JP7576208B2 - Food rotating device and food cutting equipment - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a food rotating device that can rotate food horizontally while pressing and holding the food against a surface on which the food is placed, and food cutting equipment that cuts food placed on a belt conveyor after rotating the food rotating device horizontally.

Conventionally, dicing of ingredients is performed by changing the cutting direction of the ingredients by 90 degrees using a conveying path or two cutting blades arranged in an L shape (for example, Patent Document 1).

JP 2020-015112 A

In the vegetable cutting device described above, the first cutting device 4 moves in the X-axis direction and makes a first vertical slit in the lower end of the radish 60 using its comb blade unit 12, then moves in the Y-axis direction perpendicular to the movement direction of the first cutting device 4 and makes a second vertical slit perpendicular to the first slit, thereby achieving cube cutting.

As mentioned above, the L-shaped arrangement means that the installation area for the cutting device (equipment) is large.

Therefore, the objective of the project was to provide a food rotation device that can rotate food horizontally while pressing and holding the food against a placement surface (including a conveying mechanism that conveys food in a straight line) on which the food is placed, and to provide food cutting equipment that can reduce the installation area (space saving) by arranging the food rotation device between two cutting blade devices arranged in the conveying direction and can also cut food into cubes.

In order to solve the above-mentioned problems, the present invention provides a food rotation device comprising at least a base plate portion for pressing food against a supporting surface on which the food is placed, a pull-off plate portion provided below the base plate portion, an elastic body sandwiched between the base plate portion and the pull-off plate portion, and a plurality of food holding rod portions provided protruding downward from above the base plate portion, a food pressing mechanism having a plurality of through holes drilled on the pull-off plate portion through which the food holding rod portions pass , a spindle unit for supporting the food pressing mechanism from above, a rotation drive source for rotating the food pressing mechanism, and a lifting drive source for raising and lowering the food pressing mechanism, wherein the food pressing mechanism is lowered to press food, and the food pressing mechanism is rotated about the axis of the spindle unit to rotate the food.

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a food rotation device that raises and lowers the food pressing mechanism by operating a ball screw that rotates around its axis when driven by the lifting drive source, and a ball nut that moves while screwed onto the ball screw.

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a food cutting equipment in which the food rotation device is placed between two cutting blade devices arranged in the conveying direction.

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides a food cutting facility that includes a conveying mechanism that includes a first conveying device located at the most upstream side, a second conveying device located downstream of the first conveying device in an adjacent position on a straight line, and a third conveying device located downstream of the second conveying device in an adjacent position on a straight line, a first cutting blade device located upstream of the conveying mechanism, a second cutting blade device located downstream of the conveying mechanism, and the food rotation device located between the first cutting blade device and the second cutting blade device.

To solve the above problems, the present invention provides food cutting equipment including a first conveying device located at the most upstream side, a second conveying device located adjacent to the first conveying device on a straight line downstream side, a third conveying device located adjacent to the second conveying device on a straight line downstream side, a first cutting blade device located at the boundary between the first conveying device and the second conveying device, a second cutting blade device located at the boundary between the second conveying device and the third conveying device, and the food rotating device located between the first cutting blade device and the second cutting blade device.

The food rotation device of the present invention comprises at least a base plate portion that presses food against a supporting surface on which the food is placed, a pull-off plate portion provided below the base plate portion, an elastic body that is sandwiched between the base plate portion and the pull-off plate portion, and a number of food holding rod portions that protrude downward from above the base plate portion, as well as a food pressing mechanism having a number of through holes drilled on the pull-off plate portion through which the food holding rod portions pass , a spindle unit that supports the food pressing mechanism from above, a rotation drive source for rotating the food pressing mechanism, and a lifting drive source for raising and lowering the food pressing mechanism.The food pressing mechanism is lowered to press food, and the food pressing mechanism is rotated around the axis of the spindle unit to rotate the food, so that it is possible to rotate the food while pressing and holding it against the supporting surface. The food pressing mechanism further comprises a peeling plate provided below the base plate, an elastic body sandwiched between the base plate and the peeling plate, and a number of food holding rods protruding downward from above the base plate, and a number of through holes are drilled in the peeling plate through which the food holding rods penetrate, so that the food can be pierced on the placement surface to hold and rotate stably. Also, the food can be stably peeled from the food pressing mechanism.

