JPH0243460B2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention]

(Industrial Application Field) The present invention relates to a method and device for supplying a predetermined mass of air to a raw material mixture and controlling the amount of air supplied with a stable and consistent overrun. Used in the field of manufacturing bed sheets, etc. (Prior Art) Conventionally, overrun has a large effect on the body, texture, and taste of whipped cream or assorted cream.If the overrun value is too low than the set overrun value, the body becomes heavy and moist, the texture becomes coarse, and the taste deteriorates. If the temperature is too high, the tissue becomes foamy and snow-like.
Furthermore, the relationship with production costs is also important. Therefore, it is desirable to maintain an appropriate overrun state at all times. Factors that influence overrun include the composition of the mix, the method of pre-treating the mix, the amount of air, the temperature in the freezer or whipper, the flow rate of the mix, the discharge pressure, and the like. Of these factors, controlling the amount of air is particularly difficult. Generally, when performing quantitative control of air flow rate manually, the opening of the air valve is slightly adjusted while watching the pressure gauge, but the results appear with a certain delay, so it is difficult to maintain a constant overrun. , which requires many years of experience and skill, relies heavily on the driver's intuition and experience, and is likely to produce superior or inferior products. Moreover, even for an expert, it is unavoidable that there will be a variation of about 5% with respect to the overrun setting value. Furthermore, the overrun is unstable at the start of operation, and it takes at least 5 minutes to reach the desired overrun, resulting in a large amount of production loss and lost time. An automatic control method has also been proposed, and
In No. 1796, two electrodes placed at regular intervals at the discharge port of the freezer are connected to an automatic electron tube balancer, and overrun is detected and measured as a change in conductivity, and the settings instructed to the automatic electron tube balancer are set in advance. An automatic ice cream overrun control device is disclosed which adjusts the opening of a diagram type air intake valve so as to synchronize the opening with the above value. Next, in Japanese Patent Publication No. 45-20238, the raw material mix and the volumetric flow rate of the mixed air are taken out as voltages, the respective values are taken as KE and Ke, and the amount of air mixed in is calculated using the following formula. u(%)=100×B/A... u=Amount of air mixed in (%) A=Volume of raw material mix () B=Volume of mixed air () Substitute the above voltage into the equation to form the equation. u=100×e/E... That is, a method is disclosed in which the formula is calculated by an automatic balancing recorder to directly and continuously indicate the amount of air mixed in ice cream. Furthermore, Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-46769 is an invention relating to an automatic overrun control device for ice cream production, but the specification also states that the temperature of ice cream at the outlet of the freezer is detected, and the amount of evaporation of the refrigerant in the freezer is thereby controlled. While controlling, the ice cream temperature is kept constant, the mix flow rate and air flow rate are measured under such conditions, and the air flow rate is proportionally controlled using a signal that is multiplied by a certain ratio to the mix reference flow rate. An automatic overrun control method is disclosed in which the ratio is electrically corrected using an overrun measurement value measured at . (Problems to be Solved by the Invention) A common feature of the prior art described above is that the amount of air is understood as a volume. As is well known, the volume of an ideal gas is inversely proportional to absolute pressure and directly proportional to absolute temperature. Although this law cannot be applied to actual air, when the amount of air is understood as a volume, it is necessary to correct it based on its pressure and temperature. However, the above-mentioned prior art does not disclose correction in this respect. Therefore, it is difficult to stabilize overrun because it is not possible to supply an accurate amount of air. Furthermore, the invention disclosed in Japanese Patent Publication No. 56-46769 is characterized by a method of supplying an air flow rate proportional to the mix flow rate, and has the problem that the rise time of overrun cannot be improved. (Means for Solving the Problems) The present invention is characterized by employing a computer-based automatic overrun control system, having the computer instruct the required amount of air, and