Self-turning fermentation tank for loosened tea leaves

Abstract

The application discloses a self-turning and stirring block-type tea leaf fermentation tank, which comprises a base tank, an outer driving mechanism, an inner stirrer and a central controller. The base tank is horizontally arranged and is driven to rotate by the outer driving mechanism. The inner stirrer is provided with stirring paddles coaxially arranged in the inner cavity of the tank body and capable of self-rotation relative to the base tank, and a plurality of outer comb teeth fixed on the inner wall of the tank body. The stirring paddles are provided with a plurality of inner comb teeth capable of approaching or moving away from the inner wall of the tank body. The inner comb teeth and the outer comb teeth are staggered and distributed. The central controller is electrically connected with the outer driving mechanism and the inner stirrer, and can effectively improve the fermentation quality of tea leaves.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of tea making equipment, in particular to the technical field of tea fermentation tanks. BACKGROUND

[0002] Fermentation is a tea making step that changes the composition of tea by enzymatic oxidation or microbial action to regulate its flavor, color, shelf life and functional ingredients; according to the degree of fermentation, tea can be divided into non-fermented tea (i.e. green tea, such as Longjing, Biluochun and Mao Feng, etc.), slightly fermented tea (i.e. yellow tea, such as Junshan Yinzhen and Huoshan Huangdan, etc.), lightly fermented tea (i.e. white tea, such as Baihao Yinzhen and Shoumei, etc.), partially fermented tea (i.e. oolong tea, such as Tieguanyin, Dahongpao and Fenghuang Dancong, etc.), fully fermented tea (i.e. black tea, such as Zhengshan Xiaozhong and Qimen Black Tea, etc.) and post-fermented tea (i.e. dark tea, such as Pu'er ripe tea and Anhua dark tea, etc.).

[0003] In order to ensure uniformity of tea fermentation effect, tea needs to be turned over during fermentation; in the traditional tea making process, this operation process is usually completed manually by workers holding tools such as pitchforks and iron shovels; not only is this labor intensive, labor conditions are poor and production efficiency is low, but it also easily causes hygiene problems.

[0004] Based on this, some manufacturers choose to periodically rotate the tea fermentation tank with the tea-filled tank body, such as a black tea fermentation device with publication number CN103283880B, so that the tea changes position and mixes during rotation of the tank body (i.e. external turning over); however, the uniformity control of tea turning over of such a device is often limited, especially when the tank body is large in size and the amount of tea is large; in addition, when the tea clumps due to factors such as humidity and fermentation time, the rotating tank body cannot effectively break up the clumped tea, thereby affecting the fermentation effect; some tea fermentation tanks choose to separately turn over the tea by means of built-in stirring paddles (i.e. internal turning over), such as a black tea fermentation device with a tea turning mechanism with publication number CN116806901B; compared to external turning over, this stirring method can more specifically turn over the tea, thereby improving the uniformity of tea fermentation to some extent; however, in actual application, the single movement track of the stirring paddle sometimes still cannot penetrate the inside of the clumps and break them up, thereby failing to guarantee the fermentation quality of the tea. SUMMARY

[0005] The purpose of the present application is to solve the problems in the prior art and propose a self-turning and unblocking type tea fermentation tank that can effectively improve the fermentation quality of tea.

[0006] In order to achieve the above object, the application provides a self-turning and stirring block-type tea fermentation tank, which comprises a base tank, an external driving mechanism, an internal stirrer and a central controller, the base tank is horizontally arranged and is driven to rotate by the external driving mechanism, the internal stirrer has a stirring paddle coaxially arranged in the inner cavity of the tank body and can rotate relative to the base tank, and a plurality of external comb teeth are fixed on the inner wall of the tank body, the stirring paddle is provided with a plurality of internal comb teeth which can approach or move away from the inner wall of the tank body, each internal comb tooth is staggered with the external comb tooth, and the central controller is electrically connected with the external driving mechanism and the internal stirrer.

[0007] Preferably, the base tank comprises a tank body, a tank cover and a positioning plate, the tank body is horizontally cylindrical, one end of the tank body is detachably opened and closed by the tank cover, and the other end of the tank body is closed by the positioning plate, and the positioning plate is rotatably connected with the tank body.

[0008] Preferably, the external driving mechanism comprises an external driving motor, a gear, a gear sleeve, a weight guide ring and a weight pulley, a plurality of weight guide rings are respectively sleeved outside the tank body, each weight guide ring is slidingly supported by the weight pulley fixed on the base, the gear is indirectly connected with the base through a wheel frame and is driven to rotate by the external driving motor, and the gear sleeve is sleeved outside the tank body and is engaged with the gear.