The food rotation device of the present invention raises and lowers the food pressing mechanism by operating a ball screw that rotates around its axis when driven by the lifting drive source, and a ball nut that moves while screwed onto the ball screw, making it possible to accurately stop the food pressing mechanism at a specified position. This makes it possible to prevent the food from being pressed more than necessary.

The food cutting equipment of the present invention has the food rotation device positioned between two cutting blade devices arranged in the conveying direction, making it possible to cut food into cubes.

The food cutting equipment of the present invention comprises a conveying mechanism consisting of a first conveying device located at the most upstream side, a second conveying device located downstream of the first conveying device in a straight line adjacent thereto, and a third conveying device located downstream of the second conveying device in a straight line adjacent thereto, a first cutting blade device located upstream of the conveying mechanism, a second cutting blade device located downstream of the conveying mechanism, and the food rotating device located between the first cutting blade device and the second cutting blade device, making it possible to cut food into cubes.

The food cutting equipment of the present invention comprises a first conveying device located at the most upstream side, a second conveying device located adjacent to the first conveying device on a straight line downstream of the first conveying device, a third conveying device located adjacent to the second conveying device on a straight line downstream of the second conveying device, a first cutting blade device located at the boundary between the first conveying device and the second conveying device, a second cutting blade device located at the boundary between the second conveying device and the third conveying device, and the food rotating device is located between the first cutting blade device and the second cutting blade device, which makes it easy to maintain the first cutting blade device or the second cutting blade device.

FIG. 1 is a diagram showing the overall configuration of a food cutting machine. FIG. 2 is a front view showing the overall configuration of the food rotating device. FIG. 3 is a bottom view of the food pressing mechanism (food rotating device). FIG. 4 is an image diagram illustrating the first half of the operation of the food cutting equipment. FIG. 5 is an operational diagram showing how a rectangular piece of meat is conveyed toward the food rotating device. FIG. 6 is an operational diagram showing the state in which the food pressing mechanism descends. FIG. 7 is an operational diagram showing the state in which the food pressing mechanism has further descended and the food holding rod portion has pierced the piece of meat. FIG. 8 is an operational diagram showing the state in which the food pressing mechanism has completed 90 degrees rotation in the horizontal direction. FIG. 9 is an operational diagram showing the food pressing mechanism returning to its original position and the rectangular meat pieces that have finished rotating being conveyed toward the third conveying device. FIG. 10 is a conceptual diagram illustrating the latter half of the operation of the food cutting equipment.

This is implemented as a food cutting machine used to cut food such as chunks of meat into cubes, and a food rotating device that constitutes the food cutting machine.

First, the configuration of the food cutting equipment will be explained with reference to Figures 1 to 3.

The food cutting equipment (1) is composed of a conveying mechanism (10) consisting of a first conveying device (11) located at the most upstream side, a second conveying device (12) located adjacent to the first conveying device on the downstream side of the first conveying device in a straight line, and a third conveying device (13) located adjacent to the second conveying device on the downstream side of the second conveying device in a straight line, a first cutting blade device (21) located at the boundary between the first conveying device and the second conveying device, a second cutting blade device (22) located at the boundary between the second conveying device and the third conveying device, a food rotating device (30) located between the first cutting blade device and the second cutting blade device, and a food sensing sensor (40) located upstream of the food rotating device (Figure 1).

The role of the conveying mechanism (10) is to place food ingredients (such as beef chunks, chicken chunks, etc.) on it and convey them from the upstream side to the downstream side.

As for the configuration of the conveying mechanism (10), as described above, any configuration is acceptable as long as it is possible to convey ingredients from the upstream side to the downstream side. However, in consideration of maintainability, the configuration of this embodiment, which can be separated and disassembled before and after the first cutting blade device (21) and before and after the second cutting blade device (22), is preferable (Figure 1).

The first conveying mechanism (11) uses a general belt conveyor that includes at least an endless belt and a pulley for the endless belt.

The second conveying mechanism (12) and the third conveying mechanism (13) are also similar to the first conveying mechanism (11).

