JP2003125713A - Semisolid food extruder - Google Patents

Abstract

PROBLEM TO BE SOLVED: To provide a semisolid food extruder causing no bad condition such as destruction of a container and no loss of selling chance even though the solidity of the semisolid food is high. SOLUTION: This semisolid food extruder for extruding ice cream from a container has a solidity detector 204 for detecting the solidity of the ice cream, and a control means which stops the extraction operation of a thrust member when the solidity detection value of the detector 204 is higher than a set solidity detection value corresponding to the set thrust of ?the thrust member and switches to the thrust of a piston device lower than a set thrust when restarting the piston device. As a result of this, when restarting, the extraction speed becomes slow but the semisolid food can be extracted without destroying a container. Even an inexperienced operator can beautifully dish up the ice cream through changing over a speed change switch 218.

Description

Detailed Description of the Invention

[0001]

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION 1. Field of the Invention The present invention relates to a semi-solid food extrusion device for individually extruding ice cream or the like, which is subdivided into a container, and placing the extruded ice cream on a cone or a cup.

[0002]

2. Description of the Related Art Hitherto, various types of semi-solid food extruders such as those described in Japanese Patent Publication No. 10-502251 have been proposed.

When a semi-solid food such as ice cream is put on a cone using this semi-solid food extruder,
First, a container containing ice cream in small portions is placed on an extrusion table, and then the extrusion table is rotated to face a piston device that is an extrusion drive unit. After finishing the extrusion preparation work, the cone is arranged below the extrusion table and the piston device is driven. As a result, the ice cream in the container is pushed out and placed on the cone cup.

This piston device includes a piston rod and
A direct current motor that reciprocates the piston rod in the vertical direction is provided, and a pressing head fixed to the tip of the piston rod presses the container to extract the ice cream in the container. Further, the thrust of the pressing head is a preset thrust so that the operator can beautifully serve the ice cream on the cone cup.

[0005]

By the way, in the conventional semi-solid food extruder, the thrust of the pressing head is usually -1.
It is set to the optimum thrust for extracting ice cream cooled at 2 ° C. When the ice cream hardness is high (when the ice cream is very cold and hard), the actual thrust of the pressing head is increased by the hardness.

However, in such drive control of the piston device, a large pressing force is applied to the pressing head, which may lead to breakage of the container and further scattering of ice cream to the outside.

On the other hand, in such a case, drive control may be considered in which the extraction operation of the piston device is ended.
This has the problem of losing the opportunity to sell ice cream.

Further, in the conventional semi-solid food extrusion apparatus, since the thrust of the piston apparatus is fixed in accordance with a skilled operator, there is a problem that it is difficult for an unfamiliar operator to serve beautifully.

The object of the present invention is to solve the above-mentioned conventional problems.
Semi-solid food does not cause damage such as container breakage even when the hardness of food is large, does not lose sales opportunities, and even unfamiliar operators can serve ice cream beautifully. It is to provide a food extrusion device.

[0010]

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a container in which a semi-solid food such as ice cream is housed and an extraction hole is formed in one of the containers, and the other of the containers. In the semi-solid food extrusion device equipped with an extrusion drive unit that moves the pressing member toward one side from one side to extract the semi-solid food from the extraction hole, the hardness detection means for detecting the hardness of the semi-solid food, and the hardness detection When the hardness detection value of the means is higher than the set hardness detection value corresponding to the set thrust force of the pressing member, the pushing operation of the pushing member is stopped and the thrust force of the pushing member is set when the pushing drive unit is restarted. The structure has a control means for switching to a lower thrust.

According to the present invention, when the hardness of the semi-solid food is larger than the thrust of the pressing member, and the thrust does not correspond to the hardness of the semi-solid food, the extracting operation of the pressing member is performed. finish. After that, when the push-out driving unit is restarted, the thrust of the pressing member decreases. When the semi-solid food is extracted due to the reduction of the thrust of the pressing member, the pressing force of the pressing member is gradually applied and the extraction speed becomes slow, but the semi-solid food can be extracted without damaging the container.