[0009] Preferably, the positioning plate is fixed with the base, and a plurality of joints are further arranged on the positioning plate and communicate between the outside and the inner cavity of the tank body.

[0010] Preferably, the stirring paddle further comprises a mandrel, an electric telescopic rod, a tooth seat, a support rod and a stirring blade, the mandrel is driven to rotate by an internal driving motor, a plurality of electric telescopic rods and support rods are respectively arranged on the mandrel along the length direction, each electric telescopic rod is detachably provided with a plurality of internal comb teeth at the free end through the tooth seat, and each support rod is respectively provided with a plurality of stirring blades extending in different directions along the length direction.

[0011] Preferably, the internal comb tooth comprises a tooth sleeve, a sliding block, a protrusion and a spring, the tooth sleeve is provided with a sliding groove, the sliding block is slidingly connected in the sliding groove, the protrusion can slide relative to the tooth sleeve through the sliding block, and the spring is built in the sliding groove and has an elastic tendency to push the protrusion outwards through the sliding block.

[0012] Preferably, the sliding groove is detachably closed by a cover and a fastener, and the sliding block is threadedly connected with the protrusion through a block body screw rod penetrating through the cover.

[0013] Preferably, the tooth sleeve is further provided with a sleeve body screw rod at the end away from the protrusion, the tooth seat comprises a suspension bracket and a suspension plate, the suspension plate is provided with a plate hole for the sleeve body screw rod to penetrate to be fitted with the fastener, and the suspension bracket is arranged between the suspension plate and the electric telescopic rod.

[0014] As preferred, the suspension plate is an arc plate and the arc is matched with the inner wall of the tank body.

[0015] As preferred, the electric telescopic rod has a sleeve and a rod which are connected at one end, and the sleeve and the rod are magnetically repelled or attracted by an electromagnet and a permanent magnet to achieve telescopic movement.

[0016] The beneficial effects of the present application are:

[0017] 1) Internal and external cooperative stirring to improve the uniformity of fermentation: The present application drives the base tank arranged in a horizontal manner by an external driving mechanism to realize external stirring of tea leaves, and the stirring paddle of the internal stirrer rotates relative to the base tank in the inner cavity of the tank body to realize internal stirring of tea leaves, so that the internal and external stirring can be used to more comprehensively drive the movement of tea leaves, significantly improve the uniformity of tea turning, ensure the uniformity of tea fermentation effect, and effectively improve the problem of insufficient uniformity of tea fermentation caused by traditional single stirring mode;

[0018] 2) High-efficiency breaking of clumps by staggered comb teeth: In the present application, the stirring paddle is provided with inner comb teeth, the inner and outer comb teeth are staggered and distributed on the inner wall of the tank body; when the base tank and the stirring paddle rotate relative to each other, the staggered comb tooth structure can penetrate into the inside of the tea clumps like a comb, so that the tea leaves in the clumps are effectively broken by the tearing and extruding action caused by relative movement, avoiding the influence of clumps on the quality of tea fermentation, and ensuring the consistency and stability of tea fermentation;

[0019] 3) Electric telescopic adjustment to adapt to different working conditions: The inner comb teeth are arranged on the electric telescopic rod in the present application, so that the extension of the inner comb teeth can be controlled according to the state of tea leaves (such as the amount and clumping degree of tea leaves) and the fermentation stage, and the inner comb teeth can be retracted close to the tank wall when strong clump breaking is needed, and the inner comb teeth can be retracted when the tea leaves are relatively loose to avoid excessive stirring damage to the tea leaves, so that the fermentation tank can adapt to different tea making requirements and working conditions by using this adjustable structure design, and the versatility and flexibility of the equipment are improved;

[0020] 4) Elastic protrusion structure to protect the quality of tea leaves: Since the protrusions of the inner comb teeth are connected with the tooth sleeve through the sliding block, and the tooth sleeve is provided with a spring, if the protrusions are resisted by the clumped tea leaves during extension, the elastic action of the spring can make the protrusions retract into the sliding groove, reduce the impact force of the protrusions on the outside, and avoid excessive extrusion of the protrusions on the tea leaves and cause the tea leaves to be broken, compared with the traditional rigid clump breaking structure (such as a rake), which is more conducive to maintaining the shape and quality of tea leaves;

[0021] 5) detachable design, easy to maintain and replace: in this application, the inner comb and the tooth seat are connected through the sleeve body screw, the suspension plate and the fastener, and the sliding groove opening is closed by the cover and the fastener; these detachable designs, on the one hand, make it easy to replace the convex strip, sliding block and spring and other components when the equipment is overhauled, thereby reducing the difficulty and cost of maintenance, on the other hand, also enable users to adjust the installation position and number of inner comb according to actual needs, thereby making the equipment more maintainable and expandable.

