JP6856304B2 - Rice ball processing device - Google Patents

Description

The present invention relates to a sushi ball processing device, and more particularly to a technique effective by applying the sushi ball processing device for transferring sushi balls formed by a sushi ball forming means to a plate.

For example, in a conveyor belt sushi restaurant, sushi balls molded by a sushi ball molding machine (sushi ball molding means) are transferred to a plate and served with sushi ingredients such as seafood, and are provided to customers. There is.

Then, from the viewpoint of improving work efficiency, the transfer of the rice balls from the rice ball forming machine to the plate is often automatically performed by a rice ball processing device provided with a transfer mechanism without human intervention.

Here, in the conventional sushi ball processing device, a transport mechanism such as a belt conveyor is provided so as to pass under the sushi ball forming portion in the sushi ball forming machine. Then, the rice balls were transferred from the rice ball forming machine to the dishes by dropping the rice balls on the dishes conveyed to the belt conveyor.

As the rice sushi ball processing device by such a drop method, for example, the devices described in JP-A-11-056275 and JP-A-2011-139661 are known.

Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 11-056275 Japanese Unexamined Patent Publication No. 2011-139661

However, in the drop-type sushi ball processing device, as described above, since the transport mechanism passes under the sushi ball forming machine, the height of the sushi ball forming machine is increased by that amount. Then, the opening of the hopper provided in the upper part of the rice ball forming machine became a high position, and the workability when replenishing cooked rice from the opening was deteriorated.

Further, in the sushi ball processing device by the drop method, the sushi ball forming machine has a structure in which the sushi balls are dropped with respect to the dishes conveyed to the belt conveyor. Therefore, the rice ball forming machine is not versatile, and the rice ball forming machine cannot be used alone without transferring the rice balls to a plate.

The present invention has been made from the above-mentioned technical background, and the sushi balls formed by the sushi ball forming means can be transferred to a plate without increasing the height of the sushi ball forming means. It is an object of the present invention to provide a processing apparatus.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a sushi ball processing apparatus that can be used alone as a sushi ball forming means without transferring the sushi balls to a plate.

In order to solve the above problems, the rice ball processing apparatus of the present invention according to claim 1 is arranged on the side of the rice ball forming means for forming rice balls by pressing the rice lump and the rice ball forming means. It is provided with a transport means for transporting a dish on which a rice ball is placed driven by a drive means capable of positioning control , and a grip portion for gripping the rice ball and moving the rice ball without changing the horizontal orientation of the rice ball. The rice ball transferring means that grips the rice balls formed by the rice ball forming means with the grip portion and transfers the rice balls to the dish to be conveyed to the conveying means, and the conveying means by the driving means via the conveying means. While intermittently moving the dishes on the means in the transport direction, a plurality of rice balls molded by the rice ball forming means are arranged in rows along the transfer path of the dishes by the grip portion of the rice ball transfer means. It is characterized by having a control means for controlling the transfer of the rice one by one to the dish.

The rice ball processing apparatus of the present invention according to claim 2, in the invention according to claim 1, the rice ball forming means is a turn provided with a plurality of forming holes formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction. A table is provided, and the rice lumps put into the molding holes are pressed to form rice balls.

According to the present invention, since the transport means for transporting the dish on which the rice balls are transferred is arranged on the side of the rice ball forming means, the height of the rice ball forming means becomes high and the rice is replenished. Workability will not deteriorate.

Further, according to the present invention, since the rice balls molded by the rice ball forming means are transferred to the dish transported to the transport means by the rice ball transfer means, the rice balls are transferred to the dish. It is possible to use the rice ball forming machine alone without doing anything.

It is a perspective view which shows the rice ball processing apparatus which concerns on one Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view of the rice ball processing apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the main part of the rice ball processing apparatus of FIG. It is a block diagram which shows the control system of the rice ball processing apparatus of FIG. It is a perspective view which shows the main part of the internal structure in the rice ball transfer means provided in the rice ball processing apparatus of FIG. It is a top view which shows an example of the transfer pattern of the rice ball by the rice ball processing apparatus which concerns on another Embodiment of this invention. It is a top view which shows an example of the transfer pattern of the rice ball by the rice ball processing apparatus which concerns on still another Embodiment of this invention.

Hereinafter, embodiments as an example of the present invention will be described in detail with reference to the drawings. In addition, in the drawing for demonstrating the embodiment, the same constituent elements are in principle given the same reference numerals, and the repeated description thereof will be omitted.