As in the second aspect of the invention, a speed changeover switch utilizing thrust changeover may be provided as an external means for changing the extraction speed of the semi-solid food. By slowing the extraction speed with this switch, even an inexperienced operator can beautifully serve semi-solid food.

According to a third aspect of the present invention, in the semi-solid food extrusion apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the driving source of the pressing drive unit is a motor, and the hardness detecting means is a motor corresponding to the hardness of the semi-solid food. When the detected current value is higher than the set current value corresponding to the set thrust of the pressing member, the control means stops the extracting operation of the pressing member, and when the pushing drive unit is restarted, The thrust is switched to a thrust lower than the set thrust. According to the invention of claim 3, the detection of the hardness of the semi-solid food is determined by the motor current value.

According to a fourth aspect of the present invention, in the semi-solid food extrusion apparatus according to the first or second aspect, the hardness detecting means is a pressure detecting means provided on the pressing member, and the control means is a pressure detected by the pressure detecting means. When the value is higher than the set pressure value corresponding to the set thrust of the pressing member, the extraction operation of the pressing member is stopped, and when the extrusion drive unit is restarted, the thrust of the pressing member is switched to a thrust lower than the set thrust. ing.
In the invention of claim 4, the detection of the hardness of the semi-solid food is determined by the pressure value when the pressing member presses the container.

[0015]

1 to 6 show an embodiment of a semi-solid food extrusion apparatus according to the present invention. FIG. 1 is a perspective view of the semi-solid food extrusion apparatus, and FIG. 2 is a semi-solid food extrusion apparatus. 6 is a side view of the device, FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an ice cream serving operation, FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the semi-solid food extrusion device, and FIG. 5 is a control flow chart 1 or 6 of the semi-solid food extrusion device. 2 is a control flowchart 2 of the semi-solid food extruder.

As shown in FIGS. 1 and 2, the semi-solid food extrusion apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment has a vertically elongated apparatus body 12 installed on a base 11. A table 13 is installed, and an input port 15 for placing a container 14 on the extrusion table 13 is opened.

The rear end of the extrusion table 13 is the main body 1 of the apparatus.
2 is pivotally supported by a pin 131 so as to rotate in the vertical direction, and when the extrusion table 13 opens the charging port 15, it is in a state of being inclined obliquely downward as shown in FIG. Also, when closing the charging port 15, it is also inclined obliquely upward as shown by the broken line in FIG. A container receiver 132 on which the container 14 is placed is provided in the center of the extrusion table 13. The container 14 is placed on the container receiver 132, and the semi-solid food (ice cream in this embodiment) pushed out from the container 14 is extracted from the lower surface opening (not shown) of the container receiver 132. Furthermore, the extrusion table 1
A table holding member 16 for holding the extrusion table 13 in a closed state is connected to both sides of the table 3. This holding member 16
When the extrusion table 13 closes the charging port 15, it is locked by a lock mechanism including a solenoid 231 described later.

A piston device 17 is attached to the device body 12.
Is installed. As shown in FIG. 2, this piston device 17 reciprocates a piston rod 172 by a DC motor 171, and a container head 13 is fixed by a pressing head 173 fixed to the tip of the piston rod 172.
The container 14 in 2 is pressed, and the ice cream in the container 14 is pushed out.

Next, an ice cream serving operation by the semi-solid food extruder 1 according to this embodiment will be described with reference to FIG.

First, as shown in FIG. 3A, in the container 14 containing ice cream, the hermetic seal 141 is peeled off from the bottom surface thereof, and the extraction hole 142 of the container 14 is opened. Thereafter, as shown in FIG. 3B, the container 14 is placed on the container receiver 132 of the extrusion table 13 through the charging port 15. After that, as shown in FIG. 3C, the charging port 15 is closed by the extrusion table 13. And in FIG.
As shown in (d), the corn cup A is brought under the container receiver 132, and the extraction switch 18 is pushed. Thereby, as shown in (e) of FIG. 3, the piston device 17 is actuated and the ice cream B in the container 14 is placed on the cone cup A. When the ice cream B arranging operation is completed, the extrusion table 13 may be opened and the empty container 14 may be disposed of in the trash box 19, as shown in FIG.

