JPH0420224Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] The present invention relates to a tea leaf cleaning machine that cleans fresh tea leaves that are supplied as raw materials to a tea manufacturing plant, and in particular, when the fresh tea leaves are put into the water tank of the cleaning machine. , relates to a structure for promoting the sedimentation of green tea leaves in water.

[Background technology and problems]

In order to wash green tea leaves, it is naturally necessary to submerge them in water, but if you simply drop them into a water tank, they will not sink easily and may become clogged in the dropping section.

To submerge it, some sort of stirring member is required, but this would complicate the mechanism and increase costs.

On the other hand, when fresh tea leaves are washed in a water tank, it is desirable to sprinkle clean water on them when taking them out for a final wash.

[Purpose of invention]

The present invention aims to simplify the mechanism and reduce costs by allowing a portion of the water supplied for this final washing to be used, and by allowing the water to act as a member for accelerating the settling of green tea leaves. .

〔Example〕

Next, an illustrated embodiment in which the present invention is applied to a so-called bubble agitation water flow type tea leaf washer, which is novel in itself, will be described.

This bubble agitation water flow type tea leaf washer is manufactured by Jikosho.
As described in Publication No. 56-8468 and Publication Utility Model Publication No. 58-23273, a rotary shaft is provided in a cylinder immersed in a water tank and hung horizontally through the cylinder, and a stirring hand is attached to this. This is a drawback of the type that rotates or supports the barrel itself rotatably, rotates the entire barrel, and stirs the green tea leaves dropped into the barrel to remove sand, mud, etc. attached to the green tea leaves. , since the green tea leaves are stirred by mechanical action, they are susceptible to mechanical damage, and some sort of mechanical stirring member is essential, which solves the problem of the mechanism becoming complicated and large. It is something.

Therefore, first, a bubble agitation water flow type tea leaf cleaning machine will be described, and then a structure for promoting sedimentation of green tea leaves according to the present invention will be explained.

This green tea leaf washing machine 1 mainly includes a water tank 3 arranged on a machine frame 2, a belt conveyor 4 whose starting end is immersed in water in the water tank 3, and a water circulation system that generates a flow of water in the water tank. The water tank 3 consists of a tank system 5, a replenishment water supply system 6 that also serves as finishing water and replenishes the water tank, and an air supply system 7 that generates air bubbles in the water.The water tank 3 is 2 m long, 1 m wide, It is a rectangular parallelepiped aquarium with a depth of about 0.4m, and there are approximately J in the vertical direction inside the aquarium.
A letter-shaped partition wall 8 is provided to form an approximately letter-shaped waterway that goes around the outer circumference and then goes around the inner circumference, and sand and mud sedimentation grooves 9 are provided at the bottom of the waterway before the first corner and before the fourth corner. It will be set up. Further, a wire mesh is provided above the groove.

The starting end of the outer periphery and the bottom of the inner periphery end of the waterway, which is formed in the shape of a substantially "no" character, are opened wide to serve as a water supply port 10 and a discharge port 11, respectively.
11 is connected with a communication pipe 12 inside the water tank lower machine frame 2,
This communication pipe 12 is constructed into a water tank with an underground tunnel.

This communication pipe 12 is a part of a water circulation system 5 that circulates the water in the water tank 3 so that it goes around the outer periphery of the water channel and then goes around the inner periphery. Particularly, the part that is continuous with the water supply port 10 has a part that hangs in a straight line. part 12a, and part of it branches 12b in the vertical direction at its lowest horizontal part,
An overflow pipe 13 is connected to this.

The tip 13a of the overflow pipe 13 has an overflow structure corresponding to the vicinity of the upper surface of the water tank 3, and its discharge height can be adjusted up and down by the up and down adjustment mechanism 14.

Further, 15 is a sand and mud discharge valve further branched from the overflow pipe 13.

In addition, a motor 16 is attached to the water tank outer frame 2 in the vicinity of the water supply port 10 so that its shaft 16a is in the vertical direction, and a screw 17 is attached to the hanging part 12a of the communication pipe.
is installed so that its shaft 17a is parallel to the motor shaft 16a, and these two shafts 16a and 17a are connected by a pulley and a belt. The water circulation system 5 is configured as described above.

