JPH0443035Y2 - - Google Patents

Description

[Detailed description of the invention] [Industrial application field] This invention is a device for manufacturing instant noodles.
For example, the present invention relates to a device that supplies noodles to a frying container passing through a frying device and stores the noodles by pushing them therein.

[Conventional technology]

A frying device in an instant noodle manufacturing device stores raw noodles in a frying container that is continuous in an endless conveyor shape, and passes this container through a frying pan to fry the noodles. At this time, while raw noodles are elastic and bulky, fried noodles lose their elasticity as water evaporates and are compressed upward by buoyancy, resulting in a density of noodles. It is normal for the upper part to be dense and the lower part to be coarse in the frying container (for example, Japanese Patent Publication No. 38693/1983).

[Problem that the invention attempts to solve]

However, if there are differences in coarseness depending on the part of the noodles after deep-frying, not only will the rough parts be brittle and break during the subsequent processing and handling processes, but the noodles will also be damaged when softened by boiling water when eaten. Another problem is that there are areas where heat is transferred sufficiently and areas where heat is not transferred sufficiently, resulting in raw and cracked areas in the noodles.

Therefore, this idea is to feed the noodles at a high density into the container while the raw noodles have sufficient elasticity, thereby preventing the density of the noodles in the container from changing significantly up and down in the later process. The frame used for this purpose is also used as a means for supplying the noodles to the container, thereby ensuring a reliable supply of noodles to the container.

[Means for solving problems]

The noodle pushing device according to this invention is a noodle processing device that has a supply section that supplies a predetermined amount of noodles, and a conveyor that is made up of a large number of containers connected in an endless manner for accommodating the supplied noodles. An outer cylindrical body having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface is installed horizontally between the lower side of the supply section and the upper side of the conveyor. A frame continuous body consisting of endless frames is installed on this outer cylindrical body. This frame continuum consists of a number of cylindrical frames that surround the periphery and are penetrated vertically, and are continuous at the same pitch as the containers of the conveyor. is adapted to be inverted downward along the outer surface of the outer cylindrical body while in contact with the outer cylindrical body, and when the frame is in contact with the outer cylindrical body, one end of the frame is closed by the outer cylindrical body. Further, the upper surface of the frame is closed by an arc-shaped closing plate concentric with the outer cylindrical body when the frame is inverted.

The part where the frame moves downward and the part where the container moves upward on the transport conveyor constitute an opposing moving part between the frame and the container, and this opposing moving part moves the frame and the container together. The trajectory of the continuous frame body and the conveyor is set so that while facing each other, one nests partially into the other and temporarily increases the volume of the container by the frame. Further, the opposing moving part is installed with a stirrer in which a stirring rod passes through the frame from above to stir the noodles in the container, and a presser in which a push-down material passes through the frame from above and presses the noodles in the container. .

[Effect]

When the frame of the frame series reaches the supply section in an empty state, the lower side of the frame touches the outer cylinder, the outer surface of the outer cylinder forms the bottom of the frame, and the frame has a lower side. become blocked. Therefore, a predetermined amount of noodles are supplied into the frame from the supply section, and the frame is gradually tilted and turned over while contacting the outer surface of the outer cylinder. At this time, the upper surface of the frame is Since the concentric arc-shaped closing plates continue to close the noodles during inversion, the noodles will not fall even if the frame gradually becomes downward due to inversion.

When the frame reaches the lower side of the outer cylinder, there is a container of a conveyor at a position below the frame and after passing through the blocking plate, and noodles are introduced into the container from the downward facing frame. At the same time, the frame and the container are combined in a nested manner so that one side is on the inside and the other is on the outside, and the frame increases the volume of the container.
The density of the noodles is small, so even if the volume is large, the noodles will not overflow.

Next, when the frame and the container are moved in the combined state as described above and the frame is separated from the outer cylindrical body, the upper surface of the frame that was in contact with the outer cylindrical body (the lower surface before the above-mentioned inversion) is opened. Leading to the stirrer. Here, the stirring rod passes through the frame and enters the container, and the noodles are stirred uniformly in the container.Then the next presser is reached, and the pressing material passes through the frame and enters the container from above. The ejected noodles, which have been made uniform in the previous process, are pressed to make them denser and reduce their bulk.