supplying it by mass. That is, in the method of the present invention, predetermined data such as the specific gravity of the raw material mix before overrun, the target specific gravity of the mix after overrun, and the rise time after the start of whipper operation are inputted into a computer in advance, and at the time of start-up, a constant mass is input. After the rise time has elapsed, the flow rate of the raw material mixture supplied to the overrun generator and the product temperature at the outlet of the overrun generator are detected and input into the computer, and these data and the above-mentioned This is a method for controlling the amount of air supplied during overrun, characterized by supplying a mass of air calculated based on the specific gravity and rise time of mixes input into a computer before and after overrun. Further, the device of the present invention is a device for controlling the mass of supplied air in an overrun generator equipped with a raw material supply tank, a mix pump, an overrun generator, and an air supply pipe equipped with a solenoid valve. means for detecting the supply amount of raw material mix, means for detecting the product temperature at the outlet of the overrun generating device, and a means for detecting the raw material mix supply amount and product temperature detected by the means, and a means for detecting the material mix supply amount and product temperature input in advance. An overflow control circuit characterized by having a means for calculating an optimum air supply amount based on data, and a comparison control circuit that compares the optimum air supply amount with the mass of the supplied air and commands the opening degree of the solenoid valve. This is a control device for the air supply amount in the run. Embodiment 1 Next, the apparatus of the present invention will be explained based on FIGS. 1 and 2. In FIG. 1, a first mix pump 2 and a second mix pump 4 sequentially connected to a mix tank 1 are both fixed displacement pumps, and are driven by a drive motor 6 with a continuously variable transmission via a V-belt or a chain 7. However, the capacity of the second mix pump 4 is set to be approximately twice that of the first mix pump 2. The connecting pipe 3 between the two pumps is connected to the air supply pipe 8 by a connecting joint 14. A known overrun generating device (cream whipper or ice cream freezer) 5 is connected to the second mix pump 4. The above circuit is called a mix circuit. On the other hand, in the air circuit, the air compressor 9 and the connection pipe 3 are connected by an air supply pipe 8 via a connection joint 14, and the supply pipe 8 is connected to a mist separator, a sterilization filter, a pressure reducing valve ( (not shown above), air valve 10, solenoid valve 11, three-way switching valve 12
and check valve 13 are connected in the usual manner. The above circuit is called an air circuit. On the other hand, the configuration of the automatic overrun control circuit is as follows. To explain the configuration in terms of input/output of overrun control data to the microcomputer 23 and the comparison control circuit 22, first, in the mix circuit, the first mix pump 2 is used as a means for detecting the raw material mix supply amount input to the microcomputer 23. A pulse transmitter 15 is attached to detect the rotation speed, and a resistance temperature detector 16 is attached to the overrun generator 5 as a means for detecting product temperature.
installed near the exit. These two sensors take out the measured values as electrical signals and send them to the converter 26. converter 26
is connected to the microcomputer 23 via an input/output port 25. The output of the microcomputer 23 is input to the comparison control circuit 22 via a converter 26. Next, in the air circuit, as a means for detecting the mass of the supplied air amount, temperature-sensitive resistance wires 18, 18 are used, which are wound around two outer surfaces of the flow tube 17 connected to the bypass in parallel with the air supply pipe 8. , a bridge circuit 19 connected to the mass flow rate measuring device 21, and a width amplifier 20 for amplifying the output voltage of the bridge circuit. 24 in the diagram
is a data input device that allows a microcomputer to calculate the mass air amount required for setting overrun. The comparison control circuit 22 compares the optimum air supply amount data outputted from the microcomputer 23 with the actual air supply amount data outputted from the amplifier 20, and generates a signal to command the opening degree of the solenoid valve 11. This outputs the following. A specific example of the solenoid valve 11 is shown in FIG. 2, and includes a solenoid coil 1 that operates in response to the opening command signal.
1a, a plunger 11b operated by the solenoid coil, and a valve body 11c connected thereto.
