Automatic food production process

Abstract

The invention provides an automatic food production process. The automatic food production process comprises the following steps: 1) conveying food in a basket for containing; (2) transferring, feeding and steaming; 3) cooling, transferring and unloading; and 4) discharging, cleaning and storing. According to the invention, automatic production of large-batch food can be realized, the labor cost is reduced, and the efficiency is improved.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] The present invention belongs to the field of food production, and particularly relates to an automatic food production process. Background Art

[0002] After raw food is processed, it needs to be steamed, cooled, and packaged. In the existing processing of raw food, single equipment is mostly used multiple times, without a complete production process and processing flow. Not only a large number of staff are required for operation, but also a cumbersome processing flow is needed, resulting in low food production efficiency, increased labor costs, and inability to meet the demand for large-scale production. Summary of the Invention

[0003] In view of the above technical problems, the present invention provides an automatic food production process, which can realize the automatic production of a large number of foods, reduce labor costs, and improve efficiency.

[0004] To achieve the above object, the technical solution adopted by the present invention is: an automatic food production process, including the following steps:

[0005] 1) Basket conveying and food loading

[0006] The baskets placed in the warehouse are conveyed in stacks, unstacked into individual baskets, automatically conveyed to the loading station for food, and the food is manually placed into the baskets at the loading station and then automatically conveyed to the feeding station.

[0007] 2) Transferring, feeding, and steaming

[0008] The baskets at the feeding station are automatically stacked into a certain width and height, and multiple stacks are grabbed at one time and placed in the cooking pot for steaming until fully cooked.

[0009] 3) Cooling, transferring, and discharging

[0010] The baskets in the cooking pot are taken out, transferred to a vacuum cooler for vacuum cooling. After the cooled food and the baskets are taken out together, they are placed on the discharging station.

[0011] 4) Discharging, cleaning, and storing

[0012] The baskets are unstacked into individual ones for discharging. The discharged food is conveyed forward. The discharged baskets enter the cleaning machine for cleaning. After cleaning, they enter the warehouse for storage through stacking or are automatically conveyed to the loading station for food.

[0013] In some embodiments of the present invention, in step 2), when the cooking pot is full, a waiting station is set, and the baskets automatically stacked into a certain width and height are placed on the waiting station for waiting. When the cooking pot has empty space, they can be grabbed from the waiting station and placed in the cooking pot for steaming.

[0014] In some embodiments of the present invention, an automatic conveyor line is provided in the warehouse.

[0015] In some embodiments of the present invention, two conveyor lines are provided for automatically conveying food to the feeding station. When the food is conveyed to the second conveyor line 422, a 90° rotation and direction change are completed.

[0016] In some embodiments of the present invention, the conveying direction of the food after unloading is perpendicular to the cleaning direction of the baskets.

[0017] In some embodiments of the present invention, the processes of loading, transferring, steaming, cooling, and cleaning the food form a loop-shaped route. Among them, the food steaming and cooling are located on the same straight line. There are two rows of cooking pots and vacuum coolers. The transfer of the baskets filled with food is located between the two rows of cooking pots and vacuum coolers.

[0018] In some embodiments of the present invention, when the stacked baskets in the warehouse are unstacked into individual baskets for conveying, two conveyor lines are provided. The two conveyor lines are vertically arranged. When the baskets are transferred from one conveyor line to the other conveyor line, a direction change is required.

[0019] Compared with the prior art, the advantages and positive effects of the present invention are as follows: The baskets are taken out of the warehouse, split into individual baskets and placed on the conveyor line. The conveyor line conveys the baskets to the feeding station for loading semi-finished food, and then the stacker places the stacked baskets in the cooking pot for steaming. After steaming, the stacker transfers them to the vacuum cooler for rapid cooling. The cooled food is taken out and placed on the conveyor line, unstacked into individual ones, and then unloaded, as well as the cleaning of the baskets. After cleaning, they enter the warehouse for storage through stacking or are automatically conveyed to the loading station for packaging food. This process only requires operators to be set at the feeding station and the packaging place, greatly saving labor, realizing fully automated mass production throughout the process, reducing labor costs, and improving production efficiency. Description of the Drawings

[0020] In order to more clearly illustrate the technical solutions in the embodiments of the present invention or the prior art, the following will briefly introduce the drawings required for the description of the embodiments or the prior art. Obviously, the following drawings are only some embodiments of the present invention. For those of ordinary skill in the art, other drawings can be obtained based on these drawings without creative efforts.

