JPH0221784B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

[Industrial Application Field] The present invention relates to a tea manufacturing and rolling method, and more particularly to a tea manufacturing and rolling method that can stably obtain a high-quality product without requiring skilled techniques. [Background of the Invention and Prior Art] The fine rolling process includes steaming, rough rolling, rolling, and medium rolling.The final rolling pressure and heating are applied to the tea leaves that have been steamed, rolled, and dried in the following steps: In this process, the tea leaves are shaped into a unique sencha, tightened, and dried until the moisture content of the tea leaves reaches about 13%. In order to obtain good product tea in the fine rolling process, the operator must always observe the properties of the input tea leaves and changes in the state of the tea leaves during the process without leaving the fine rolling machine, and adjust accordingly to the observed state. It is necessary to acquire special skill in changing tea-making elements such as the position of pressure weights. However, even if an engineer is highly skilled, he or she must manage a large number of tea machines at once, making them extremely busy during tea production.
It is nearly impossible to manage the fine milling machine without leaving its side, and it is difficult to continuously obtain high-quality products. Conventionally, with the aim of making the rolling process unmanned, the characteristics of the tea leaves being input were roughly classified, and for each classification, control elements such as the position of the pressure weight and the degree of heating in the rolling chamber were adjusted. The program is controlled by setting transition patterns in the rolling process and applying one of these patterns to the incoming tea leaves. Therefore, at the beginning of the rolling process, the values of each control element are set. Even if it is suitable for tea leaves, it often becomes less suitable during the process or as the rolling process is repeated, so periodically check the properties of the tea leaves and changes in the situation and correct the pattern. It is difficult to say that it is unmanned, and cannot be said to improve the quality of tea leaves. [Problems to be Solved by the Invention] The present invention solves the above-mentioned problems and uses the tea leaf temperature, which steadily rises and changes throughout the rolling process, as an index to judge the condition of the tea leaves during the rolling process. The purpose of the present invention is to provide a fine rolling method that can stably produce high-quality products by appropriately changing each control element and without requiring an operator to accompany the fine rolling machine or requiring skilled techniques. It is. [Means for Solving the Problems] The inventor of the present invention completed the present invention by discovering the following as a result of many experiments, studies, and studies. In other words, when we repeatedly measured the temperature of tea leaves during the rolling process using an accurate tea leaf temperature measuring means, we found that the properties of the input tea leaves [tea leaf quality,
The range of change varies slightly depending on the degree of steaming, rolling, dryness, etc., but when control elements such as the position of the weight are maintained at an almost optimal state, the tea leaf temperature will always range from about 40℃ to 65℃. It changes stably almost linearly with respect to thrust over time within a range of about ℃. This is due to the following reason. In other words, since the tea leaves to be thoroughly rolled are already in a considerably dry state, the amount of heat received by the tea leaves during the rolling process is greater than the amount of heat used to vaporize the moisture in the tea leaves, resulting in lapse rate drying. . If left as is, the temperature of the tea leaves will rise relatively quickly and uneven drying will likely occur, but if you change the amount of kneading pressure on the tea leaves based on the position of the weight, the moisture inside the tea leaves will be absorbed to the surface. The amount of heat of vaporization of the water in the tea leaves is balanced with the amount of heat received, and the temperature of the tea leaves, which is an index of this, gradually increases almost linearly. Therefore, contrary to the above, if the control elements such as the position of the weight are changed in accordance with the value of the tea leaf temperature mentioned above, which ideally changes linearly, the degree of kneading pressure on the tea leaves will be optimal. This allows the tea leaves to be ideally rolled. The present invention was invented based on the above-mentioned facts, and its means are to divide one fine rolling process into a plurality or a large number of steps, and to roughly linearly process each step according to the input tea leaves. Preset the end tea leaf temperature T ₀ that changes upward, and the end tea leaf temperature T 0 is set in advance.
Control elements such as the position of the weight are set in accordance with T ₀ , and the tea leaf temperature T is measured throughout the rolling process, and the tea leaf temperature T measured in each of the above steps is the end tea leaf set in advance. A feature of this method is that when the temperature T ₀ is reached, the rolling process is completed by sequentially moving to the next step. [Example] An example of the present invention will be described based on the drawings. The operations and equipment such as weights for directly rolling tea leaves and heating of the rolling chamber will be explained based on Figures 1 and 2. Tea leaves 1, which are fed into the rolling machine,
1,... are kneading hands 5 on which pressure from the weight of a weight 4 acts on a kneading plate 2 that is heated from below by a gas burner 3, and which swings the kneading plate 2 together with the kneading frame.