and a valve seat 11d. In the figure, 27 is a power supply device, arrow 28 is the flow direction of mixes,
Arrow 29 is the flow direction of a coarse mixture of mix and air, arrow 30 is the flow direction of whipped cream or ice cream (product) that has been overrun, and arrow 31 is the flow direction of air. Example 2 Next, an example of the present invention will be described. First, a microcomputer (hereinafter referred to as a microcomputer)
) 23 and open the file,
Read the specified data into the microcontroller's random memory. The predetermined data are the overrun setting specific gravity, the specific gravity of the raw material mix, the volume coefficient of the mix pump, the supply air amount (mass) at the start of operation, the air specific gravity, the maximum air flow rate (mass) of the air supply pipe, and constants. The data is a parameter that can be changed according to the actual situation. Now, set the conditions of measured raw material mix specific gravity 1.04, set mix flow rate 200/h, and overrun set specific gravity 0.54. If the above data aisle needs to be corrected, input the corrected data from the data input device to correct it. After that, the microcomputer outputs the pre-stored air amount at the start of operation to the comparison control circuit. The set air amount is set in steps of 0 to 5 V and output digitally to the output port 25 as an electric signal value of 8 bits for the upper diameter and 8 bits for the lower limit. Next, the digital quantity is converted into an analog quantity by the converter 26, and this is given to the comparison control circuit 22 as a flow rate setting signal based on voltage. Next, by pressing the operation key of the automatic overrun control device, the cumulative time is stored in the microcomputer, and the solenoid valve 11, the first mix pump 2, the second mix pump 4, and the dasher (hereinafter referred to as whipper) of the overrun generator (hereinafter referred to as whipper) 5 are stored. (not shown), the solenoid valve 11 is activated, and the raw material mix is sucked from the mix tank 1 by the first mix pump 2 at a flow rate of 200/h, and then sent to the second mix pump 4 at the same flow rate. As described above, since the capacities of the two pumps are different, the pressure inside the pipe 3 connecting the two is reduced to some extent. On the other hand, the compressed air generated by the air compressor 9 is
It is cleaned with a mist separator and a sterilization filter (not shown), and then reduced to the optimum pressure of 1 to 2 kg/cm ² (selected according to viscosity) with a pressure reducing valve (not shown). The mass flow rate is measured while passing through the valve 10 and the mass flow rate measuring device 21 . The temperature-sensitive resistance wire 18 of the detection part of the device acts as a sensor and detects the change in the amount of air flowing into the flow tube 17 as a change in temperature, that is, a change in resistance value. Detection is possible. Utilizing this principle, the bridge circuit 19 extracts changes in the mass flow rate as changes in the voltage signal. This voltage signal (hereinafter referred to as the sensor output signal) is given to the comparison control circuit 22, and compared with the above-mentioned flow rate setting signal. The applied current is varied to pull the valve upwards. Conversely, when the sensor output signal is larger, the valve moves downward so that the opening degree of the valve becomes smaller. This automatic movement of the valve is achieved by subtle automatic adjustment of the electromagnetic force by varying the solenoid current. In this way, the opening degree of the valve is automatically adjusted so that the sensor output signal and the flow rate setting signal are the same, and the set air amount is adjusted to the three-way switching valve 12, the check valve 13, and the connecting joint 14.
The raw material mix is mixed into the raw material mixture moving through the pipe 3. When the above-mentioned cumulative time has passed a certain set time (3 seconds in the case of this embodiment), the method of calculating the rated air amount at the start of operation is changed to the method of calculating the rated air amount during operation using the following formula. The reason for this is that it takes about 3 seconds for the rotational speed of the mix pump to stabilize at the start of operation, and that it takes time for the required air amount to be reached. The amount of air during operation is calculated using the following formula. MFMN = FCPB x (SGC - SGWS) / (SGWS - SGA) MFMOT = MFMN / MFMRA x 5 / [(273 + TRO) / 273)] Where, FCPB = averaged number of rotations of the first mix pump (RCP) over a certain period of time value multiplied by the pump volume coefficient, i.e., the averaged cream flow rate (/h) SGA = air specific gravity TRO = product outlet temperature In other words, during operation, the rotational speed of the first mix pump 2 and the second mix pump 4 changes over a very short period of time. Although it is a constant volume pump, the flow rate fluctuates minutely in the same way. Air flow control cannot follow these subtle fluctuations. Therefore, it was decided to use the average value of the cream flow rate within a certain period of time for the above-mentioned FCPB value. The amount of air is calculated from each data input to the microcomputer based on the above formula, and the flow rate setting signal is sent to the converter 26 via the input/output port 25.
The data is converted into analog data and given to the comparison control circuit 22, where it is compared with the value also measured by the mass flow rate measuring device 21, and the difference is used as an electric signal to command the solenoid of the solenoid valve 11. , to restore the set air volume.
Through such feedback control, a set amount of air is supplied in accordance with the averaged flow rate of the raw material mix during operation. By correcting the amount of air by taking into account the temperature of the product at the outlet of the whipper into the calculation formula, the overrun can be controlled more accurately by inputting subtle overrun fluctuation factors due to the product temperature as data. The table shows the data of the results of this example tested on September 11, 1980, printed out using a printer attached to the microcomputer. In the table, SGWS is overrun setting specific gravity, SGWP is actual measured specific gravity,
FCP is cream flow rate (/h). According to this table, the operation start time is 14:58:34, and the overrun specific gravity of the set value has already been reached at 14:59:59 after the start of operation. The time required is only 1 minute and 25 seconds, which is a surprising time reduction compared to conventional methods. Furthermore, after that, the measured specific gravity completely matches the overrun setting specific gravity, and as compared to the 5% variation above and below the setting value in the conventional method, excellent sustained stabilization of the overrun is possible. In principle, the present invention can be fully applied to a method for stabilizing ice cream overrun. Note that the amount of air was detected by a sensor.

