine - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To favorably mold a thin and flat confectionery product into a desired shape.SOLUTION: A confectionery molding machine includes: a cylindrical guide mold 61 for supplying a plastically deformable massive confectionery material from one end opening to the inside thereof; a mold 62 located in contact with a deepest end of the guide mold 61 and having an inner circumferential shape following the outer shape of the confectionery product with an approximately equal depth to the thickness of the confectionery product; a piston member 5 to be entered into the guide mold 61 having an approximately equal outer diameter to the inner diameter of the guide mold 61; and a rotation drive motor 21 for rotating the piston member 5 around its axis.

Description

  The present invention relates to a confectionery molding machine, and more particularly to a confectionery molding machine suitable for molding flat confectionery products such as rice crackers.

  For confectionery products such as rice crackers, steamed glutinous rice and other confectionery materials are spread into a flat sheet shape. In the case of producing a round or irregular shaped rice cracker, etc., by separating it into squares along the cut groove, the sheet-shaped confectionery material is die-cut into a predetermined shape, and the die-cut one is baked to produce the confectionery product. It has gained.

  Patent Document 1 uses a pressing mold composed of an upper forming mold and a lower forming mold, stores a predetermined amount of cooked rice in the lower forming mold, An apparatus for forming rice balls by pressing the cooked rice by inserting an upper forming mold is shown.

JP2007-312696

  By the way, in the above-described conventional method of forming a cut groove or cutting a die after extending a confectionery material into a sheet shape, the outer periphery of the baked confectionery product becomes a cut surface, so the rice grains are cut at this portion, and the appearance is good In addition to being bad, there was a problem that the outer periphery was easily chipped. In addition, when a round or irregular shaped confectionery product is die-cut, there is a problem that extra material is produced and material is wasted. Therefore, as shown in Patent Document 1, it is conceivable to mold the mold by pressing the confectionery material, but it is desirable to produce a flat confectionery product having a thickness of several millimeters like a rice cracker with a conventional mold. It was difficult to obtain a shape.

  Therefore, the present invention solves such a problem, and an object of the present invention is to provide a confectionery molding machine that can mold a flat confectionery product with a desired shape in a desired shape.

  In order to achieve the above object, in the first invention, a cylindrical guide mold (61) in which a plastically deformable bulk confectionery material (CM) is supplied into the inside through one end opening, and the guide mold (61) The inner die of the guide die (61) has a molding die (62) that is positioned in contact with the innermost end of the confectionery product and has an inner peripheral shape that follows the outer shape of the confectionery product at a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the confectionery product. A piston member (5) having substantially the same outer diameter and being allowed to enter the guide mold (61), and a rotational drive mechanism (21) for rotating the piston member (5) around its axis.

  In the first aspect of the present invention, when the piston member enters the guide mold while rotating around its axis, the confectionery material is gradually expanded in the mold according to the amount of entry, and the piston member is the most of the guide mold. When reaching the innermost end, the confectionery material is uniformly filled in the mold, and is formed into a confectionery product having a shape following the inner peripheral shape of the mold. In the first aspect of the present invention, the piston member is allowed to enter the guide mold while rotating, so that the confectionery material is effectively spread out in the mold and filled in the mold without a gap. Thereby, especially sticky confectionery materials such as cooked rice can be satisfactorily formed in a desired shape into a flat confectionery product such as a rice cracker.

  In the second aspect of the invention, the piston member (5) is composed of a shaft portion (51) and a head portion (52) provided at one end thereof, and the shaft portion (51) rotates to a holding member (41) that can be raised and lowered. The head portion (52) is caused to enter the guide mold (61) by being held and rotated by the rotation drive mechanism (21).

  In the third aspect of the invention, the head portion (52) is advanced from one end of the shaft portion (51) by an elastic force, and is retracted by a pressing force of a certain level or more.

  In the third aspect of the present invention, when an excessive pressing force is applied to the head portion that has entered the guide mold due to, for example, two confectionery materials being accidentally supplied into the guide mold, the head section is Retreats against the elastic force, preventing excessive entry. This is particularly advantageous when a plurality of piston members are provided on the holding member, and even when one piston member is prevented from entering the guide mold, the other piston member enters the guide mold and enters the confectionery. Material molding continues.

  The reference numerals in the parentheses indicate the correspondence with specific means described in the embodiments described later.

  As described above, according to the confectionery molding machine of the present invention, a flat confectionery product having a small thickness can be favorably molded in a desired shape.

It is the whole confectionery molding machine front view. It is a longitudinal cross-sectional view of a piston member. It is a top view of a coupling body. It is a top view of a tip body. It is a whole top view of a lower model. It is an expanded sectional view along the VI-VI line of FIG. It is a principal part perspective view of a confectionery molding machine.