Tea leaves 1, 1, . The reciprocating broom 7, the front and rear gutter 8 that reciprocates in synchronization with the reciprocating broom 7, and the rotary broom 9 return from the other clamping section to the kneading plate 2 and are kneaded again. Injected tea leaves 1, 1,...
As described above, the green tea is gradually dried and shaped as it circulates in the heated massaging chamber 10, forming a shape unique to Japanese green tea, which is ideally straight like a needle. The pressure applied to the kneading hands 5 described above becomes stronger if the position of the weight 4 on the weight seal 12 connected to the kneading hands 5 via the connecting rod 11 is moved to the left in FIG. The strength of each movement is approximately proportional to the length of movement. and,
The movement described above is achieved by fixing a small geared motor 15 with a pinion 13 attached to the weight 4, and carving a rack 14 into the weight rail 12 that engages with the pinion 13, so that the base end of the weight rail 12 is As a starting point, the small geared motor 15 is rotated forward as a predetermined time elapses to move the weight 4 forward, and when moving the weight 4 backward, the motor 15 is rotated in the reverse direction to move the weight 4 to a position proportional to the predetermined time. Then, pressure corresponding to the stopped position is applied to the kneading hands 5. The start of rotation of the small geared motor 15, the movement start time, the movement time, and the commands for forward or reverse rotation are given by the operation parts A _{1 and 2} , which will be described later, according to a program stored in the ROM 41, which will be described later. be instructed. In the figure, 16 is a handle for manually moving the weight 4, and 17 and 18 are limit switches for checking the front and rear ends of the weight rail 12, respectively. The heating degree of the rubbing chamber 10 is proportional to the amount of gas burned by the gas burner 3 disposed in the firebox 19 below the rubbing plate 2, and is adjusted using the temperature inside the firebox 19 as a guide instead of the temperature of the rubbing chamber 10. be done. In this embodiment, a servo valve 21 for adjusting the gas flow rate is provided in the piping 20 of the gas burner 3, and the actual value measured by a temperature sensor 22 inserted in the firebox 19 and the set value stored in the RAM 42 to be described later are used. Control unit A _1,2 to be described later based on the difference between
The opening degree of the servo valve 21 is adjusted according to the command,
The combustion amount of the gas burner 3 will be adjusted. In the fine rolling method according to this embodiment, it is essential to accurately measure the tea leaf temperature T during the fine rolling process, so a temperature sensor is installed at the part that is always in contact with the tea leaves and feels the temperature during the fine rolling process. 23 must be installed. Therefore, in this embodiment, the hand 5
A temperature sensor 23 having a shape similar to that of the Nakayama duct 24 is attached to the center of the Nakayama duct 24 in the center of the lower surface. Since the Nakayama duct 24 is the part of the kneading hand 5 that twists the shaking tea leaves, it is always in contact with the tea leaves and is in contact with the tea leaves under pressure.
No. 3 can always accurately measure the tea leaf temperature T. As described above, in the fine rolling method of this embodiment, the temperature of the tea leaves during the fine rolling process is repeatedly measured by the temperature sensor 23 that accurately measures the temperature of the tea leaves. Even if the range of change varies slightly depending on factors such as leaf quality, degree of steam, degree of rolling, and degree of dryness, when control elements such as the position of weight 4 are maintained at an almost optimal state, the tea leaf temperature will be 40%. Based on the fact that it changes stably and almost linearly over time within the range from ℃ to 65℃, it changes in an ideal and almost linear manner at each step depending on the properties of the tea leaves. A large number of combinations such as a set value of tea leaf temperature and the position of the weight 4 corresponding to the set value of tea leaf temperature are stored as data, and during the actual rolling process, the actual tea leaf temperature is set at each step as described above. Each time a predetermined set value is reached, the position of the weight 4 is moved to a corresponding position, and the specific method is as follows. That is, the control unit _A1 divides the single rolling process into a plurality or a large number of steps, and controls control elements such as the position of the weight 4 and the degree of heating of the rolling chamber 10, as well as the tea leaf temperature _T0 at the end of each step.