The first cutting blade device (21) is a device that arranges a cutting blade parallel to the conveying direction and rotates the cutting blade to cut the food material as it is conveyed from the first conveying device (11) and passes through the first cutting blade device.

The second cutting blade device (22) also has a cutting blade arranged parallel to the conveying direction, and rotates the cutting blade to cut the food material as it is conveyed from the second conveying device (12) and passes through the second cutting blade device.

The spacing between the widthwise cutting blades of the first cutting blade device (21) can be changed depending on the type of food and the type of dish in which the food will be used after cutting.

The same applies to the spacing between the widthwise cutting blades of the second cutting blade device (22).

The food material placed on the conveying mechanism (10) is cut into a predetermined shape by passing through the first cutting blade device (21) and the second cutting blade device (22) as it is conveyed from the upstream side to the downstream side.

The food rotation device (30) is composed of a food pressing mechanism (31) having at least a base plate portion (311) that presses against the placement surface on which the food is placed, a spindle unit (32) that supports the center of the food pressing mechanism from above, a rotation servo motor (33) that is a drive source for rotating the food pressing mechanism around the axis of the spindle unit, a lifting servo motor (34) that is a drive source for lowering the food pressing mechanism toward the second conveying device (12) or lifting it away from the second conveying device, a ball screw (35) driven by the lifting servo motor, and a ball nut (36) that screws into the ball screw (Figure 2).

The food pressing mechanism (31) is composed of a handle screw (312) that secures the base plate (311) and the support shaft unit (32), a pull-off plate (314) that is provided below the base plate, a compression spring (315) that is sandwiched between the base plate and the pull-off plate, and a number of food holding rods (313) that protrude downward from above the base plate (Figures 2 and 3).

The shape and size of the base plate portion (311) may be any shape and size as long as it is capable of pressing and holding the food material against the placement surface (including the conveying mechanism and second conveying device) (Figure 3).

Regarding the handle screw (312), any fastener capable of fastening the base plate portion (311) and the support shaft unit (32) is acceptable, but it is preferable to use a handle screw (312) that can be easily attached and removed.

The material and thickness/diameter of the food holding rod portion (313) may be of a material and strength that ensures food safety even when the rod is repeatedly pierced and removed from the food.

The peeling plate portion (314) has multiple through holes through which the food holding rod (313) passes (Figure 3).

The shape and size (area) of the pull-out plate (314) are approximately the same as the base plate portion (311), but slightly larger (Fig. 3).

Regarding the compression spring (315), any elastic body is acceptable as long as it can rise or fall in response to the pressure change with the food contact portion when the peeling plate portion (314) comes into contact with the food.

The support shaft unit (32) is composed of a rotating support shaft (321) with a small diameter and a rotating support shaft spacer (322) that surrounds the rotating support shaft and has a larger diameter than the rotating support shaft (Figure 2).

The amount of rotation of the rotation servo motor (33) is described in the operation example described below as the amount of rotation for rotating the food at an angle of 90 degrees, but it is also possible to set the amount of rotation according to any angle.

The amount of rotation of the lifting servo motor (34) can also be set depending on whether the food is thick or thin.

The ball nut (36) is connected to the rotation servo motor (33), the spindle unit (32), and the food pressing mechanism (31) and moves up and down together (Figure 2).

Next, the operation of the food cutting equipment when a block of meat is placed on the conveying mechanism and the equipment is operated will be explained with reference to Figures 4 to 10.

After placing the meat block (51) on the first conveying device (11), conveying begins (Figure 4).

The meat chunks (51) on the first conveying device (11) are cut in the conveying direction as they pass through the first cutting blade device (21) into strips of meat (52) that are discharged onto the second conveying device (12) and further conveyed (Figures 4 and 5).

When the rectangular meat pieces (52) discharged onto the second conveyor (12) pass the food detection sensor (40), the lifting servo motor (34) operates a certain amount, and the ball screw (35) also rotates a certain amount in the clockwise direction (Figure 6).

When the ball screw (35) rotates counterclockwise around its axis, the ball nut (36) moves downward while threaded onto the ball screw, and the food pressing mechanism (31), the spindle unit (32), and the rotation servo motor (33) also move downward together with the ball nut, and come into contact with the piece of meat (52) (Figure 6).