[0021] Figure 1 It is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention;

[0022] In the above figures: 1. Warehouse; 2. Unstacking equipment; 21. Conveyor line; 22. Conveyor line; 23. Conveyor line; 24. Conveyor line; 242. Second conveyor line; 25. Conveyor line; 26. Conveyor line; 3. Reversing equipment; 31. Reversing equipment; 41. Loading station; 42. Feeding station; 43. Waiting station; 44. Unloading station; 5. Automatic transfer machine; 6. Cooking pot; 7. Vacuum cooler; 8. Unstacking equipment; 9. Unloader; 10. Cleaning machine. Detailed implementation mode

[0023] Next, the present invention will be specifically described through exemplary implementation modes. However, it should be understood that, without further narration, the elements, structures and features in one implementation mode can also be beneficially combined into other implementation modes.

[0024] An automatic food production process, see Figure 1 , including the following steps:

[0025] 1) The basket conveys and loads food

[0026] The baskets placed in the warehouse are conveyed in stacks from the warehouse 1 on the conveyor line 21 and are unstacked into individual baskets by the unstacking equipment 2. In this embodiment, when the stacked baskets in the warehouse are unstacked into individual baskets for conveyance, two conveyor lines 22 and 23 are provided. The two conveyor lines 22 and 23 are vertically arranged. When the basket moves from one conveyor line 22 to the other conveyor line 23, it needs to pass through a 90° reversal of the reversing equipment 3 and is automatically conveyed to the loading station 41 for loading food through the conveyor line 23. The food is manually placed into the baskets at the loading station 41 and is automatically conveyed to the feeding station through the conveyor line 24. The conveyor line for automatically conveying the food to the feeding station 42 is set to two. When it is conveyed to the second conveyor line 242, a 90° rotation reversal is completed through the reversing equipment 31, which can save the space occupied by conveyance and facilitate the space setting of other equipment;

[0027] 2) Transfer, feed and steam until cooked

[0028] The baskets at the feeding station 42 are automatically stacked into a certain width and height by the automatic transfer machine 5, and multiple stacks are grabbed at one time and placed in the cooking pot 7 for steaming. The automatic transfer machine 5 adopts the food automatic transfer machine disclosed in CN116253143A, and the cooking pot 6 adopts the fresh food cooking pot disclosed in CN214387151U. The cooking pot 6 is steamed until fully cooked. When the cooking pot 6 is full, a waiting station 43 is set, and the baskets automatically stacked into a certain width and height are placed on the waiting station 43 for waiting. When the cooking pot 6 has empty space, it can be grabbed from the waiting station 43 and placed in the cooking pot 6 for steaming;

[0029] 3) Cool, transfer and unload

[0030] The automatic transfer machine 5 takes out the baskets in the cooking pot 6, transfers them into the vacuum cooler 7 for vacuum cooling. After taking out the cooled food together with the baskets, it is placed on the discharging station 44. In this embodiment, two automatic transfer machines are provided. One is used to grab the baskets and place them in the cooking pot 6, and the other is used to take out the food that has been cooled in the vacuum cooler 7, greatly improving the working efficiency.

[0031] 4) Discharging, cleaning and storing

[0032] The palletizing equipment 8 splits the baskets into single ones, conveys them forward through the conveyor line 25 to the discharging station 44 and discharges them through the discharger 9. The discharged food is conveyed forward through the conveyor line 26. The discharged baskets enter the cleaning machine 10 for cleaning. After cleaning, they enter the conveyor line 21 of the warehouse through the palletizing and depalletizing equipment 2 for storage. When the baskets on the automatic production line meet the production requirements, after cleaning, they can be directly conveyed to the food loading station 41 automatically through the conveyor line 23 by the 90° commutation of the commutation equipment 3. The conveying direction of the discharged food is perpendicular to the cleaning direction of the baskets.