FIG. 1 is a perspective view showing a rice ball processing device according to an embodiment of the present invention, FIG. 2 is a plan view of the rice ball processing device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 3 shows a main part of the rice ball processing device of FIG. A perspective view, FIG. 4 is a block view showing a control system of the rice ball processing device of FIG. 1, and FIG. 5 is a perspective view showing a main part of the internal structure of the rice ball transferring means provided in the rice ball processing device of FIG. Is.

As shown in FIGS. 1, 2 and 3, the sushi ball processing device M according to the present embodiment includes a sushi ball forming machine 10 (sushi ball forming means) for forming the sushi ball R and a sushi ball forming machine 10. The dish feeder 20 that stocks the dishes D on which the rice balls R formed in 1 and supplies the dishes D one by one, the conveyor 30 (conveying means) that conveys the dishes D supplied from the dish feeder 20, and the rice sushi rice. It is provided with a transfer unit 40 (sushi ball transfer means) for transferring the rice balls R formed by the ball forming machine 10 to the dish D transported to the transfer conveyor 30.

Further, the transport conveyor 30 is located on the upstream side in the transport direction and transports the dish D supplied from the dish feeder 20 to the transfer position of the rice ball R by the transfer unit 40, and the first conveyor 30-1. It is composed of a second conveyor 30-2 that is located on the downstream side in the transport direction and transports the plate D on which the rice balls R are transferred by the transfer unit 40 to the next process (for example, the process of serving sushi material). Has been done. The transfer operation of the first conveyor 30-1 is controlled by the control unit 50 described later, while the transfer operation of the second conveyor 30-2 is always performed while the power is on.

The rice ball forming machine 10, the dish feeder 20, the conveyor 30, and the transfer unit 40 are all installed on a common base 70.

As shown in FIG. 4, the rice ball processing device M controls the operations of the dish feeder 20, the first conveyor 30-1 constituting the transport conveyor 30, and the transfer unit 40, and is molded by the rice ball forming machine 10. It is provided with a control unit 50 (control means) that controls the transferred rice balls R to be transferred to the dish D on the conveyor 30 by the transfer unit 40. An input unit 60 composed of a touch panel, a liquid crystal display unit, or the like (not shown) is connected to the control unit 50. Then, the operator operates the input unit 60 to input a desired command (such as the number of rice balls R to be arranged on one plate D), so that the rice ball processing device M follows the input contents. It is supposed to perform the action.

In the present embodiment, the rice ball forming machine 10 is not controlled by the control unit 50. This is because when the molded rice ball R is taken out from the rice ball forming machine 10 and transferred to the dish D, the rice ball R disappears due to a sensor (not shown) provided in the rice ball forming machine 10. This is because the next rice ball R is automatically formed when this is detected.

By the way, as shown in detail in FIG. 3, in the rice ball forming machine 10 constituting the rice ball processing apparatus M of the present embodiment, a hopper in which the rice rice is charged through the opening by opening the charging lid 11 at the uppermost portion. 12 are installed. Further, at the lowermost portion, a turntable 13 is provided which is provided with a plurality of forming holes 13a formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction and which rotates intermittently in one direction. Further, between the hopper 12 and the turntable 13, a mechanism is provided for loosening the cooked rice supplied from the hopper 12 and weighing and dividing the cooked rice into a predetermined weight to form a cooked rice mass, which is then put into the molding hole 13a. .. Then, the cooked rice lumps thrown into the molding holes 13a are pressed as the turntable 13 rotates, and a substantially bale-shaped rice ball R is formed.

The molding holes 13a of the turntable 13 are formed at, for example, 10 positions because they are elliptical or oval when viewed from a plane and the longitudinal direction is oriented along the radial direction of the turntable 13. The molding holes 13a are arranged radially as a whole.

However, it is sufficient that the rice ball forming machine 10 can form the rice balls R by pressing the rice lumps, and the structure is not limited to the structure provided with the turntable 13 as in the present embodiment. Further, the shape of the rice ball R to be molded does not have to be a substantially bale shape as in the present embodiment, and may be, for example, a substantially spherical rice ball R called Temari sushi.

The dish feeder 20 that supplies the dishes D to the first conveyor 30-1 has a stock portion 21 in which the dishes D are stacked and stocked, and a dish D stocked in the stock section 21 in the first conveyor 30-1. It is provided with a dish supply conveyor 22 for carrying to. The dishes D stocked in the stock section 21 are dropped and supplied to the dish supply conveyor 22 one by one from the bottom by a dish taking-out mechanism (not shown) whose operation is controlled by the control section 50.