Thereafter, the continuous frame body is reversed and returned to the supply section as described above, and the conveyor continues to reach a processing device such as a frying device. Here, since the volume of the noodles in the container forming the conveyor is small, the noodles will not fall out of the container even if there is no frame.

〔Example〕

FIG. 1 is an explanatory diagram showing the outline of the embodiment, where 10 is a supply unit that supplies a predetermined amount of noodles, and 20 is a conveyor in which a large number of containers for storing noodles are connected in an endless manner. It's a conveyor. Supply section 10
As shown in FIG. 2, the chute 2 is comprised of a chute 2 that supplies the noodles 1 cut to a predetermined length, and a known loosener 3 for loosening the noodles 1 is placed on top of the chute 2. The noodles 1 are cut into a predetermined length by a cutter 4 on top of the noodles 1, and the noodles 1 are separated from each other by the loosening device 3. The conveyor 20 is a conveyor that passes through the frying pan 5 shown on the right side of FIG. 1, and is made up of a number of containers 22 connected endlessly at regular intervals by a chain 21, as is well known. The container 22 has a large number of small holes (not shown) so that when oil passes through the frying pan 5, the oil infiltrates into the container 22 and fries the noodles inside. Note that a plurality of containers 22 are arranged in the width direction of the conveyor 20, and these are supported by a support frame 23.
are supported between parallel chains 21. Reference numeral 24 denotes a sprocket wheel, on which the chain 21 is attached, and is driven by a rotating shaft 25.

An outer cylindrical body 6 is installed horizontally between the supply section 10 and the conveyor 20. The outer cylindrical body 6 may be a hollow cylinder or a solid cylinder as long as its outer surface is cylindrical. In this embodiment, the outer cylindrical body 6 is a hollow cylindrical body, and is fixed to a central rotating shaft 9 via an arm (not shown). At both axial ends of this outer cylindrical body 6, a sprocket wheel 8 is fixed to the rotating shaft 9.
The chain 32 of the continuous frame body 30 is hung on this.

The continuous frame body 30 has a large number of bottomless frames 31 that are surrounded by the periphery and penetrated vertically, and are continuously formed in an endless shape by a chain 32, which is an endless body, and the chain 32 is connected to the sprocket. It is engaged with the wheel 8. Similar to the containers 22 of the transport conveyor 20, a plurality of frames 31 are arranged in the width direction of the continuous frame body 30, and are supported by a support frame 33, which is supported between parallel chains 32. It will be done. Thus, as the chain 32 is flipped downward at the sprocket wheel 8, the frame 31 is in contact with the outer surface of the outer cylinder 6 and is turned downward together with the outer cylinder 6. However, the outer cylindrical body 6 does not rotate and the frame 31
may be reversed as described above while sliding on the outer surface of the outer cylindrical body 6. In addition, the container 22 and the frame 3
1 refers to the pitch of a large number of containers 22 equally spaced in the longitudinal direction on the transport conveyor 20, and the pitches of a large number of containers 22 equally spaced in the longitudinal direction on the continuous frame body 30, although only a part is shown in the continuous direction in FIG. The pitches of many frames 31 are the same, and the pitches of the containers 2
2 and the frame 31 are the transport conveyor 20 and the frame continuous body 3.
The same numbers are also at the same pitch in the width direction with 0. Further, the diameter of the frame 31 is smaller than that of the container 22, and as will be described later, the lower part of the frame 31 is connected to the container 22.
It's starting to get into 2. Although the container 22 and the frame 31 are cylindrical in this embodiment, they may also be prismatic.

An arc-shaped closing plate 34 concentric with the outer cylindrical body 6 is disposed on the outside of the outer cylindrical body 6.
The upper surface of the frame 31, which moves while reversing its outer periphery, is closed. Here, the frame 31 is closed at the bottom by the outer cylindrical body 6 and is closed by the closing plate 3.
The upper surface is closed by 4, therefore,
The upper end opening of the frame 31 is formed with the same curvature as the closing plate 35, and the lower end opening of the frame 31 is formed with the same curvature as the outer cylindrical body 6, so that the noodles do not slip out while the frame 31 is inverted. be. From this, there may be a gap between them to the extent that the noodles do not slip out.