Next, the drive control circuit of the semi-solid food extrusion device 1 configured as described above will be described with reference to the block diagram of FIG. The semi-solid food extrusion device 1 includes a control unit 20, and the control unit 20 includes a microcomputer 2
01, motor drive control circuit 202, hardness detection circuit 20
4, detection switch circuit 205, speed changeover switch circuit 2
06, a display circuit 207 and a solenoid drive circuit 208.

The motor drive circuit 202 controls energization of the DC motor 171 in accordance with an instruction from the microcomputer 201. The signal from the microcomputer 201 controls switching of an N-channel field effect transistor (FET) to control the DC motor 171. Operation control is performed by pulse width modulation control (PWM control). Of the voltage signal applied to the DC motor 171, the DC component is detected as the hardness detection circuit 2
Detect with 04. Here, this DC component is the DC motor 1
Corresponding to the current flowing through 71, it changes according to the load state of the DC motor 171, that is, the hardness of the ice cream, and this is calculated by the microcomputer 201.

The detection switch circuit 205 includes an extraction switch 18, two switches 211 for setting hardness, two switches 212 for setting thrust, and a door (extrusion table 1).
3) Open / close detection switch 213 and container detection switch 21
4, the upper limit switch 215 of the pressing head 173, the lower limit switch 216 of the pressing head 173, and the door lock detection switch 217 are connected to each other.
Detection signals (ON / OFF signals) from 8, 211 to 216 are input to the microcomputer 201. The hardness setting switch 211 and the thrust setting switch 21
Reference numeral 2 denotes an external setting switch installed outside the control unit 20. With these switches 211 and 212, the upper limit of the hardness of the ice cream B and the upper limit of the thrust of the pressing head 173 are input to the microcomputer 201. .

The speed changeover switch circuit 206 includes the control unit 20.
Is connected to a speed changeover switch 218 installed outside. The speed changeover switch 218 switches the extraction speed of the ice cream B by forcibly switching the thrust of the pressing head 173 through the DC motor 171, and can selectively switch between high speed and low speed.

The display circuit 207 is adapted to turn on, turn off, and blink the lamps 221 to 224 according to an instruction from the microcomputer 201. The lamps 221 to 224 are vertically arranged on the front surface of the main body 12 of the apparatus, "Ice is too hard" next to the lamp 221 and "Check the door / cup" next to the lamp 222. 223
The word "Extracting" is written next to the word "," and the word "Please remove the cup" is written next to the lamp 224. Therefore, by turning on each of the lamps 221 to 224, the instruction beside the lamp is recognized. The so-called "error" is displayed by blinking all the lamps 221 to 224.

The solenoid drive circuit 208 is the microcomputer 20.
The solenoid 231 is controlled in accordance with the instruction from 1. The solenoid 231 is adapted to lock and unlock the extrusion table 13 with the input port 15 closed.

Based on the drive control circuit as described above, the semi-solid food extrusion apparatus 1 according to the present embodiment is shown in FIGS.
The extraction control is performed according to the flowchart shown in (b).

First, a power switch (not shown) is turned on. Here, it is determined whether the pressing head 173 of the piston device 17 is at the upper limit position (standby position) or not.
(S1). When the pressing head 173 is not at the upper limit position, the DC motor 171 is rotated in the reverse direction to press the pressing head 173.
Is returned to the upper limit position (S2). In this state, wait for the ice cream extraction operation. Here, as shown in (a) to (c) of FIG.
Is peeled off, placed on the container receiver 132 of the extrusion table 13, the extrusion table 13 is further rotated upward to close the charging port 15, and it is monitored whether or not the extraction switch 18 is turned on (S3). . When the extraction switch 18 is turned on, whether the door (extrusion table 13) is closed (S4), the container 14 is placed on the container receiver 132 (S5), and further the door (extrusion table 13). Is locked by the solenoid 231 (S6) based on the door open / close detection switch 213, the container detection switch 214, and the door lock detection switch 217, respectively. During this detection process, the lamp 222 is turned on when the door is open and when the container 14 is not placed on the container receiver 132 (S7). As a result, the operator opens the extrusion table 13 and opens the container 14
And the opening / closing of the extrusion table 13 are reconfirmed. on the other hand,
When the door lock detection switch 217 cannot be locked, there is a high possibility that the solenoid 231 or the like is out of order, so all of the lamps 221 to 224 are blinked to indicate "error" (S8). ).