The belt conveyor 4 rises from the end of the waterway to the outside of the water tank 3 so that the tip of the belt conveyor 4 is slightly submerged in water from its starting end, and the submerged part covers the discharge port 11 of the water tank 3. Provided in an inclined manner so as to protrude greatly.

This belt conveyor 4 uses an air-permeable net belt made of polyester as a belt, and rolls 4a and 4a that are pivotally supported at both ends of the conveyor frame.
It is constructed so that it can be driven by a motor 18 at the tip.

Next, the air supply system 7 will be explained.

The air supply system 7 consists of an air guide pipe that generates air bubbles in the water tank and a fumarole pipe that removes leaves remaining on the belt conveyor, and the air guide pipe 19 has a large number of blowholes 20 bored along its direction. A pipe made of vinyl chloride is attached to the water tank 3 in a state that is slightly raised from the bottom, covering almost the entire area of the waterway and the part submerged in water at the starting end of the belt conveyor 4, and is attached to the water tank outside the machine. An air pump 21 housed within a frame 2 and piping 22 are connected. At this time, a particularly large number of blowholes are drilled in the air guide pipe located near the starting end of the waterway.

On the other hand, the fumarole pipe 23 is installed in the tip turning part of the belt conveyor 4 in a direction perpendicular to the belt, and has a large number of fume holes 24 bored facing the back side of the belt. Piping 22
A branch pipe 25 is formed from the pipe.

Next, the fresh tea leaves scooped up onto the belt conveyor 4 are finished washed with clean water, and some of the waste water is transferred to the water tank 3 as make-up water, and most of the other waste water is collected and filtered as is, and then used again for finishing. A supplementary water supply system 6 that also serves as finishing water will be described.

26 is the water tank 3 where the belt conveyor 4 is above the water.
A water sprinkling pipe that is arranged on the conveyor from slightly above the inner side to the tip of the belt conveyor 4 and has a large number of water sprinkling ports 27, and at least one of the water sprinkling ports 27 is arranged on the conveyor located inside the water tank 3. In addition, a water supply pipe 28 is communicated in the middle.

A falling water collection chute 29 is installed on the lower surface of the belt conveyor 4 that protrudes outside the water tank 3 according to its inclination.
A guide chute 30 is attached to the side of the machine frame 2 with the lower end of the chute facing the first filtration tank 31 below.

The first filtration tank 31 is at a different level from the second filtration tank 32 housed below the machine frame 2, and has a supernatant outlet 33 opened near the top surface of the tank 31 on the machine frame shelf 2a next to it. It is provided so as to face the second filtration tank 32.

An opening is formed in the second filtration tank 32 and piping 35 is connected to the water suction side of the water supply pump 34.
An automatic water supply device 37 connected to a water pipe 36 is housed inside.

On the other hand, the water discharge side of the water supply pump 34 and the water sprinkling pipe 2
6 and are connected by a water supply pipe 28.

Next, the equipment installed before and after the green tea leaf washer 1 will be explained.

Reference numeral 38 denotes a leaf feeder in which a green tea leaf discharging portion 38a faces the starting end of a flow path formed in the water tank 3 from above, and its delivery speed etc. can be freely adjusted.

Further, 39 is a dewatering machine disposed below the tip of the belt conveyor 4, and a continuous type or a rotary type is appropriately arranged.

For example, in a tea leaf cleaning machine equipped with front and rear devices as described above, the structure for promoting sedimentation of fresh tea leaves according to the present invention is applied to the tip of the pipe 40 branched from the water supply pipe 28 from the water supply pump 34 to the water sprinkling pipe 26. Mizuguchi 4
1 facing the green tea leaf dropping part 38a of the leaf feeder 38 or below it, it has an extremely simple structure.

[Effect]

First, we will explain the function of the tea leaf cleaning machine itself.

First, the flow of water in the water tank 3 will be explained.