In the plate feeder 20 of the present embodiment, the three-colored plates D are stocked in three rows by color so that the price of the sushi provided to the customers can be determined by the color of the plate D. It has become. However, the number of rows of dishes D to be stocked can be freely set.

Further, although the plate D of the present embodiment is a round plate, it may be a plate D having another shape such as a square plate, and for example, a plate D having different shapes such as a round plate and a square plate may be used.

The first conveyor 30-1 that conveys the plate D from the plate feeder 20 to the transfer position of the rice ball R by the transfer unit 40 is arranged on the side of the rice ball forming machine 10 described above. The first conveyor 30-1 is driven by a brushless motor, and the control unit 50 controls the positioning of the dish D conveyed on the first conveyor 30-1. However, the driving of the first conveyor 30-1 is not limited to the brushless motor as long as the dish D conveyed on the first conveyor 30-1 is a driving means capable of positioning and controlling.

As shown in FIG. 5, the rice balls R are transferred from the rice ball forming machine 10 to the dish D transferred to the transfer conveyor 30 (more specifically, the first conveyor 30-1 constituting the transfer conveyor 30). The portion 40 is provided with a grip portion 41 for transferring the rice ball R formed by the rice ball forming machine 10 to the plate D.

The grip portion 41 is provided with a chuck 41a that can be opened and closed and can be raised and lowered to grip the rice ball R. Further, the grip portion 41 slides on the rail 44 by the belt 43 which is rotated in two forward and reverse directions by the motor 42, so that the forming position of the rice ball R in the rice ball forming machine 10 and the first conveyor 30-1 It is possible to linearly reciprocate between the transfer position of the rice ball R to the dish D transported to. The motor 42 of the grip portion 41 is a servomotor, and is also positioned and controlled by the control unit 50. However, the motor 42 is not limited to the servomotor as long as the grip portion 41 can be positioned and controlled.

As a result, when the grip portion 41 is directly above the molding position of the rice ball R, the chuck 41a descends in an open state and closes at the position of the rice ball R to grip the rice ball R (more specifically). The long side portion of the rice ball R formed on the turntable 13 is gripped by the chuck 41a). After that, the chuck 41a rises while gripping the rice ball R, and then the grip portion 41 is driven by the motor 42 to slide on the rail 44 and move to the transfer position of the rice ball R. Then, when the chuck 41a descends and opens at the transfer position, the rice ball R is transferred to the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1.

When the rice ball R is transferred to the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1, the transfer operation of the first conveyor 30-1 is resumed and the plate D is delivered to the second conveyor 30-2. As described above, it is transported to the next process.

During the transfer operation of the rice ball R, the transfer operation of the first conveyor 30-1 is temporarily stopped by the control unit 50.

Further, in the rice ball forming machine 10, when the sensor (not shown) detects that the formed rice ball R has been picked up by the grip portion 41, the turntable 13 rotates by a predetermined rotation angle. The next rice ball R is formed on the turntable 13.

As described above, according to the rice ball processing device M of the present embodiment, the first conveyor 30-1 (conveyor conveyor 30) that conveys the dish D on which the rice ball R is transferred is on the side of the rice ball forming machine 10. It is located in the direction. As a result, the height of the rice ball forming machine 10 does not become high as in the case where the conveying mechanism is provided below the rice ball forming machine 10, and the workability when replenishing cooked rice does not deteriorate.

Further, according to the rice ball processing device M of the present embodiment, the rice dish R formed by the rice ball forming machine 10 is conveyed to the first conveyor 30-1 (conveyor conveyor 30) by the transfer unit 40. It is configured to be reprinted on D. Therefore, the rice ball forming machine 10 can be made versatile, and it is not only used as a component of the rice ball processing device M for transferring the molded rice ball R to the dish D, but also used alone. Will also be possible.

Here, as shown in the figure, in the present embodiment, the two rice balls R are transferred to the plate D.

In such a case, the operation is controlled by the control unit 50 as follows, and the transfer of the rice ball R is executed.

That is, the position of the dish D conveyed on the first conveyor 30-1 is detected by a sensor (not shown), and the transfer position of the rice ball R is performed by the brushless motor driving the first conveyor 30-1. The first conveyor 30-1 is stopped at a position slightly forward in the transport direction from the central portion of the plate D. Then, the transfer unit 40 operates in the same manner as described above, and the first rice ball R is transferred from the rice ball forming machine 10 to the plate D.

As described above, the elliptical or oval forming holes 13a formed in the turntable 13 of the rice ball forming machine 10 have a radial arrangement. Therefore, the longitudinal direction of the rice ball R formed in the forming hole 13a is perpendicular to or close to the transfer line of the first conveyor 30-1.