【table】

[Table] While operating the whipper, if some abnormality occurs in the equipment system, for example, if the temperature of the whipper cooling water exceeds the upper limit of the set value, or if the pressure in the dashir (not shown) is abnormally high. In the event of a malfunction, the device of the present invention stores the upper and lower limits of these abnormal values in advance in the microcomputer, and also installs a sensor to detect these abnormal values at a predetermined location of the device. As shown in the computer control flow sheet of FIG.
1 stops automatically. However, the air compressor 9 does not stop. In this case, the cause of the above abnormal value has been determined,
When the abnormality returns to normal and the device is restarted, the amount of air at the start of operation is stored in the microcomputer, and the overrun setting specific gravity at startup is very small compared to the conventional method. As mentioned above, it is possible to stabilize over time. Next, at the end of the operation, as shown in Fig. 3, the dashir (not shown) first stops, and then the signal (rating) of the air amount at the end of the operation stored in the microcomputer is output to the solenoid valve 11. A predetermined amount of air is supplied to the second mix pump 4 and whipper 5 via the connecting joint 14, and the raw mix and overrun whipped cream are driven out by the air. Finally, the first mix pump 2,
The second mix pump 4 and solenoid valve 11 are automatically stopped, the data in the random memory of the microcomputer is written to the floppy disk, and the apparatus is stopped. (Effects of the Invention) According to the method of this invention, since the amount of air supplied to the raw material mixture is measured by mass, it is possible to supply a predetermined amount of air regardless of changes in temperature and pressure, thereby preventing overrun. There is no risk of variation occurring. In addition, since the rated mass of air is supplied for a predetermined period of time after the overrun generator starts (at startup), the desired overrun product can be obtained from the outlet of the overrun generator after the start of operation. However, according to the present invention, the time can be shortened to about 1 to 2 minutes. Therefore, the loss time during work and the occurrence of defective products can be significantly reduced. Moreover, there is no need to rely on intuition and manually fine-tune the overrun at startup. Furthermore, according to the method of the present invention, during continuous operation, fluctuations in the raw material mix supply amount and product temperature at the outlet of the overrun generating device are input to the microcomputer to control the supply air amount. Even if the amount fluctuates slightly, a desired overrun can be obtained and a constant overrun can be maintained. According to the following apparatus of the present invention, there is provided a means for detecting the supply amount of raw material mix, a means for detecting the product temperature at the outlet of the device where overrun has occurred, and the raw material mix supply amount and product temperature detected by the means. and means for calculating the optimum air supply amount based on data input in advance, and a comparison control circuit that compares the optimum air supply amount with the currently supplied air mass and commands the opening degree of the solenoid valve. Since this is provided, it is possible to always supply the optimum amount (mass) of air in response to fluctuations in the raw material mix supply amount and overrun state. This has the effect of automatically keeping the product overrun constant.

[Brief explanation of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a block diagram showing an embodiment of the apparatus of the present invention, FIG. 2 is an explanatory diagram of a solenoid valve and a comparison control circuit, and FIG. 3 is a flow sheet of an embodiment of the method of the present invention. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Mix tank, 2, 4... Mix pump, 5... Overrun generator, 8... Air supply pipe, 11... Solenoid valve, 15... Pulse transmitter, 16...
Resistance temperature detector, 22...comparison control circuit, 23...microcomputer.

Claims (1)

[Claims] 1. Predetermined data such as the specific gravity of the raw material mix before overrun, the target specific gravity of the mix after overrun, and the start-up time after the start of whipper operation are input into the computer in advance, and at the time of start-up, a constant mass is input. After the rise time has elapsed, the flow rate of the raw material mixture supplied to the overrun generator and the product temperature at the outlet of the overrun generator are detected and input into the computer, and these data and the above-mentioned A method for controlling the amount of air supplied during an overrun, characterized by supplying a mass of air calculated based on the specific gravity and rise time of the mix that have been input into a computer before and after the overrun. 2. A device for controlling the mass of supplied air in an overrun generator equipped with a raw material supply tank, a mix pump, an overrun generator, and an air supply pipe equipped with a solenoid valve, comprising means for detecting the mass of the supplied air; means for detecting the supply amount of raw material mix; means for detecting the product temperature at the outlet of the overrun generating device; The air supply amount in overrun is characterized by comprising means for calculating the supply amount and a comparison control circuit that compares the optimum air supply amount with the mass of the supplied air and commands the opening degree of the solenoid valve. Control device.