When the motor 16 is driven, its rotation is transmitted to the screw 17, which rotates and pushes out the water in the communication pipe 12 to the water supply port 10, while the water at the end of the waterway is sucked into the communication pipe 12, and the water at the start end of the waterway is sucked into the communication pipe 12. A flow of water occurs along the channel, with the end of the channel being the upstream end and the downstream end of the channel.

If there are green tea leaves in this water stream, they will be washed downstream.

At this time, the waterway is formed almost in the shape of a "no",
Since the tea leaves go around the outer circumference and then go around to the inner circumference, sharp bending curves can be minimized, the green tea leaves are less likely to stagnate, and the path can be made longer.

In addition, this allows the end of the waterway to be located approximately in the center of the water tank, making it possible to install the belt conveyor in the center of the machine.
There is no need to compete with front and rear equipment or distinguish between right and left equipment.

In addition, since the communication pipe 12, which is the return path of the water channel, is arranged below the water tank 3, the structure can be made compact.
7 is built in, and the rotation is transmitted when its shaft 17a protrudes vertically upward from the water.
A special seal member for the shaft 17a is not required, and the motor 16 and the like can be installed in the machine frame 2 in a compact manner. In addition, less power is required.

On the other hand, when the water becomes contaminated with sand and mud, the sand and mud gradually move downstream while sinking in the water, fall into the sand and mud sedimentation groove 9 in the middle of the waterway, and are accumulated and removed there. Furthermore, the sand and mud that has moved to the discharge port 11 and fallen there is also discharged by opening the sand and mud discharge valve 15 provided in the overflow pipe 13.

In addition, the amount of water in the water tank 3 decreases as the green tea leaves are scooped out by the belt conveyor, but the amount is increased by refilling and overflows from the tip 13a of the excess overflow pipe 13, and the water level in the water tank 3 is maintained at a constant level. It is maintained.

At this time, the overflow water is discharged from the outlet 11.
Since the water has passed through the drain and flowed down the bottom, the dirty water is drained out first.

Next, the finishing water/supplementary water supply system 6 will be explained.

First, open the main tap of the water supply, and when enough water has accumulated in the second filtration tank 32 by the action of the automatic water supply device 37, drive the water supply pump 34, and the water accumulated in the second filtration tank 32 will be discharged. The water is sent to the water sprinkling pipe 36, sprayed out from each water sprinkling port 27 in the form of a fountain, and sprinkled onto the belt conveyor 4, and if the green tea leaves are being moved there, the green tea leaves are finished and washed.

At this time, the water sprayed from the water spout located inside the water tank 3 is directly mixed into the water tank 3 and is used as water for cleaning the tank. In other words, a portion of the finishing water is directly supplied to the water tank 3, which is a rough washing container, as supplementary water.

Further, water is also spouted from the water spout 41 at the tip of the pipe 40 branched from the water supply pipe 28 near where the green tea leaves are dropped, and this water is also used as it is as water for cleaning the aquarium.

On the other hand, the water sprayed by the belt conveyor part protruding to the outside of the water tank 3 passes through the net belt and is directed from the falling water collection chute 29 below to the guiding chute 3.
0 and is collected into the first filtration tank 31.

When the water collected in the first filtration tank 31 accumulates to the position of the supernatant extraction port 33 opened in the tank, only the upper supernatant water overflows from the port 33 and flows into the second filtration tank 32. and move.

As mentioned above, the second filtration tank 32 is automatically replenished from the water pipe 36 using the automatic water supply device 37 to keep the water level in the tank constant. It is also replenished by Then, the water here is again supplied to the sprinkler pipe 26 and the piping 40.

Therefore, this replenishing water supply system 6 that also serves as finishing water replenishes the water that has already been consumed for finishing, and is also the most contaminated water, as washing water in the water tank 3. The water used for this purpose is collected, filtered, and then used again for finishing purposes, making it possible to use water efficiently and conserving water. Moreover, the water also acts as a member for accelerating the sedimentation of green tea leaves.

Next, the air supply system 7 will be explained.

The air pumped by the air pump 21 is guided to the air guide pipe 19, and is ejected as bubbles from each of the jet ports 20 in the water, thereby stirring the water in the water tank 3.

