JPH0412023Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] The present invention relates to a food forming machine that can easily form various foods that have the same hardness and taste as those made by hand by compacting and compacting food raw materials into a specific shape. .

Conventionally, onigiri, makunouchi, sushi, hamburger,
Foods with a certain uniform shape, such as korotsuke, were processed and shaped by manually curing raw materials such as rice and meat in fixed amounts. Therefore, molding in large quantities requires a large number of personnel, and the amount of processing is small, making it unsuitable for mass production.
However, processed foods such as onigiri, makunouchi, and hamburger steaks are in great demand due to recent dietary reforms, but food processing and shaping operations have become difficult due to rising labor costs. It is becoming a common thing.

For example, makunouchi, which is used in makunouchi bento, is rice shaped into a semicylindrical shape, and is very popular for use in ekiben. This makunouchi is used to hold a certain amount of rice, but when relying on manual labor, it is inevitable that the shape of the makunouchi will vary in size, and it is not easy to make a large amount of makunouchi at one time. However, if the process of turning rice into makunouchi was mechanized and it became possible to quickly make makunouchi using a fixed amount of rice at all times, makunouchi could be sold at stores as before, or made at home. It is thought that this will open up not only ways of using it, but also ways of using it for school lunches at schools and workplaces. In particular, when it comes to school lunches, food must be arranged fairly and quickly, and the effort involved in transporting tableware from the kitchen to the classroom during meals cannot be underestimated. These factors are hindering the rationalization of school lunches. Therefore, if it were possible to form everything from rice to makunouchi through mechanization without the hassle of manpower, it would provide an extremely effective means for rationalizing school lunches.

However, this type of food forming apparatus has hardly ever been provided. A conventional food forming method is to place rice into a wooden mold with a recess shaped like a makunouchi, and then forcefully compress the rice from above to create a makunouchi. The makunouchi made in this way is usually too hard and does not have the unique taste of makunouchi made by hand. If the compression force used to harden the rice is weakened in order to adjust the hardness of the makunouchi, the rice grains will fall out of the makunouchi and the shape of the makunouchi will not be maintained. In addition, although mechanisms for mechanically forming rice have been devised in recent years, there has yet to be one that has the same hardness and taste as the one manually formed into makunouchi from rice. Ta.

In view of the above drawbacks, the present invention provides a food molding machine capable of quantitatively molding various foods having almost the same hardness and taste as those molded manually.

An embodiment of the present invention will be described below.

Figure 1 is a front view of the food molding machine of this embodiment, Figure 2 is a front view of the food molding machine of this embodiment;
The figure is a side view of the same as above, FIG. 3 is a front view showing the main parts of the material supply mechanism, and FIGS. 4 and 5 are sectional views showing the forming mechanism. The main body 1 of the molding machine has a vertically planar front surface, and rollers 2 and 3 are pivotally supported on the lower left and right sides of the front surface, and a conveyor belt 4 for conveyance is provided between the rollers 2 and 3. It's rolled up.
Above the conveyor belt 4, a material supply mechanism 5 and forming mechanisms 6 and 7 are arranged at intervals in the left-right direction. The material supply mechanism 5 has a hopper 8 in its upper part, and a transfer part 9 is connected to the lower part of the hopper 8. In this transfer part 9, rollers 10 and 11 are mounted on shafts at intervals in the front and rear direction. A belt 12 is wound horizontally between the rollers 10 and 11. This roller 10 is located slightly forward of the front surface of the main body 1, and a pair of side plates 13 and 14 are connected in parallel in the vertical direction on the lower surface of the transfer section 9 at the front part of the roller 10. be.
Each side plate 13, 14 has an inverted trapezoidal shape with a short lower side, and between these side plates 13, 14, from the top, a pair of drive rollers 15, 16, tension rollers 17, 18, roller shafts 19, 20, Adjustment rollers 21 and 22 and guide rollers 23 and 24, which are removably inserted through the roller shafts 19 and 20 so that they can be replaced with rollers of appropriate diameters, are positioned respectively. Koku drive rollers 15, 16
are located at the upper part of the side plates 13, 14 with a large distance left and right, and the distance between the roller shafts 19, 20 and the guide rollers 23, 24 gradually narrows, and the tension roller 17 and 18 are located slightly below the drive rollers 15 and 16. Each of these rollers 15 to 24
A supply belt 25, 26 is wound around each of the supply belts 25, 26, and each supply belt 25, 26 is approximately diamond-shaped.
It is wound in a symmetrical shape with an upward opening.

That is, while the upper part of each supply belt 25, 26 is formed broadly as a receiving part 70 for the food material,
The lower part of the receiving part 70 is narrowly formed as a food material compression passage 71 having a predetermined length and interval up to its lower end.