Therefore, if the long side portion of the rice ball R is gripped by the chuck 41a of the grip portion 41 provided in the transfer portion 40 and directly transferred to the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1, as shown in the drawing. The rice ball R is transferred so that the longitudinal direction of the rice ball R is substantially orthogonal to the transport direction of the dish D.

When the first rice ball R is transferred from the rice ball forming machine 10 to the dish D in this way, the control unit 50 is placed on the first conveyor 30-1 via the first conveyor 30-1. The dish D is intermittently moved in the transport direction slightly larger than the width of the rice ball R. Then, the second rice ball R is transferred from the central portion of the plate D to a position slightly rearward in the transport direction by the transfer portion 40.

In this way, two rice balls R are sequentially transferred from the rice ball forming machine 10 to the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1 and arranged in parallel (see FIG. 2).

When transferring the three rice balls R to the plate D, the position of the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1 is set so that the second rice ball R is located at the center of the plate D. While controlling and intermittently moving the dish D in the transport direction, the transfer operation of the rice ball R may be repeated three times. When transferring one rice ball R to the plate D, the position of the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1 is controlled so that the rice ball R is located at the center of the plate D. The transfer operation of the rice ball R only needs to be performed once.

FIG. 6 is a plan view showing an example of a transfer pattern of the rice ball R by the rice ball processing device according to another embodiment of the present invention. In the case of illustration, the direction of serving the rice balls R with respect to the plate D is 90 ° different from the case shown in the above-described embodiment (see FIG. 2).

Here, in the rice ball processing device M shown in FIG. 6, the grip portion 41 provided in the transfer portion 40 can be swiveled by 90 ° in the horizontal direction, and the rice is different from the above-described embodiment by about 90 °. The direction in which the balls R are arranged is realized.

In the above-mentioned case where the grip portion 41 does not rotate, a plurality of rice balls R are transferred while the dish D is intermittently moved in the transport direction via the first conveyor 30-1. However, when the grip portion 41 turns, all the rice balls R are transferred during one stop operation of the first conveyor 30-1, regardless of the number of rice balls R transferred. Will be executed.

The swivel mechanism here is such that the chuck 41a swivels by supporting the chuck 41a of the grip portion 41 and rotating the rods arranged in the vertical direction by a swivel motor. .. However, in the present invention, the swivel mechanism is not limited to this, and the swivel angle is not limited to 90 °.

By the way, in FIG. 6, the operation is controlled by the control unit 50 as follows, and the two rice balls R are transferred.

That is, the brushless motor driving the first conveyor 30-1 stops the dish D on which the rice balls R are transferred at a position directly beside the rice balls R formed on the rice ball forming machine 10. .. Next, the chuck 41a descends to grip the rice ball R on the turntable 13, and turns 90 ° while ascending. As a result, the longitudinal direction of the rice ball R is oriented along the transport direction of the first conveyor 30-1. The timing of turning may be any time after the rice ball R is gripped and before it is transferred to the plate D, and does not have to be when the chuck 41a is raised.

After the chuck 41a grips the rice ball R and rises, the grip portion 41 is driven by the motor 42 to slide on the rail 44 and move to the transfer position of the rice ball R. The transfer position of the first rice ball R is a position slightly shifted outward in the width direction of the first conveyor 30-1 from the center of the dish D to be transferred. Then, when the chuck 41a descends and opens at the transfer position, the first rice ball R is transferred to the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1.

When the first rice ball R is transferred from the rice ball forming machine 10 to the dish D, the grip portion 41 returns to the position of the rice ball forming machine 10. Then, the chuck 41a descends again to grip the rice ball R, and turns 90 ° while ascending. After that, the grip portion 41 slides on the rail 44 and moves to the transfer position of the rice ball R. Here, the transfer position of the second rice ball R is a position slightly shifted inward in the width direction of the first conveyor 30-1 from the center of the dish D to be transferred. Then, when the chuck 41a descends and opens at the transfer position, the second rice ball R is transferred to the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1.

As a result, two rice balls R are sequentially transferred from the rice ball forming machine 10 to the plate D on the first conveyor 30-1 and arranged in parallel.

In this way, in the case of the mechanism in which the grip portion 41 is swiveled, the moving distance of the grip portion 41 from the rice ball forming machine 10 of the grip portion 41 to the plate D is made different, and a plurality of rice balls R are formed on the plate D. Will be relocated to a different location.