are set for each step, and
The position of the weight 4 in each step of the fine rolling process, and the rolling chamber 10
The operating elements such as the position of the weight 4 and the heating degree of the massaging chamber 10 are controlled so that the heating degree, etc. of The process is controlled so that when the tea leaf temperature T ₀ is reached, that step is ended and the next step is sequentially carried out to perform a single rolling process. As for the number of division steps in the above-mentioned rolling process, the control can be made more precise by increasing the number of division steps, and it is ideal if the number of division steps is set and controlled steplessly, but the dryness of the tea leaves to be added is Considering that the temperature varies slightly each time and the response of the temperature sensor 23, it is preferable to set the range to about 5 to 30 levels. Assuming that the number of steps in the rolling process is 10, when rolling tea leaves that are of standard leaf quality at the first tea stage and have been steamed, rolled, and dried in the previous process, the ideal finished tea leaves will be determined for each step. Table 1 shows the temperature T ₀ , the corresponding position of the weight 4, and the set value of the heating degree.

[Table] The positions of the weights in Table 1 above are on weight rail 1.
The position on 2 was divided into 10 equal parts, and the numbers were 1, 2, 3, 4...10 in order from the rear end ₁₂₁ . In this embodiment, control elements such as the position of the weight 4 are changed in accordance with changes in the tea leaf temperature T, which is an index of the balance between the amount of heat vaporized and the amount of heat received in the tea leaves. The control elements are always kept optimal to the changing conditions of the tea leaves,
High quality product tea can be obtained. Therefore, stable control can be achieved even in the face of disturbances such as variations in the properties of tea leaves or rough settings of the control elements. In addition, in the example shown in Table 1 and FIG. 3, both the position of the weight 4 and the heating degree of the massaging chamber 10 are changed in accordance with the end temperature T ₀ , but it is also possible to change only the position of the mass 4 and perform the massaging. Almost the same effect can be obtained by keeping the heating degree of the chamber 10 constant. By the way, as the rolling process is repeated, for example, if there is a significant change in the properties of the tea leaves input into the rolling machine, or if the temperature or humidity around the rolling machine suddenly changes, etc. The balance between the amount of moisture evaporated from the tea leaves and the amount of heat received by the tea leaves, in other words, the balance between the almost linear increase in the tea leaf temperature T may be disrupted, and the following situation may occur. That is, in this step, the tea leaf temperature T does not rise easily and the required time t
is significantly longer than other steps. B: The tea leaf temperature T quickly reaches the end tea leaf temperature _T0 , and the required time is significantly shorter than other steps. In this embodiment, in addition to the above-mentioned control section _A1 , a control section _A2 which presets the minimum time _t1 and maximum time _t2 for each step is used to control the predetermined time period of step a at each step. t ₀ [The predetermined time t ₀ is the time between the minimum time t ₁ and the maximum time t ₂ . t ₁ t ₀
t ₂ ], if the tea leaf temperature T reaches the end tea leaf temperature t ₀ , the process moves to the next step at that point.
If the tea leaf temperature T does not reach the end tea leaf temperature T ₀ , the process moves to the next step when the maximum time t ₂ is reached, and the tea leaf temperature T reaches the end tea leaf temperature T ₀ before the minimum time t ₁ of the c step is reached. If the time reaches the minimum time _t1 , the process moves to the next step. In this way, the steps are sequentially advanced and a thorough rolling process is performed to achieve more precise control than in the cases A and B described above. Furthermore, to be more specific, the time required for the fine rolling process was estimated to be 40 minutes according to the properties of the tea leaves to be fed into the fine rolling machine, and the number of steps was set to 10 as shown in Table 1 above.
If the position of the weight 4, the heating degree of the massaging chamber 10, and the ending tea leaf temperature _T0 are set respectively, the average time t required for each step is 40/10 = 4 minutes, and each step is completed in 4 minutes. To maintain the ideal tea leaf temperature T, the minimum time t ₁ and maximum time t ₂ of each step are commonly set to 3 minutes and 5 minutes, respectively, with an allowable range of 1 minute before and after 4 minutes. , 1st, 2nd, ... 10 steps in order, 4±
1 minute, 4±1 minute, ...4±1 minute. control part
A graph of the control results for A ₂ is shown in Figure 4. Immediately after the tea is added, the tea leaf temperature T is considerably lower than the final tea leaf temperature T ₀ , and in the first and second steps, at the maximum time t ₂ , the tea leaf temperature T is considerably lower than the final tea leaf temperature T 0 . Although it is moving to the step,
Gradually, the rise in the tea leaf temperature T becomes steeper, and in the fourth step, the process moves to the next step at the minimum time _t1 , after which the tea leaf temperature T reaches the final tea leaf temperature _T0 within a predetermined time _t0 , and the process progresses smoothly. When the shortest time _t1 of the 10th step is reached, the one-sei kneading process is completed and the product is taken out. In this embodiment, in the control unit _A2 , the above-mentioned cases A and B, which may occur due to sudden changes in the quality of tea leaves, temperature, humidity, etc., are controlled in the shortest time _t1.