The conveyor 20 is reversed upward by the sprocket wheel 24 and thereafter moves with the container 22 facing upward, and the frame continuous body 30 is moved upward by the outer cylindrical body 6.
and flip it downward with sprocket wheel 8,
Thereafter, the frame 31 moves downward, and these movements are performed with the container 22 and the frame 31 facing each other. The portion that moves while being opposed to each other is the opposing moving section 40 in FIG.

In this opposing moving unit 40, the continuous frame body 30 approaches the conveyor 20 so that the lower surface of the frame 31 of the continuous frame body 30 enters into the container 22 of the conveyor 20, as shown in FIG. Guide 41
The chain 32 is guided by. Here, the guide 41 brings the trajectory of the continuous frame body 30 closer to the conveyor 20, but it can also be brought closer to the conveyor 20 in the same way by means of a driven sprocket wheel.
A stirrer 70 and a presser 80 are installed in the counter-moving section 40 .

The agitator 70 is installed in a bridge frame 50a between the elevating and retracting drive devices 50, 50, which are installed opposite to each other on both sides of the opposing moving part 40, and one of the elevating and retracting drive devices 50 is connected to the fifth, This is shown in Figure 6.
That is, two machine frames 51, 51 are erected at positions along the moving direction of the conveyor 20, and a holding rod 51a is fixed across between both machine frames 51, and both machine frames 51, 51 are fixed.
An input rotation shaft 52 is provided at 51 in parallel with the moving direction of the conveyor 20, and is rotatably supported. A sprocket wheel 5 is attached to the input rotating shaft 52.
2a and the cylindrical cam 53, and the input rotation shaft 5 is placed in contact with both end surfaces of the cylindrical cam 53.
A plate cam 54 whose center is 2 and which is the drive shaft.
are fixed, and the cylindrical cam 53 and the plate cam 54 are configured to retract together by the input rotating shaft 52.

The cam groove 53a of the cylindrical cam 53 has an engager 55.
a is slidably engaged, and this engaging element 55a
is fixed to the advancing/retracting member 55. The advancing/retracting material 55 is
It is slidably fitted onto a forward/backward movement guide 56 which is provided between the machine frames 51, 51 in parallel with the input rotating shaft 52. The reciprocating member 55 is configured to be guided by the cam groove 53a of the cylindrical cam 53 and move back and forth along the reciprocating guide 56 as the cylindrical cam 53 rotates.

Further, a column 57 and a vertical guide 58 that move forward and backward together with the advancing and retracting member 55 are erected, and an elevating member 59 is engaged with these so as to be able to move up and down.

60 is a rotatable support shaft provided between the machine frames 51, 51, to which the base end of the swing arm 61 is fixed. A roller 62 that is placed on the upper side of the peripheral surface of the plate cam 54 is rotatably attached to the middle of the swinging arm 61, and a roller 64 that pushes up the lifting rail 63 is attached to the tip of the swinging arm 61. It can be rotatably mounted in contact with the bottom surface.

The lifting rails 63 are parallel to the input rotating shaft 52 and are guided by engaging vertical shafts 65 installed on the machine frame 51. The lifting rail 63 has a guide groove 63a.
is formed in the longitudinal direction, and the engaging element 59a of the elevating member 59 is engaged with this, so that the elevating member 59 is moved up and down by the elevating rail 63.

Thus, the elevating member 59 moves forward and backward in the axial direction of the input rotation shaft 52 by the advancing and retracting member 55, and the swinging arm 6
1, and the trajectory and timing of its elevation and retreat are determined by the shape of the cam groove 53a of the cylindrical cam 53 and the shape of the plate cam 54. In this embodiment, it moves in the same direction as the conveyor 20 at the same speed in a lowered state, then moves in the opposite direction to the conveyor 20 while rising, and then descends again while moving in the opposite direction, and then descends. It is set to have a trajectory and timing such that it moves again in the same direction as the transfer conveyor 20 when the transfer is finished.

The elevating and retracting drive device 50 configured in this way,
They are installed symmetrically on both the left and right sides of the conveyor 20 (in FIGS. 5 and 6, the right half with respect to the moving direction of the conveyor 20 is shown). A crossing member 66 is installed between the lifting members 59 in the left and right devices 50, and this crossing member 66 also moves forward and backward and up and down repeatedly together with the lifting member 59.