The intervals between the compression passages 71 may be formed so as to become gradually narrower from the top to the bottom as shown in the figure, or may be formed so that they are substantially uniform from the top to the bottom.

The tension rollers 17, 18 are held by dogleg-shaped levers 27, 28, and the centers of the levers 27, 28 are rotatably supported by pins 29, 30. The other end is pulled by springs 31 and 32. Operating arms 33, 34 are located near the lower ends of the side plates 13, 14 and project horizontally from the main body 1.
A guide roller 2 is provided at the tip of each arm 33, 34.
Shutter 35, so that it is located at the bottom of 3, 24.
36 is fixed. The actuation arms 33, 34
are rack bodies 37 and 38 extending horizontally within the main body 1.
The tooth surfaces of both rack bodies 37 and 38 are engaged with each other at the upper and lower parts of the pinion 39. These operating arms 33, 34, rack bodies 37, 38 and pinion 39 control the supply belts 25, 2.
A pair of shutters 35, 3 that open and close from side to side so that food materials can be pinched and cut at the center of the lower end of 6.
6 drive mechanisms are formed.

Next, the forming mechanisms 6 and 7 have the same structure, and the forming mechanism 6 is slightly larger than the forming mechanism 7. Each forming mechanism 6, 7 is inserted and held by angles 40, 41 protruding from the front surface of the main body 1, and the forming mechanism 6 is used for preforming,
The forming mechanism 7 is designed to perform the main forming role.

Since the structures of both mechanisms 6 and 7 are the same, only the structure of the forming mechanism 6 will be explained below with reference to FIGS. 5 and 6.

The vertically held sub-rod 42 has a cylindrical shape, and an air port 43 is opened in the center of the sub-rod 42 by penetrating it vertically.A slightly rectangular base plate 44 is provided at the lower end of the sub-rod 42. It's fixed. A cylindrical main rod 45 is slidably inserted through the outer periphery of the sub rod 42, and a return spring 46 is interposed between the main rod 45 and the base plate 44. At the lower end of the main rod 45, ears 47 to 50 are projected in a cross shape in the front, back, right and left directions, and on the four sides of the base plate 44, contact bodies 51 and 52, operating bodies 53,
54 are axially connected by pins 55 and 56.
The respective ears 47 to 50, the contact bodies 51 and 52, and the actuating bodies 53 and 54 are connected to links 57 and 58, respectively.
They are connected by. Next, reference numeral 59 denotes a compression member with an opening at the bottom formed of an elastic material such as rubber, and this compression member 59 has a thick side wall 60 and a side wall 6.
0 and a thin pressure portion 62 that connects both tongue portions 61 in an inverted U shape.
The upper end portion of the side wall portion 60 is held between the base plate 44 and the tightening plate 63, and the upper end portion of the side wall portion 60 is
A vent 64 is opened in the center of the compressor 3, and the space inside the compression member 59 and the air port 43 of the sub rod 42 communicate with each other. Further, an arm 65 is connected to the outer periphery of the main rod 45 and is moved up and down by a motor or the like, and a stopper 66 whose position can be adjusted is fixed to the upper part of the sub rod 42.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

When the control switch is turned on, a motor (not shown) inside the main body 1 operates, and the rollers 2, 11,
Drive rollers 15 and 16 rotate in directions A, C, and E, respectively, and conveyor belts 4 and 12 and supply belts 25 and 26 move in directions B, D, and F, respectively. Further, the sub rod 42 is constantly supplied with compressed air from a compressor (not shown).
In this state, when food materials, such as rice, are put into the hopper 8, the rice is placed on the belt 12 and moves forward to the main body 1. When the rice moves to the end of the roller 10, it falls between the side plates 13 and 14, and is piled up between the supply belts 25 and 26 from the receiving part 70, and the rice is moved along the moving direction F of the supply belts 25 and 26. It is moved downward through the narrow compression passage 71. Then, at a predetermined time, the pinion 39 rotates, the rack bodies 37, 38 move left and right, and the arms 33, 34 and shutters 35, 36
The rice also moves left and right, and the rice moves to the guide roller 23,
It is compressed and falls from between 24, and then the shutters 35 and 36 are closed, thereby cutting a predetermined amount.

The operation of dropping and cutting the rice will be explained with reference to FIG. In Fig. 6A, the shutters 35 and 36 are closed, but since the drive rollers 15 and 16 are rotating, the supply belts 25 and 26 are moving, pushing down the rice that has fallen down and compressing it appropriately. I will let you do it. In FIG. 6B, the shutters 35 and 36 are opened and the properly compressed rice is pushed down along the supply belts 25 and 26. 6th
In Figure C, when the appropriate amount of rice has been pushed out, the supply belts 25 and 26 stop moving, and at the same time the shutters 35 and 36 are closed to prevent the rice from falling, and the operations A, B, and C described above are repeated. Become. Here, the adjuster rollers 21 and 22 can be changed at any time depending on the hardness of the rice. For example, adjuster rollers 21-a and 22-a with a small diameter are inserted into the roller shafts 19 and 20 to compress the rice. By changing the ratio, the amount of rice to be pushed out can be kept constant even if the hardness of the rice changes.