This is absorbed and stabilized by setting the maximum time t 2 and the maximum time t ₂ , and even if the fine rolling process is repeated, it does not require correction by skilled workers, and control elements such as the position of the weight 4 can be adjusted. keep it in optimal condition,
It is possible to continuously obtain high quality tea products. Then, in each step, in the case of b, the heating temperature of the next step can be increased by several degrees, and similarly, in the case of c, the heating temperature of the next step can be lowered by several degrees, and the shortest possible time can be achieved. Combined with the maximum time setting, even if the tea leaf temperature is disturbed, it is possible to quickly return to the standard rise and perform the ideal fine rolling operation. The correction lines indicated by the temperature inside the firebox at the second, third and fifth steps in FIG. 4 show the above-mentioned example. The examples shown in FIGS. 5 and 6 are control units, respectively.
To explain the sequence of operations using the control block diagram of the front panel A ₂ ' of A ₂ and the control section A ₂ , turn on the power switch 25, turn on the power lamp 25, and set each control element as follows. to be done. (a) Since one fine kneading machine usually has four kneading chambers 10, select the kneading chamber to be set from among them. Here, the massaging room number setting dial 27 is set in common, and all the massaging rooms 101 _{to 104} are set the same. (b) Set the rolling process time according to the tea leaves to be put into the rolling time setting switch 28. here
It will be 40 minutes. (c) At the weight movement pattern selection switch 29, press the switch corresponding to the nature of the tea leaves to be added, here the switch for "Standard 1". The weight movement pattern described above is a pattern in which the positions of the weight 4 in all 10 steps are collected.
There are 6 types of ROM in control unit _A2 depending on the nature of the tea leaves.
41 is recorded in advance. (d) Next, when you press the record button 30, all massage rooms 10
For _{items 1 to 4} , the settings in (a) and (c) above are recorded in the RAM 42. (E) To set the end tea leaf temperature _T0 , press the "Step No." ₃₃₄ of the display changeover switch 33 (0 will be displayed on the 7-segment display 311 _{to 4} ),
Press the end tea leaf temperature 34 ₂ on the display changeover switch (the previous set value will be displayed on the 7-segment display 46). When you press each of the process switching start buttons 32 _{1 to 4} , "1" will appear in the "Step No." on the displays 31 _{1 to 4} .
is displayed, and in this state, press the change button 35 and the set value increase/decrease buttons 36 and 37 to change and set the set value of the ending tea leaf temperature T ₀ on the display 46. Here, 45.5℃ according to Table 1 above.
shall be. At this point, when the memory switch 30 is pressed again, the RAM 42 stores the following information: ``The tea leaf temperature _T0 at the end of the first step is 45.5 DEG C. for each of the massage chambers _{101 to 104} ''. Similarly, press each of the process switching buttons 32 _{1 to 4} and set the "Step No." of display 31 _{1 to 4} to "2".
Proceed sequentially with "3"... and press change button 3 each time.
5 and increase/decrease buttons 36 and 37 to determine the setting value, and press memory switch 30.
Store it in RAM42. The same procedure is applied to other minimum and maximum times t ₁ and t ₂ and heating temperatures. In addition, for cases b and c above, the heating temperature correction switch 45 is adjusted to ±5°C. (f) Once all settings up to the 10th step have been completed, press the ignition switch 38 of the gas burner 3, the combustion lamp 39 will light up, and the 10th step in the firebox 19 will turn on.