When transferring the three rice balls R to the plate D, the movement distance of the grip portion 41 is changed so that the second rice ball R is located at the center of the plate D. The transfer operation of R may be repeated three times. Further, when transferring one rice ball R to the plate D, the rice rice ball R may be transferred once so that the rice ball R is located at the center of the plate D.

Next, FIG. 7 is a plan view showing an example of a transfer pattern of the rice ball R by the rice ball processing device according to still another embodiment of the present invention. In the transfer pattern of the rice sushi rice R of this embodiment, two of them are arranged in a staggered pattern.

Here, also in the rice ball processing device M of FIG. 7, the grip portion 41 provided in the transfer portion 40 can be swiveled in the horizontal direction, as in the case shown in FIG.

Then, in the rice ball processing device M shown in FIG. 7, the above-mentioned intermittent operation (operation of intermittently moving the dish D on the first conveyor 30-1 via the first conveyor 30-1) and turning operation (operation) The operation of turning the grip portion 41 that grips the rice ball R) is executed. The turning angle is about 30 ° according to the staggered arrangement of the rice balls R.

In such a rice ball processing device M, the first rice ball R swivels the chuck 41a holding the rice ball R and is slightly forward in the transport direction from the central portion of the dish D on the first conveyor 30-1. Reprinted in position. Next, in the second rice ball R, the dish D is intermittently moved in the transport direction via the first conveyor 30-1, and the chuck 41a holding the rice ball R is swiveled to make the first rice ball R. The dish D on the conveyor 30-1 is transferred to a position slightly rearward in the transport direction from the central portion. As a result, the two rice balls R are transferred in a staggered pattern.

When the direction of the staggered arrangement of the rice balls R differs from that shown in FIG. 7 by 90 °, the transfer is possible only by the intermittent operation, not by the combined operation of the intermittent operation and the turning operation.

By the way, in the case of the substantially bale-shaped rice ball R, the moving distance of the grip portion 41 from the rice ball forming machine 10 of the grip portion 41 to the plate D during one stop operation of the first conveyor 30-1. If it is attempted to transfer a plurality of rice balls R differently, the rice balls R are arranged in series, which is not desirable. Therefore, the grip portion 41 is swivelable so that the rice balls R are arranged in parallel.

However, in the case of the substantially spherical rice ball R called Temari sushi, since the rice ball R has no directionality, the moving distance of the grip portion 41 is changed during one stop operation of the first conveyor 30-1. It is possible to transfer a plurality of sushi balls R.

Although the invention made by the present inventor has been specifically described above based on the embodiments, the embodiments disclosed in the present specification are exemplary in all respects and are limited to the disclosed technology. is not it. That is, the technical scope of the present invention is not limitedly interpreted based on the description in the above-described embodiment, but should be interpreted according to the description of the claims, and the scope of claims. All changes are included as long as they do not deviate from the description technology and the technology equivalent to the above and the gist of the claims.

In the above description, the transport means constituting the rice ball processing apparatus of the present invention is divided into two, a first conveyor and a second conveyor, but one may be used.

10 Rice ball forming machine (rice ball forming means)
11 Input lid 12 Hopper 13 Turntable 13a Molding hole 20 Dish feeder 21 Stock section 22 Dish supply conveyor 30 Conveyor conveyor (conveyor means)
30-1 1st conveyor 30-2 2nd conveyor 40 Transfer section (rice ball transfer means)
41 Grip 41a Chuck 42 Motor 43 Belt 44 Rail 50 Control unit (control means)
60 Input unit 70 Base stand D Plate M Rice ball processing device R Rice ball

Claims (2)

A sushi ball molding means that presses a rice lump to form a sushi ball,
A transport means that is arranged on the side of the rice ball forming means and is driven by a drive means that can control positioning to transport a dish on which the rice balls are placed.
The sushi ball is provided with a grip portion that grips the sushi ball and moves without changing the horizontal direction of the sushi ball, and the sushi ball formed by the sushi ball forming means is gripped by the grip portion and conveyed to the transport means. The means of transferring rice balls to be transferred to the plate to be made,
While the driving means intermittently moves the dishes on the transporting means in the transporting direction via the transporting means, the plurality of rice balls molded by the rice ball forming means are transferred to the rice ball transferring means. A control means for controlling the transfer of the dishes one by one so as to be arranged in a row along the transfer path of the dishes by the grip portion.
A rice ball processing device characterized by having. The rice ball forming means
A turntable having a plurality of formed holes formed at predetermined intervals in the circumferential direction is provided, and the rice lumps put into the formed holes are pressed to form a rice ball.
The rice ball processing apparatus according to claim 1.

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