A stirrer 70 is installed on the crossing material 66. The stirrer 70 includes a motor (not shown) fixed to the crossing material 66 and a rotating shaft 71 rotated by the motor.
, a driving gear 71a that is unique to this, and a rotating shaft 72 that is rotated by a driven gear 71b that meshes with the driving gear 71a.
, a cam 73 fixed to both ends of this, an arm 74 whose one end is pivotally connected to the cam 73, and a bearing 66a.
It consists of a reciprocating shaft 75 that is supported by and connected to the other end of the arm 74 and can freely move forward and backward, and a stirring rod 76 that is fixed to the retractable shaft 75 and projects downward.The rotation of the motor is converted into the forward and backward movement of the stirring rod 76. do. In addition,
Since the elevating and retracting driving device 50 and the agitator 70 themselves are known in Japanese Patent Application Laid-Open No. 58-23757, etc., detailed explanations thereof will be omitted.

Further, the pressing device 80 is configured by attaching a pressing member 81 to a member that moves in the same manner as the crossing member 66 of the elevating and retracting drive device 50 to which the agitator 70 is attached,
Container 2 on conveyor 20 by push-down member 81
Press noodle 1 in 2. Therefore, since the push-down member 81 only has to make the above-mentioned pressing movement, the press machine 8
0 may be configured by attaching an air cylinder or a link mechanism for raising and lowering the push-down member 81 to a member that advances and retreats in the horizontal direction along the conveyor 20.

Next, the operation of this embodiment will be explained.

First, the frame continuous body 30 and the conveyor 20 are
shall be operated at the same speed and therefore frame 31
It is assumed that the container 22 and the container 22 move in synchronization and at the same speed. This movement is performed intermittently for each pitch of the frame 31 and container 22.
It may be continuous movement instead of intermittent movement.

First, the noodles 1 cut into a predetermined length by the cutter 4 are separated by the loosening machine 3, and then passed through the chute 2 forming the supply section 10 into the frame 31 of the continuous frame body 30. will be put into the
The noodles 1 are fed into the frame 31 at regular intervals, for example every second, and in synchronization with this, the frame 31 reaches the supply section 10 and the noodles are sequentially fed into each frame 31. 1 is supplied.

Since the frame 31 that receives the noodles 1 is in contact with the outer periphery of the outer cylindrical body 6 and has a bottom formed by the outer cylindrical body 6, the noodles 1 in the frame 31 are moved by the frame 31. It goes without saying that the volume of the frame 31 is larger than the apparent volume of the noodles 1 to be thrown in.

The frame 31 is located on the outer periphery of the outer cylindrical body 6 and is reversed with the rotation of the outer cylindrical body 6 and the sprocket wheel 8. During this reversal, the upper surface of the frame 31 is closed by the closing plate 34, so that the noodles 1 is frame 31
There is no deviation from this. Then, when reaching the lower part of the outer cylindrical body 6 and passing the end of the closing plate 34, the frame 3
Since the lower surface of the noodle 1 (the upper surface before the reversal) is opened, the noodle 1 falls due to its own weight, but at this time, the container 22 of the conveyor 20 moves synchronously to the lower side of the frame 31. Since the noodles 1 are on standby facing the frame 31, the noodles 1 are supplied falling into the container 22, and the frame 31 faces the container 22 with the frame 31 overlapping.

Next, the container 22 and the frame 31 are moved to the opposing moving part 4
0 are moved synchronously, but here, the container 22 and the frame 31 are relatively brought together by the guide 41 or other means, and the container 22 is in a state where the frame 31 is raised. Therefore, even the noodles 1 which have an apparent bulk compared to the volume of the container 22 are transported without overflowing from the container 22. This is the state shown in FIG. 8a.

In this state, when the container 22 reaches the stirrer 70,
The stirring rod 76 of the stirrer 70 descends, passes through the frame 31, reaches inside the container 22, and stirs the noodles 1 from side to side. The direction of this stirring is in the left-right direction in the stirrer 70 shown in FIG. Stirring can also be performed in the front and rear directions. Due to these stirrings, the noodles 1 in the container 22 are uniformly distributed and there is no difference in density.
This is the state shown in FIG. 8b.