[0022] The features and advantages of the present application will be described in detail with examples combined with the drawings. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0023] Fig. 1 is the front view of the self-turning and stirring unpacked type tea fermentation tank of the present application;

[0024] Fig. 2 is the right view of the tank body, stirring paddle and outer comb of the self-turning and stirring unpacked type tea fermentation tank of the present application when assembled;

[0025] Fig. 3 is the front view of the inner comb, electric telescopic rod and tooth seat of the self-turning and stirring unpacked type tea fermentation tank of the present application when assembled;

[0026] Fig. 4 is the sectional view of the inner comb of the self-turning and stirring unpacked type tea fermentation tank of the present application.

[0027] In the figure: 1 - base tank, 11 - tank body, 12 - tank cover, 13 - positioning plate, 131 - joint, 2 - outer drive mechanism, 21 - outer drive motor, 22 - gear, 23 - gear sleeve, 24 - weight guide ring, 25 - weight pulley, 3 - inner stirrer, 31 - inner drive motor, 32 - mandrel, 33 - inner comb, 331 - gear sleeve, 3311 - sliding groove, 3312 - sleeve body screw, 332 - sliding block, 3321 - block body screw, 333 - convex strip, 334 - spring, 335 - cover, 34 - outer comb, 35 - electric telescopic rod, 351 - insert sleeve, 352 - insert rod, 353 - electromagnet, 354 - permanent magnet, 36 - tooth seat, 361 - suspension, 362 - suspension plate, 37 - support rod, 38 - stirring blade, 4 - base. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0028] Reference Figs. 1 to 4The application discloses a self-turning and stirring disintegration type tea fermentation tank, which comprises a base tank 1, an outer driving mechanism 2, an inner stirrer 3 and a central controller, the base tank 1 is horizontally arranged and is driven to rotate by the outer driving mechanism 2, the inner stirrer 3 is provided with a stirring paddle coaxially arranged in a cavity of the tank body and capable of rotating relative to the base tank 1 and a plurality of outer comb teeth 34 fixed on the inner wall of the tank body, the stirring paddle is provided with a plurality of inner comb teeth 33 capable of approaching or moving away from the inner wall of the tank body, the inner comb teeth 33 and the outer comb teeth 34 are staggered, and the central controller is electrically connected with the outer driving mechanism 2 and the inner stirrer 3.

[0029] The base tank 1 comprises a tank body 11, a tank cover 12 and a positioning plate 13, the tank body 11 is horizontally cylindrical, one end of the tank body 11 is detachably opened and closed by the tank cover 12, and the other end of the tank body 11 is closed by the positioning plate 13, and the positioning plate 13 is rotatably connected with the tank body 11.

[0030] The outer driving mechanism 2 comprises an outer driving motor 21, a gear 22, a toothed sleeve 23, a supporting guide ring 24 and a supporting pulley 25, a plurality of supporting guide rings 24 are sleeved outside the tank body 11, each supporting guide ring 24 is slidingly supported by the supporting pulley 25 fixed on the base 4, the gear 22 is indirectly connected with the base 4 through a wheel frame and is driven to rotate by the outer driving motor 21, and the toothed sleeve 23 is sleeved outside the tank body 11 and is engaged with the gear 22; specifically, two supporting guide rings 24 and one toothed sleeve 23 are used simultaneously, the toothed sleeve 23 is arranged at the middle part of the tank body 11, and the two supporting guide rings 24 are arranged at the two sides of the toothed sleeve 23; for the outer driving mechanism 2, in the working process, the outer driving motor 21 can first drive the gear 22 to rotate, and the gear 22 can indirectly drive the tank body 11 to rotate through the toothed sleeve 23 engaged with the gear 22; during this period, each supporting guide ring 24 can slide with the corresponding supporting pulley 25 to support and guide the tank body 11, so that the tank body 11 can rotate more smoothly.

[0031] The positioning plate 13 is fixed with the base 4, and a plurality of joints 131 are arranged on the positioning plate 13 and connected with the cavity of the tank body and the outside.