If there is no abnormality in the above detection process, it is judged whether this extraction operation is the first operation or the second and subsequent extraction operations (S9). During the first operation, the ice cream extraction operation is started,
The operator is informed that the lamp 223 is turned on and the process has moved to the extraction process (S10, S11). In this extraction step, the DC motor 171 rotates normally, and the pressing head 173 moves downward through the piston rod 172 to press the upper surface of the container 14. Here, it is determined whether the hardness of the ice cream B is higher than the upper limit value of the hardness setting switch 211. That is, it is determined whether the current value corresponding to the load of the DC motor 171 is higher than the set current value set by the hardness setting switch 211 (S12). When it is lower than the upper limit value, as shown in (b) of FIG. 6, there is no hindrance to the extraction operation of the ice cream B, so the drive of the DC motor 171 is continued until the pressing head 173 reaches the lower limit value. Yes (S13). As a result, as shown in FIG. 3E, the ice cream B is placed on the cone cup A. When this extraction process is completed, the DC motor 17
1 is reversed and the pressing head 173 is driven until it reaches the upper limit value (S14). Then, the door locked state by the solenoid 231 is released (S15), and the lamp 224 is turned on to prompt the operator to take out the container 14 (S1).
6). When the above steps are completed, the operator opens the extrusion table 13 and discards the empty container 14, as shown in FIG. As a result, the ice cream B returns to the sales standby state.

On the other hand, in step 12, when the hardness of the ice cream B is larger than the upper limit value set by the hardness setting switch 211, that is, the ice cream is excessively cooled and hard. When
As shown in (a) of (3), the extraction operation is completed, that is, the drive of the DC motor 171 is stopped (S17). Then, the DC motor 171 is rotated in the reverse direction to return the pressing head 173 to the upper limit position (S18). Then, the door lock is released (S19),
The lamp 221 is turned on (S20). This lamp 221
(“Ice is too hard”) tells the operator that ice cream B is greater than the set hardness.

After the lamp 221 is turned on in step S20, when the operator returns to step S3 and turns on the extraction switch 18 again, this error is cleared,
The detection process (steps S4 to S6) is performed, and it is determined in step 9 whether or not re-extraction is performed. Here, since the extraction operation has already been performed once, it is determined that the extraction is re-extraction, and the thrust is switched (S21). In this thrust switching process, the pressing head 173 is
A low thrust force (PWM value; 40%) preset in the microcomputer 201 is selected. When this low thrust is selected, the setting of the speed changeover switch 218 is invalidated, and only this low thrust is valid. As a result, after the extraction operation in step S10 is started, the container 1
The ice cream B in 4 is gradually extracted. Also in this re-extraction step, the steps S11 to S20 described above are sequentially repeated. Further, when releasing the ice cream B too hard error, the door may be opened and closed without pressing the extraction switch 18. By this opening / closing operation, the error is released, and the piston device 17 continues the standby state.

According to the present embodiment, the hardness of the ice cream B stored in the container 14 is determined by the hardness setting switch 21.
If it is larger than the upper limit set in 1,
Since the extraction operation is once ended, the situation that the container 14 is damaged and the ice cream B is scattered is avoided,
Further, when restarting, since the thrust of the pressing head 173 is set to be low, the extraction time becomes slightly longer, but the ice cream B in the container 14 is gradually extracted,
As a result, the sales opportunity is not lost.

Further, since the extraction speed of the ice cream B can be changed by the speed changeover switch 218, even an inexperienced operator can set the extraction speed at a slow speed to beautifully serve the ice cream B on the cone cup A.