The step temperature is maintained at 103℃. (G) Start the drive unit (not shown) of the fine rolling machine, and when the predetermined amount of tea leaves have been input into each of the rolling chambers 10 _{1 to 4} , press the process switching buttons 32 _{1 to 4} twice to set each fine rolling machine. Start the rolling process. When the massaging process starts, each massaging chamber 10 _{1 to 4}
Although there are some differences between the steps, the process progresses as shown in Figure 4, and after 39 minutes, the 10th step is completed and the tea leaves are automatically taken out. Regarding the block diagram of the control unit _A2 shown in FIG. 6, the ROM 41 is a fixed storage unit in which control procedures related to settings, displays, and operations of the control unit _A2 are programmed and stored in the form of instruction codes. , RAM 42 is a writable and readable data memory in which various data are stored each time. The CPU 40 is a central processing unit, and controls input/output based on programs and data stored in the ROM 41 and RAM 42. The CPU 40, ROM 41, RAM 42, input/output port 43, gate/latch control circuit 44, etc. themselves are well known and common. Regarding the control unit _A1 , the fine kneading time setting switch 28 can be used as a safety timer to notify when it is time to take out the tea leaves, and the switches for the remaining step time 34 ₁ , the shortest time, the maximum time 34 ₃ , etc. are shown in FIG. The rest is the same except that it is removed from the control part _A2 , and the operation method is also almost the same. Since this embodiment is as described above, in the case of the conventional device described earlier, control elements such as the position of the weight are related to changes in the condition of tea leaves during the fine rolling process according to a pattern that is a set of set values. Since the initial setting value of the control element changes according to the set time,
Even if tea leaves are suitable for tea leaves, they often become unsuitable during the rolling process or as the process is repeated, and the quality of the tea product deteriorates as the tea leaves are rolled as they are. In this embodiment, control elements such as the position of the weight 4 are changed based on the transition of the tea leaf temperature T, which is an index of the balance between the amount of heat of vaporization of water in the tea leaves and the amount of heat received. The control elements are always kept optimal to the changing conditions of the tea leaves, resulting in high quality tea.

【Effect of the invention】

The tea rolling method according to the present invention uses the tea leaf temperature, which steadily rises and changes throughout the rolling process, as an index to judge the condition of the tea leaves during the process, and controls elements such as the position of the weight based on the tea leaf temperature. This allows for stable process control even when there are disturbances such as changes in the properties of tea leaves, changes in temperature, humidity, etc., and it is possible to maintain stable process control even when there are disturbances such as changes in the properties of tea leaves or changes in temperature or humidity. High quality product tea can be obtained continuously without the need for tea.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

The drawings show an embodiment of the present invention, and FIG. 1 is a right side vertical sectional view of a tea processing machine, FIG. 2 is a front view of the same, and FIG.
The figure is a line diagram showing the control results of control unit A ₁ , Figure 4 is a line diagram showing the control results of control unit A ₂ , Figure 5 is an explanatory diagram of the front panel of control unit A ₂ , and Figure 6 is a diagram showing the control results of control unit A 2. Part A ₂
FIG. 7 is a longitudinal sectional view showing the installation of a tea leaf temperature sensor, and FIG. 8 is a front view of the same. 4: weight, 5: kneading hands, 10: kneading chamber, 23: tea leaf temperature sensor, 24: Nakayama duct, T: tea leaf temperature,
T ₀ : Termination tea leaf temperature.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claims] 1. One fine rolling process is divided into a plurality of steps or a large number of steps, and a finishing tea leaf temperature T ₀ that increases approximately linearly at each step according to the input tea leaves is set in advance, and Control elements such as the position of the weight are set in accordance with the final tea leaf temperature _T0 , and the tea leaf temperature T is further measured throughout the rolling process, and the tea leaf temperature T measured at each of the above steps is set in advance. A method for rolling tea that is characterized in that the rolling process is completed by sequentially moving to the next step when the tea leaf temperature T ₀ is reached. 2. In each step divided into multiple or many steps, (a) the measured tea leaf temperature T reaches the preset end tea leaf temperature T of that step within the predetermined time t ₀ [t ₁ t ₀ t ₂ ] of the step; When it reaches ₀ ,
At that point, proceed to the next step, and (b) If the measured tea leaf temperature T does not reach the preset end tea leaf temperature _T0 for that step even after the maximum time _t2 of the step,
When the maximum time t ₂ is reached, the process moves to the next step, and (c) the measured tea leaf temperature T reaches the preset ending tea leaf temperature T ₀ for that step before it reaches the minimum time t ₁ of the step. When you reach
2. The tea manufacturing and rolling method according to claim 1, wherein the steps are sequentially advanced such that when the minimum time _t1 is reached, the step is moved to the next step.