[0032] The stirring paddle further comprises a mandrel 32, a motorized telescopic rod 35, a tooth holder 36, a support rod 37 and a stirring blade 38, the mandrel 32 is driven to rotate by the inner drive motor 31, a plurality of the motorized telescopic rods 35 and the support rods 37 are arranged on the mandrel 32 in a surrounding manner along the length direction, each of the motorized telescopic rods 35 is detachably mounted with a plurality of inner comb teeth 33 at the free end through the tooth holder 36, and a plurality of the stirring blades 38 extending in different directions are arranged on each of the support rods 37 along the length direction; wherein, for each of the stirring blades 38 on the same support rod 37, the stirring blades 38 on the side close to the mandrel 32 are relatively longer,

[0033] The inner comb tooth 33 comprises a tooth sleeve 331, a sliding block 332, a convex strip 333 and a spring 334, the tooth sleeve 331 is internally provided with a sliding groove 3311, the sliding block 332 is slidingly connected in the sliding groove 3311, the convex strip 333 can slide relative to the tooth sleeve 331 through the sliding block 332, and the spring 334 is built in the sliding groove 3311 and has an elastic tendency to push the convex strip 333 outwards through the sliding block 332; during the outward extension of the convex strip 333, if the convex strip 333 is subjected to resistance, the convex strip 333 can be retracted into the sliding groove 3311 to reduce the impact force on the outside, thereby avoiding excessive extrusion of the tea leaves; in addition, the adjacent ends of the inner comb tooth 33 and the outer comb tooth 34 can be additionally provided with a transition arc structure to play a certain protection role (avoiding breaking the whole tea leaves); for example, a transition round head can be arranged at the free end of the convex strip 333.

[0034] The sliding groove 3311 is detachably closed with an opening by a cover 335 and a fastener, and the sliding block 332 is threadedly connected with the convex strip 333 through a block screw rod 3321 penetrating through the cover 335; during maintenance, the cover 335 can be removed, and the sliding block 332 and the spring 334 can be replaced, and the convex strip 333 can be unscrewed from the screw rod 3321 to achieve replacement.

[0035] The end of the tooth sleeve 331 away from the convex strip 333 is further provided with a sleeve screw rod 3312, the tooth holder 36 comprises a suspension bracket 361 and a suspension plate 362, the suspension plate 362 is provided with a plate hole through which the sleeve screw rod 3312 penetrates to be fitted with a fastener, and the suspension bracket 361 is arranged between the suspension plate 362 and the motorized telescopic rod 35; since the inner comb tooth 33 and the tooth holder 36 are connected together through the sleeve screw rod 3312, the suspension plate 362 and the fastener, the user can adjust the installation position and the installation quantity of the inner comb tooth 33 according to the needs, and the inner comb tooth 33 can be easily replaced as a whole.

[0036] The suspension plate 362 is an arc plate with an arc degree matched with the inner wall of the tank body.

[0037] The electric telescopic rod 35 has a sleeve 351 and a rod 352 which are inserted into each other, and the sleeve 351 and the rod 352 are magnetically repelled or attracted by an electromagnet 353 and a permanent magnet 354 to realize telescopic movement; in particular, the electric telescopic rod 35 retracts the inner comb teeth 33 by attracting the permanent magnet 354 by the electromagnet 353 and magnetically pulling the rod 352 to further insert into the sleeve 351; the electric telescopic rod 35 extends the inner comb teeth 33 by repelling the permanent magnet 354 by the electromagnet 353 and magnetically pushing the rod 352 out of the sleeve 351; compared with the traditional mechanical drive, the magnetic drive has the advantages of simple structure, smooth operation, no mechanical wear and fast response speed; at the same time, the magnetic drive is not easily affected by tea crumbs and other impurities, which can ensure the reliability and stability of the electric telescopic rod 35 during long-term use, reduce equipment failure and improve production efficiency; in addition, the sleeve 351 and the rod 352 can be additionally provided with soft pads on the adjacent surfaces for buffering.

[0038] The working process of the present application is as follows:

[0039] Before starting fermentation, open the lid 12 and pour a certain amount of tea to be fermented into the inner cavity of the tank body, and then close the lid 12 again; during the fermentation process, on the one hand, the base tank 1 will be directly driven to rotate forward by the outer drive mechanism 2, and on the other hand, the stirring paddle will be driven to rotate reversely in the inner cavity of the tank body by the inner drive motor 31 and stir the tea; in addition, when each electric telescopic rod 35 is extended, each outer comb tooth 34 and inner comb tooth 33 arranged on the base tank 1 and the stirring paddle will also be scattered together on the inner wall of the tank body during relative rotation.