At this time, the water near the starting end of the waterway where the delivery end of the leaf feeder 38 faces is particularly vigorously agitated by the many blowholes.

On the other hand, the compressed air branched from the air pump 21 is strongly blown through the blow pipe 23 in the tip turning section of the belt conveyor 4 so as to pass through the conveyor belt.

Next, drop the fresh tea leaves into the water tank 3 and then the dehydrator 3.
The effects of the structure for promoting sedimentation of green tea leaves according to the present invention will be explained, focusing on the effects that the green tea leaves receive until they are dropped into the container.

The green tea leaves dropped into the water tank 3 from the leaf feeder 38 are
As soon as it lands just below the water surface, it sinks into the water and rises and sinks repeatedly.

Normally, if you just drop green tea leaves on the water surface, they will float. In addition, even if the agitation by the bubbles is weak, it cannot keep up with the feeding capacity of the leaf feeder, and floating green tea leaves gradually accumulate, so the agitation by the bubbles is particularly vigorous near where they are dropped.

However, if the amount of input is large, or if the tea leaves have a light specific gravity such as bancha, the settling of the green tea leaves will be delayed if only the bubbles are used for stirring, and eventually the tea leaves may become clogged.

Therefore, in the present invention, the green tea leaves that have left the green tea leaf dropping part 38a of the leaf feeder 38 are
Before landing on the water surface of tank 3, and even after landing,
When it receives water spouting from the water spout 41, it becomes wet and becomes as if a weight has been placed on it, and together with the agitation of air bubbles, it immediately submerges in the water.

The green tea leaves that are being stirred by the air bubbles are driven downstream by the water flow driven by the screw 17, repeatedly floating up and down in the water, and during this time, the sand attached to the green tea leaves is removed. Mud and other dirt are washed away by contact between green tea leaves and by collision with water and air bubbles.

The green tea leaves that have reached the downstream are directed by the water flow to the part of the belt conveyor 4 that is floating above the water, and when the part submerged in the water comes into contact with the conveyor belt, the belt conveyor 4 moves the green tea leaves to the water tank 3. It is scooped out of the water.

While the green tea leaves are being moved up the belt conveyor 4, they receive water from the sprinkling pipe 26 that is much cleaner than the washing water used up until now, and are subjected to finishing washing. Then, it is dropped as it is from the delivery end of the belt conveyor 4 into the dewatering tank of the dehydrator 39.

When the green tea leaves that are not completely dropped at the tip of the belt conveyor 4 and remain attached to the conveyor belt reach the returning surface of the conveyor, they are moved to the dehydrator 3 by the pressure air from the blow pipe 23.
9 The net conveyor belt itself is also cleaned as it is blown away into the dewatering tank.

[Effect of idea]

As mentioned above, the present invention is based on the tea leaf dropping part 3.
Since this is a tea leaf washer characterized by having a water sprinkling port 41 facing 8a or below, even if the tea leaf washer is not equipped with an agitation structure, the water sprinkling port 41 is exposed near the starting end of the water channel below the tea leaf discharging part 38a. In addition, the mechanism is extremely simple, and can be constructed at low cost. It goes without saying that the present invention can be applied not only to the bubble agitation water jet type tea leaf washer described in the illustrated embodiment but also to other types of tea leaf washing machines that tend to get clogged at the tea leaf dumping section.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

FIG. 1 is a side view of the tea leaf cleaning machine of the present invention equipped with front and rear devices, and FIG. 2 is a plan view of the same. 1...Tea leaf cleaning machine, 2...Machine frame, 3...Water tank, 4...Belt conveyor, 9...Air guide pipe, 26
... Water supply pipe, 28 ... Water supply pipe, 34 ... Water supply pump, 38 ... Leaf feeder, 38a ... Tea leaf dropping part,
40...Piping, 41...Water spout.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] A device comprising a water tank for washing fresh tea leaves, a leaf feeder having a tea leaf dumping section facing above the water tank, and a belt conveyor for collecting the green tea leaves from the water tank. A tea leaf cleaning machine characterized by a water spout facing down to wet and weigh the tea leaves.