Next, the noodles 1 that have become uniform are pressed down by the pressing member 81 of the pressing machine 80 to reduce the apparent volume of the noodles 1. This is the state shown in FIG. 8c. In this state, the noodles 1 are accommodated in the container 22, so the frame 31 then rises and leaves the container 22. This is the state shown in FIG. 8d. The frame 31 is raised by means of guiding the chain 32 of the continuous frame body 30 upward using a guide, a reversing sprocket wheel, or the like.

Thereafter, the container 22 is transferred to the frying pan 5 of the frying device.
Noodles 1 are deep-fried. At this time, the conveyor 5a for pressing the top surface of the container 22 is running and the container 22 is covered thereby, so that the noodles 1 do not float up from the container 22.

Since the continuous frame body 30 and the transport conveyor 20 are continuous in an endless manner, the frame 31 and the container 22 are circulated to the above position and the above operation is repeated again.

[Effect of idea]

As explained above, according to this invention, even when the noodles have sufficient elasticity and have a large apparent volume, the conveyor container, which has a small volume compared to the apparent volume of the noodles, can be Can store noodles. Moreover, the noodles in the container on the conveyor are uniform and pressed together, so
Even if the noodles are processed in a post-process such as a deep-frying process, uneven distribution of the noodles can be prevented. Furthermore, according to this invention, the frame of the continuous frame body is used not only for raising the height of the container of the conveyor, but also as a means for supplying noodles from the noodle supply section to the container of the conveyor, and the agitator is connected from above. It is also possible for the stirring rod and the pressing member of the presser to protrude into the container.

[Brief explanation of the drawing]

Fig. 1 is a schematic explanatory diagram showing the entire embodiment;
The figure is an enlarged view of the main part of Fig. 1, Fig. 3 is a direction arrow view of Fig. 2, Fig. 4 is a perspective view showing the relationship between the frame and chain of the frame continuous body, and Fig. 5 is an elevation drive. 6 is a side view of FIG. 5, FIG. 7 is a front view of the agitator, and FIG. 8 is an explanatory diagram showing the state of the noodles in each step. Figure a shows when the noodles are being added, Figure b shows the time when the noodles are stirred, Figure c shows the time when the noodles are pushed in, and d shows the time when the noodles are completed being pushed. DESCRIPTION OF SYMBOLS 1... Noodles, 6... External cylindrical body, 8... Sprocket wheel, 10... Supply section, 20... Transport conveyor, 21... Chain, 22... Container, 24...
... Sprocket wheel, 30 ... Frame continuum, 3
1...Frame, 32...Chain, 34...Occluded plate, 4
0... Opposing moving part, 50... Elevating/retracting drive device,
70... Stirrer, 76... Stirring bar, 80... Presser, 81... Press down member 81.

Claims (1)

[Scope of utility model registration request] In a noodle processing device that includes a supply unit that supplies a predetermined amount of noodles, and a conveyor in which a large number of containers for accommodating the supplied noodles are connected in an endless manner,
An outer cylindrical body having a cylindrical outer peripheral surface is installed horizontally between the lower side of the supply section and the upper side of the conveyor,
A frame continuous body is formed by endlessly connecting a large number of frames that surround the periphery and are vertically penetrated by an endless body at the same pitch as the containers of the conveyor, and the lower surface of the frame is in contact with the surface of the outer cylindrical body. In addition, the upper surface of the frame is closed by an arc-shaped closing plate concentric with the outer cylindrical body and is constructed so as to be inverted until it faces downward, and the portion of the frame continuous body where the frame moves downward and the container on the conveyor are The upwardly moving part constitutes a counter-moving section between the frame and the container, and in this counter-moving section, while the frame and the container are facing each other, one part nests into the other, temporarily increasing the volume of the container. The trajectory of the frame continuum and the transport conveyor is set so as to raise the height, and the opposing moving part is further provided with a stirrer in which a stirring bar passes through the frame from above and stirs the noodles in the container, and a push-down material passes through the frame from above. A noodle pushing device characterized by being equipped with a press machine that presses the noodles inside the container through the inside of the container.