[0033] The loading, transfer, cooking, cooling and cleaning of the food form a loop-shaped route, saving the equipment installation space. Among them, the food cooking and cooling are on the same straight line. Two rows of cooking pots 6 and vacuum coolers 7 are provided. The automatic transfer machine 5 for transferring the baskets filled with food is located between the two rows of cooking pots 6 and vacuum coolers 7.

[0034] The baskets are taken out from the warehouse, split into single baskets and placed on the conveyor line. The conveyor line conveys the baskets to the feeding station for loading semi-finished food. Then, through the automatic transfer machine, the stacked baskets are placed in the cooking pot for cooking. After cooking, the transfer machine transfers them into the vacuum cooler for rapid cooling. The cooled food is taken out and placed on the conveyor line, split into single ones, and then discharged, as well as the cleaning of the baskets. After cleaning, they enter the warehouse for storage through palletizing or are automatically conveyed to the food loading station or enter the next cycle process. This process only requires operators to be set at the feeding station and the packaging place, greatly saving labor, realizing fully automated mass production throughout the process, reducing labor costs, and improving production efficiency.

[0035] The above is only the specific implementation manner of the present invention, but the protection scope of the present invention is not limited thereto. Any person skilled in the art within the technical scope disclosed by the present invention can easily think of changes or substitutions, which should all be covered within the protection scope of the present invention. Therefore, the protection scope of the present invention should be subject to the protection scope of the claims.

Claims

1. An automatic food production process, characterized in that: It includes the following steps: 1) The basket conveys and holds food The baskets placed in the warehouse are conveyed in stacks. After being unstacked into individual baskets, they are automatically conveyed to the holding station for loading food. Workers place the food into the baskets at the holding station and then they are automatically conveyed to the feeding station. 2) Transfer to the feeding station, steam and cook until done The baskets at the feeding station are automatically stacked to a certain width and height. Multiple stacks are grabbed at one time and placed into the cooking pot for steaming until fully cooked. 3) Cool, transfer and unload Take out the baskets from the cooking pot, transfer them to a vacuum cooler for vacuum cooling. After taking out the cooled food together with the baskets, place them at the unloading station. 4) Unload, clean and store Unstack the baskets into individual ones and unload. The unloaded food is conveyed forward. The unloaded baskets enter the cleaning machine for cleaning. After cleaning, they enter the warehouse for storage through stacking or are automatically conveyed to the holding station for loading food.

2. The automatic food production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: In step 2), when the cooking pot is full, a waiting station is set up. The baskets automatically stacked to a certain width and height are placed at the waiting station for waiting. When there is empty space in the cooking pot, they can be grabbed from the waiting station and placed into the cooking pot for steaming.

3. The automatic food production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: There is a basket conveyor line in the warehouse.

4. The automatic food production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: There are two conveyor lines for automatically conveying the food to the feeding station. When it is conveyed to the second conveyor line 422, a 90° rotation and direction change are completed.

5. The automatic food production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: The conveying direction of the unloaded food is perpendicular to the cleaning direction of the baskets.

6. The automatic food production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: The processes of holding, transferring, steaming, cooling and cleaning the food form a loop-shaped route. Among them, the food steaming and cooling are on the same straight line. There are two rows of cooking pots and vacuum coolers. The transfer of the baskets filled with food is between the two rows of cooking pots and vacuum coolers.

7. The automatic food production process according to claim 1, characterized in that: When the stacked baskets in the warehouse are unstacked into individual baskets for conveying, there are two conveyor lines. The two conveyor lines are perpendicularly arranged. When the baskets move from one conveyor line to the other, they need to go through a 90° direction change.

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