 FIG. 1 shows a front view of a confectionery molding machine. The confectionery molding machine is provided with a gate-type gantry 1 installed on a belt conveyor VC so as to straddle it, and a drive motor 21 for rotation and a drive cylinder 22 for raising and lowering are provided on the transverse beam 11. Yes. The output shaft 231 of the speed reducer 23 attached to the drive motor 21 penetrates the transverse beam 11 of the gantry 1 downward, and a gear 31 is attached to the output shaft 231. The gear 31 meshes with a cylindrical gear body 32 having a predetermined height. The gear body 32 has a tooth profile formed on the entire outer periphery thereof, and the tooth groove of the tooth profile extends in parallel to the height direction (vertical direction) of the gear body 32.

  The rod 221 of the drive cylinder 22 penetrates the transverse beam 11 of the gantry 1 downward, and the tip of the rod 221 is fixed to the center of the holding member 41 extending horizontally. Both ends of the holding member 41 are fixed to the slider 14 (only one is shown) mounted on the left and right vertical beams 12 and 13 of the gantry 1 so that the holding member 41 is maintained in a horizontal posture. It can be moved up and down. A plurality (seven in this embodiment) of piston members 5 are suspended from the holding member 41 at equal intervals in the longitudinal direction thereof, that is, in the width direction of the belt conveyor VC. Each piston member 5 includes a shaft portion 51 and a head portion 52. The shaft portion 51 is rotatably held by a holding member 41, and a gear 33 is attached to the upper end of the shaft portion 51. Yes.

  Adjacent ones of the gears 33 at the upper end of each piston member 5 are meshed with each other, and one of the gears 33 (second from the left in the present embodiment from the left in the present embodiment) has an outer peripheral tooth profile of the gear body 32. Meshed. Thereby, the rotational force of the drive motor 21 is transmitted from the gear 31 to the gear 33 through the gear body 32, and each piston member 5 is rotated around its axis. In this state, when the holding member 41 is lowered from the upper end position shown in FIG. 1 by the drive cylinder 22, each piston member 5 is lowered integrally with the holding member 41. During this time, the descending gear 33 keeps meshing with the tooth profile of the gear body 32, so that each piston member 5 descends while rotating.

  In FIG. 2, the expanded sectional view of the piston member 5 is shown. The shaft portion 51 of the piston member 5 is rotatably held by the holding member 41 by a bearing member 42, and a head portion 52 is attached to the lower end of the shaft portion 51. The head portion 52 includes a cylindrical sheath body 53, a lid body 54 that closes the lower end opening of the sheath body 53, a joint body 55 that is screwed to the lid body 54, and a tip body 56 that is coupled to the joint body 55. ing.

  The lower end of the shaft portion 51 is inserted into the upper half cylinder of the sheath body 53, and the large-diameter portion 511 at the tip thereof is in contact with the inner circumferential stepped portion 531 of the sheath body 53 to prevent the shaft portion 51 from coming off. In addition, the sheath body 53 has a recessed groove fitted to a key portion 512 projecting at one location on the outer periphery of the lower end of the shaft portion 51 and is rotated integrally with the shaft portion 51 and is relatively moved in the axial direction. It is possible. The lid body 54 is fixed to the lower opening of the sheath body 53 with a bolt 541, and a hub portion 542 having a thread groove formed on the inner periphery thereof is formed at the center of the plate surface. A coiled spring member 57 is disposed in an extended state in the inner space of the sheath body 53 between the outer periphery of the hub portion 542 and the large diameter portion 511 of the shaft portion 51. As a result, the sheath body 53 is moved downward by the elastic force of the spring member 57, and when receiving a pressing force of a certain level or more, the sheath body 53 is relatively deformed relative to the shaft portion 51 while compressing and deforming the spring member 57. It is possible to rise backward.

  As shown in FIG. 3, the joint body 55 is a disc body, and a coupling portion 551 is formed to project from the center of the plate surface. A thread groove is formed on the outer periphery of the coupling portion 551, and the joint body 55 is coupled to the lid body 54 by allowing the thread groove to enter the thread groove on the inner periphery of the hub portion 542. A thick disc-like tip body 56 (FIG. 4) having the same diameter as that of the joint body 55 is coupled to the joint body 55 by a bolt 552. The front end body 56 is made of a fluororesin such as Teflon (registered trademark of DuPont), and is prepared integrally with a joint body 55 having the same diameter as that of the front end body 56, and the joint body 55 is matched to the inner diameter of a guide die 61 (FIG. 1) described later. It is exchanged as appropriate.

  In FIG. 1, a lower mold 6 is disposed across the upper surface of the conveyor belt VC1 of the belt conveyor VC. The lower die 6 is a thick long plate made of fluororesin such as Teflon (registered trademark of DuPont), and a plurality of (in the longitudinal direction) the plate surface corresponding to the piston member 5 as shown in FIG. In this embodiment, seven guide molds 61 are formed. Each guide die 61 is formed in a circular cylindrical shape (FIG. 6), and its inner diameter is sized to receive the distal end body 56 of the piston member 5 with a small gap around it. Further, the upper opening of the guide die 61 is cut so that one peripheral edge forms an inclined surface that is loose outward, and serves as a receiving surface 612 for receiving a confectionery material to be described later.