FIG. 7 uses a pressure sensor 30 as a means for detecting the hardness of semi-solid food. The pressure sensor 30 is embedded in the pressing head 173,
When the pressing head 173 presses the container 14, the hardness of the ice cream B is transmitted to the pressure sensor 30 via the pressure detection plate 31 and the pressure transmission member 32, and this is converted into an electric signal and input to the control unit 20. It has become so. As described above, the hardness of the ice cream B can be detected by the pressure value detected by the pressure sensor 30 instead of the current value of the DC motor 171 of the above embodiment.

[0035]

As described above, according to the present invention,
When the hardness of the semi-solid food is large against the thrust of the pressing member and the thrust does not correspond to the hardness of the semi-solid food, the extraction operation is terminated once, the container is damaged and the ice cream Is avoided, and when restarting, the thrust is lowered to move the pressing member, so the extraction time will be somewhat longer, but the ice cream in the container will be gradually extracted, As a result, the sales opportunity is not lost. Furthermore, since a speed changeover switch is separately provided as an external means for changing the extraction speed of the semi-solid food,
The speed change switch can change the extraction speed, and even an operator who is unfamiliar with the arrangement of semi-solid foods such as ice cream can beautifully arrange by slowing the extraction speed.

[Brief description of drawings]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a semi-solid food extruder.

FIG. 2 is a side view of a semi-solid food extruder.

FIG. 3 is an explanatory diagram showing an ice cream serving operation.

FIG. 4 is a block diagram showing a control circuit of the semi-solid food extruder.

FIG. 5 is a control flowchart 1 of the semi-solid food extruder

FIG. 6 is a control flowchart 2 of the semi-solid food extrusion device

FIG. 7 is a cross-sectional view showing another example of the hardness detecting means for semi-solid foods.

[Explanation of symbols]

1 ... Semi-solid food extruder, 13 ... Extrusion table, 14 ...
Container, 17 ... Piston device, 20 ... Control part, 201 ... Microcomputer, 204 ... Firmness detection circuit, 206 ... Speed changeover switch circuit, 218 ... Speed changeover switch, B ... Ice cream.

   ─────────────────────────────────────────────────── ─── Continued front page    (72) Inventor, Yoshikazu Hatakeyama             Sanden Stock Association, 20 Kotobuki-cho, Isesaki City, Gunma Prefecture             In-house F-term (reference) 4B014 GB18 GQ10 GU08 GU24 GY01

Claims (4)

[Claims] 1. A container in which a semisolid food such as ice cream is housed and an extraction hole is formed in one side, and a pressing member is moved from the other side of the container toward one side to extract the semisolid food from the extraction hole. In a semi-solid food extrusion device having an extrusion drive unit, a hardness detection unit that detects the hardness of the semi-solid food, and a hardness detection value of the hardness detection unit that corresponds to the set thrust of the pressing member. When it is higher than the hardness detection value, it has a control means for stopping the extraction operation of the pressing member and switching the thrust of the pressing member to a thrust lower than the set thrust when restarting the pushing drive unit. And semi-solid food extrusion equipment. 2. The semi-solid food extrusion device according to claim 1, wherein a speed changeover switch utilizing thrust changeover is provided as a means for changing the extraction speed of the semi-solid food. 3. The drive source of the pressing drive unit is a motor, the hardness detecting means detects a current value of the motor corresponding to the hardness of the semi-solid food, and the control means has the detected current value. Is higher than the set current value corresponding to the set thrust of the pressing member, the extracting operation of the pressing member is stopped, and the thrust of the pressing member is switched to a thrust lower than the set thrust when the pushing drive unit is restarted. The semi-solid food extrusion apparatus according to claim 1 or 2, characterized in that. 4. The hardness detection means is a pressure detection means provided on the pressing member, and the control means determines that a pressure value detected by the pressure detection means is greater than a set pressure value corresponding to a set thrust force of the pressing member. 3. When the pressure is high, the extracting operation of the pressing member is stopped, and when the pushing drive unit is restarted, the thrust of the pressing member is switched to a thrust lower than the set thrust. Semi-solid food extrusion equipment.