Furthermore, when the food pressing mechanism (31) descends, the compression spring (315) contracts, pushing up the peeling plate (314) and causing the food holding rod (313) to pierce the meat piece (52) and hold it stably (Figure 7).

Then, the rotation servo motor (33) rotates a certain amount, causing the meat piece (53) to rotate 90 degrees counterclockwise around the axis of the spindle unit together with the spindle unit (32) and the food pressing unit (31) (Figure 8).

After the meat pieces (53) have rotated, the lifting servo motor (34) rotates in the opposite direction and the same amount as when it was lowered, returning it to its original state, and the rotation servo motor (33) also rotates in the opposite direction and the same amount as when the food rotated, returning it to its original state. The meat pieces (53) continue to be transported downstream of the second transport device (12) (Figure 9).

The meat pieces (53) transported downstream of the second conveying device (12) are cut in the conveying direction as they pass through the second cutting blade device (22) to become cubed meat pieces (54) that are discharged onto the third conveying device (13) (Figure 10).

The present invention is an excellent food rotation device that can stably rotate food and an excellent food cutting machine that can save space, and therefore has industrial applicability.

REFERENCE SIGNS LIST 1 Food cutting equipment 10 Conveying mechanism 11 First conveying device 12 Second conveying device 13 Third conveying device 21 First cutting blade device 22 Second cutting blade device 30 Food rotating device 31 Food pressing mechanism 311 Base plate portion 312 Handle screw 313 Food holding rod portion 314 Pulling plate portion 315 Compression spring (elastic body)
32 Support shaft unit 321 Rotation support shaft 322 Support shaft spacer 33 Rotation servo motor (rotation drive source)
34 Lifting servo motor (lifting drive source)
35 Ball screw (lifting support shaft)
36 Ball nut 40 Food ingredient sensor 51 Meat chunk 52 Strip-shaped meat piece 53 Strip-shaped meat piece after rotation 54 Diced meat piece

Claims (5)

The food pressing mechanism (31) includes at least a base plate (311) for pressing the food against a placement surface on which the food is placed, a pull-off plate (314) provided below the base plate, an elastic body (315) sandwiched between the base plate and the pull-off plate, and a plurality of food holding rods (313) protruding downward from above the base plate, and has a plurality of through holes drilled in the pull-off plate through which the food holding rods pass ;
A support shaft unit (32) that supports the food material pressing mechanism from above;
A rotation drive source (33) for rotating the food material pressing mechanism;
A lifting drive source (34) for lifting and lowering the food pressing mechanism;
Equipped with
The food rotating device lowers the food pressing mechanism to press the food, and rotates the food pressing mechanism about the axis of the support shaft unit to rotate the food. 2. The food rotating device of claim 1, wherein the food pressing mechanism (31) is raised and lowered by the operation of a ball screw (35) which rotates about its axis in response to the drive source (34) for raising and lowering the food, and a ball nut (36) which moves while being screwed onto the ball screw. 3. A food cutting facility comprising: a food rotating device according to claim 1 or 2 , disposed between two cutting blade devices arranged in a conveying direction. A first conveying device (11) disposed on the most upstream side;
a second conveying device (12) provided at a position adjacent to and on a straight line downstream of the first conveying device;
a third conveying device (13) provided at a position adjacent to and on a straight line downstream of the second conveying device;
a conveying mechanism (10) including the above-mentioned first cutting blade device (21) provided upstream of the conveying mechanism;
a second cutting blade device (22) provided downstream of the conveying mechanism;
4. The food cutting equipment according to claim 3, wherein the food rotating device according to claim 1 or 2 is disposed between the first cutting blade device and the second cutting blade device. A first conveying device (11) disposed on the most upstream side;
a second conveying device (12) provided at a position adjacent to and on a straight line downstream of the first conveying device;
a third conveying device (13) provided at a position adjacent to and on a straight line downstream of the second conveying device;
a first cutting blade device (21) provided at a boundary position between the first conveying device and the second conveying device;
a second cutting blade device (22) provided at a boundary position between the second conveying device and the third conveying device;
4. The food cutting equipment according to claim 3, wherein the food rotating device according to claim 1 or 2 is disposed between the first cutting blade device and the second cutting blade device.