  A molding die 62 is integrally formed in the lower die 6 so as to be in contact with a lower end opening 611 (FIG. 6) which is the innermost end of the guide die 61. In this embodiment, the molding die 62 has a regular square mold space surrounded by a peripheral wall 621 having a certain width in contact with the outer periphery of the guide die 61 in plan view, and the inner peripheral shape of the regular square of the peripheral wall 621 is a confectionery to be molded. The outer shape of the product (the rice cracker in the present embodiment) is almost the same (for example, 49 mm square). The height of the inner periphery of the peripheral wall 621 (depth of the mold space) is substantially the same as the thickness of the confectionery product (for example, 6 mm). Such a lower mold 6 is attached to the elevating beam 71 (FIG. 1) by attachment holes 631 provided at fixed intervals in an attachment piece 63 protruding from one side edge thereof.

  The elevating beam 71 is disposed so as to cross over the conveyor belt VC1, and the tip of the rod 721 of the elevating drive cylinder 72 is coupled to both ends (only one is shown in FIG. 1). Thereby, the lower die 6 can be pulled up from the position shown in FIG. 1 where the molding die 62 is in contact with the upper surface of the transport belt VC1 to the upper position. The elevating beam 71 is provided with a plurality of partition plates 711 at intervals in the longitudinal direction (FIG. 1) to partition the upper openings of the adjacent guide dies 61.

  As shown in FIG. 7, when the lump-shaped confectionery material CM formed by steaming cooked rice into a substantially cubic shape is supplied to the confectionery molding machine having such a structure, as shown in FIG. The confectionery material CM is put into the guide mold 61 through the chute SH provided corresponding to each guide mold 61. The introduced confectionery material CM falls on the upper surface of the conveying belt VC1 that contacts and closes the lower opening of the mold 62 (FIG. 6), and is placed in the mold of the mold 62 and the guide mold 61. . Note that the volume of the confectionery material CN is slightly larger than the internal volume of the mold 62.

  In this state, when the holding member 41 is lowered and the piston member 5 is rotated and the tip body 56 is lowered and entered into the guide die 61, the tip body 56 reaches the lower opening of the guide die 61. In the meantime, the confectionery material CM is gradually pushed and expanded in the mold 62, and when the tip 56 reaches the lower opening of the guide mold 61, the confectionery material CM is uniformly filled in the square-shaped mold 62 and molded. It is formed into a flat regular square that follows the inner space of the mold 62.

  At this time, when an excessive pressing force is applied to the tip body 56 that has entered the guide mold 61 due to two confectionery materials CM being erroneously supplied into any of the guide molds 61, Even when the holding member 41 is lowered, the spring member 57 is contracted and deformed, and the tip body 56 is retracted, so that excessive entry is prevented. During this time, the tip body 56 of the other piston member 5 enters the guide die 61 and the molding of the confectionery material CM is continued.

  After the molding is completed, when the piston member 5 is raised and retracted, and the lower die 6 is further raised, only the confectionery product molded in a regular square remains on the conveyor belt VC1, so that the confectionery product is moved by moving the conveyor belt VC1. Is sent to a subsequent baking machine or the like.

  In the above embodiment, the mold shape of the mold 62 is not limited to a quadrangle, and may be a circle, a triangle, or various irregular shapes.

DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 21 ... Drive motor (rotation drive mechanism), 22 ... Drive cylinder, 5 ... Piston member, 51 ... Shaft part, 52 ... Head part, 6 ... Lower mold | type, 61 ... Guide type | mold, 62 ... Mold, CM ... Confectionery material.

Claims (3)

A cylindrical guide mold in which a plastically deformable bulk confectionery material is supplied to the inside through one end opening, and the confectionery positioned at the innermost end of the guide mold and having a depth substantially equal to the thickness of the confectionery product A molding die having an inner peripheral shape that follows the outer shape of the product, a piston member that has an outer diameter substantially equal to the inner diameter of the guide die and is allowed to enter the guide die, and rotates the piston member around its axis A confectionery molding machine provided with a rotating drive mechanism. The piston member includes a shaft portion and a head portion provided at one end thereof. The shaft portion is rotatably held by a holding member capable of moving up and down and is rotated by the rotation driving mechanism. 2. The confectionery molding machine according to claim 1, wherein the confectionery molding machine is adapted to enter a guide mold. The confectionery molding machine according to claim 2, wherein the head part is advanced from one end of the shaft part by an elastic force and is retracted by a pressing force of a certain level or more.

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