The rice cut by the shutters 35 and 36 is placed on the belt 4, but since the belt 4 is moving in the direction B, the rice cut into a predetermined amount moves in the direction of the forming mechanism 6. When the rice reaches the bottom of the forming mechanism 6, the arm 65 descends and pushes down the sub rod 42, main rod 45, etc. in the direction of the belt 4. When the tongue portion 61 of the compression member 59 contacts the belt 4 and rice enters the pressure portion 62, the stopper 66 contacts the angle 40 and the sub rod 42
is stopped at that position and only the main rod 45 is pushed down. For this reason, the main rod 45 is attached to the return spring 4.
Slide the outer circumference of the sub rod 42 against link 5.
7, 58, the contact body 51, 52, the actuating body 5
3 and 54 are swung around pins 55 and 56, and the lower ends of the contact bodies 51 and 52 and the actuating bodies 53 and 54 approach each other as if they were grasping rice, and the rice touches the pressure part 6.
be trapped in 2. Therefore, the compressed air supplied from the air port 43 is transferred to the side wall portion 60 and the pressure portion 62.
During this period, the rice is filled and the rice is squeezed through the pressure section 62. After the rice has been squeezed and hardened for a predetermined time, the arm 65 rises in the opposite direction to the above, and at the same time releases the rice from the pressure section 62. When the preforming is completed, the belt 4 moves the rice in the direction of the next forming mechanism 7, and the main forming takes place. Move to. In this main forming mechanism 7, the rice is similarly squeezed and solidified, and furthermore, the shape is completely specified and the rice is hardened to a predetermined hardness so as not to be easily deformed.

Since the present invention is constructed as described above, the food material can be compressed and processed to be easily formed into a specific shape before being supplied. That is, the upper part is formed wide as a receiving part for the food material, while the lower part of the receiving part is formed narrowly as a compression passage for the food material at a predetermined length and interval to the lower end of the receiving part. , because the food material is forcibly sent downward while gradually compressing it, it compresses the food material uniformly without kneading it, and even if the hardness of the food material changes, it always delivers a constant amount to the next product. It can be transferred to the molding process.

In addition, in the present invention, the food material discharged from the supply belt is sandwiched toward the center by two shutters placed on the left and right in the vicinity thereof, so that the food material that is discharged from the supply belt is left hanging from the opening at the lower end of the supply belt. It can be reliably divided at the position. Therefore, it is possible to accurately drop and supply cut chunks of food material to a predetermined position such as a mold or a belt conveyor disposed below.

Furthermore, there is a food material that can be finally formed into a shape and hardness close to that of handmade food materials that are supplied in this way, and the taste is also close to that of handmade food, and all the forming can be done mechanically. Therefore, it has advantages such as good hygiene and mass production.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a front view showing an embodiment of the material supply mechanism of the food molding machine of the present invention, and FIG. 2 is a side view of the same.
Fig. 3 is a schematic diagram showing the configuration of the supply mechanism, Fig. 4 is a sectional view showing the forming mechanism in the closed state, Fig. 5 is a sectional view showing the forming mechanism in the open state, and Fig. 6 shows the operation. It is an explanatory diagram. Main symbols in the figure, 5...Material supply mechanism, 6, 7...
...Forming mechanism, 8... Hopper, 25, 26... Supply belt, 35, 36... Shutter, 59...
Compression member, 70... Receiving portion, 71... Compression passage.

Claims (1)

[Scope of Claim for Utility Model Registration] Food material is input into a food molding machine that compresses and divides food material into predetermined amounts and to a predetermined hardness, and then compresses and molds the material into a predetermined shape using a molding mechanism. a hopper, a transfer section that transfers the food material put into the hopper forward, and a transfer section that compresses and transfers the food material dropped from the front of the transfer section from above to below, arranged at intervals in the vertical direction. At the same time, the upper part is formed wide as a receiving part for food materials, while the lower part of the receiving part is formed narrowly as a compression passage for food materials with a predetermined length and interval to the lower end, and is connected to a pair of left and right supply belts. , a plurality of rollers that rotationally drive and support the supply belt in opposite directions, and are provided close to the lower end opening of the supply belt, and can be opened and closed from side to side so as to be able to pinch and cut at the center of the lower end of each supply belt. a pair of shutters, a transport mechanism that transports the food material divided into predetermined amounts by the shutters to a forming mechanism, and a compression member that compresses the food material into a predetermined shape and hardness from the outside. A food molding machine characterized by comprising a molding mechanism for performing compression molding.