[0040] The above examples are illustrative of the present application and are not limiting of the present application, and any simple transformation of the present application also belongs to the protection scope of the present application.

Claims

1. A self-turning and agitating lump type tea fermentation tank, characterized in that: The application relates to a horizontal stirring tank, which comprises a base tank (1), an outer driving mechanism (2), an inner stirrer (3) and a central controller, the base tank (1) is horizontally arranged and driven to rotate by the outer driving mechanism (2), the inner stirrer (3) is provided with a stirring paddle coaxially arranged in the inner cavity of the tank body and capable of rotating relative to the base tank (1) and a plurality of outer comb teeth (34) fixed on the inner wall of the tank body, the stirring paddle is provided with a plurality of inner comb teeth (33) capable of approaching or moving away from the inner wall of the tank body, each inner comb tooth (33) and the outer comb tooth (34) are staggered, and the central controller is electrically connected with the outer driving mechanism (2) and the inner stirrer (3) respectively. The stirring paddle further comprises a mandrel (32), an electric telescopic rod (35), a tooth seat (36), a supporting rod (37) and a stirring blade (38), the mandrel (32) is driven to rotate by an inner driving motor (31), a plurality of electric telescopic rods (35) and supporting rods (37) are arranged on the mandrel (32) along the length direction, each electric telescopic rod (35) is detachably provided with a plurality of inner comb teeth (33) at the free end through the tooth seat (36), and each supporting rod (37) is provided with a plurality of stirring blades (38) extending towards different directions along the length direction, the inner comb tooth (33) comprises a first tooth sleeve (331), a sliding block (332), a convex strip (333) and a spring (334), the first tooth sleeve (331) is provided with a sliding groove (3311) therein, the sliding block (332) is slidingly connected in the sliding groove (3311), the convex strip (333) can slide relative to the first tooth sleeve (331) through the sliding block (332), and the spring (334) is arranged in the sliding groove (3311) and has an elastic tendency of pushing the convex strip (333) outwards through the sliding block (332), the sliding groove (3311) is detachably closed by a cover (335) and a fastener, the sliding block (332) is threadedly connected with the convex strip (333) through a block body screw rod (3321) penetrating through the cover (335), and the first tooth sleeve (331) is further provided with a sleeve body screw rod (3312) at one end away from the convex strip (333), the tooth seat (36) comprises a suspension bracket (361) and a suspension plate (362), the suspension plate (362) is provided with a plate hole capable of penetrating the sleeve body screw rod (3312) to be fastened by the fastener, and the suspension bracket (361) is arranged between the suspension plate (362) and the electric telescopic rod (35).

2. The self-turning and stirring lump type tea fermentation tank according to claim 1, characterized in that: The base tank (1) comprises a tank body (11), a tank cover (12) and a positioning plate (13), the tank body (11) is horizontally cylindrical, one end of the tank body (11) is detachably opened and closed by the tank cover (12), and the other end is closed by the positioning plate (13), and the positioning plate (13) is rotatably connected with the tank body (11).

3. The self-turning and agitating lump-decomposed type tea fermentation tank according to claim 2, characterized in that: The outer driving mechanism (2) comprises an outer driving motor (21), a gear (22), a second toothed sleeve (23), a load guide ring (24) and a load pulley (25), a plurality of load guide rings (24) are respectively sleeved outside the tank body (11), each load guide ring (24) is respectively slidably supported by the load pulley (25) fixed on the base (4), the gear (22) is indirectly connected with the base (4) through a wheel frame and is driven to rotate by the outer driving motor (21), and the second toothed sleeve (23) is sleeved outside the tank body (11) and is engaged with the gear (22).

4. The self-turning and agitating lump-decomposed type tea fermentation tank according to claim 3, characterized in that: The positioning plate (13) is fixed with the base (4), and a plurality of joints (131) respectively communicating the outside and the inner cavity of the tank body are further arranged on the positioning plate (13).

5. The self-turning and agitating lump type tea fermentation tank according to claim 1, wherein the rotating shaft is provided with a plurality of blades. The suspension plate (362) is an arc-shaped plate and the arc degree is matched with the inner wall of the tank body.

6. The self-turning and agitating lump-decomposed type tea fermentation tank according to claim 1, characterized in that: The electric telescopic rod (35) has a plug sleeve (351) and a plug rod (352) which are inserted at one end, and the plug sleeve (351) and the plug rod (352) are magnetically repelled or magnetically attracted by an electromagnet (353) and a permanent magnet (354) to realize telescopic movement.

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