Cereal and fodder low-temperature expander and temperature control method

Abstract

The application discloses a grain and feed low-temperature extruder and a temperature control method. The grain and feed low-temperature extruder comprises a base, a drying assembly for drying treatment of grains or feeds, an extrusion assembly at an output end of the drying assembly, and a heating assembly. The extrusion assembly comprises an extrusion cylinder for input of the grains or feeds. The heating assembly comprises first pipes and second pipes spirally arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the extrusion cylinder in the length direction of the extrusion cylinder. The first pipes and the second pipes respectively introduce liquid at the same temperature into both ends of the extrusion cylinder to heat the extrusion cylinder. The drying pretreatment makes pathogenic bacteria more likely to be inactivated in the extrusion stage, shortens the subsequent extrusion processing time, improves the production efficiency of grains such as cereals, popcorn and oatmeal, and feeds such as soybean meal and fish meal, retains nutritional ingredients and product flavors, and the mode that the two pipes introduce liquid at the same temperature in opposite directions avoids the problem that a long liquid conveying path leads to a large temperature difference, uniformly heats the whole extrusion cylinder, and ensures stable extrusion effect.

Description

TECHNICAL FIELD

[0001] The present application relates to the technical field of grain and feed puffing processing, in particular to a low-temperature grain and feed puffing machine and a temperature control method applied to the low-temperature grain and feed puffing machine. BACKGROUND

[0002] In the field of grain or feed processing, puffing technology as an important processing means can change the physical structure and taste of the grain or feed, increase the nutritional value and eating diversity of the grain or feed, and has been widely applied in the production of various grain or feed foods. The traditional puffing technology changes the physical structure and taste of the grain or feed, increases the nutritional value and eating diversity of the grain or feed by applying high temperature, high pressure and other conditions to the grain or feed to make the water in the grain or feed instantaneously vaporize and expand.

[0003] However, the traditional puffing technology has been difficult to meet the market demand for high-quality grain or feed puffing products, high-temperature puffing may cause the loss of nutritional ingredients in the grain or feed, damage the original flavor of the grain or feed, and also may produce some harmful substances, affecting the quality and safety of the products. Especially for some grains rich in nutritional ingredients, such as whole wheat, oat and the like, and feed such as soybean meal, fish meal, high-temperature puffing may cause a large loss of vitamins, minerals and other nutritional ingredients, reducing the nutritional value of the products. Therefore, how to reduce the puffing temperature while ensuring the puffing effect of the grain or feed and reducing the loss of nutritional ingredients has become a research hotspot in the field of grain or feed puffing technology.

[0004] In addition, the existing grain or feed puffing machine has deficiencies in temperature control, and it is difficult to accurately control the temperature during the puffing process, resulting in unstable puffing effect and uneven product quality. Especially in some temperature-sensitive grain or feed processing processes, such as grain or feed puffing with added functional bacterial liquid, accurate temperature control is crucial to ensure the activity of the bacterial liquid and the functionality of the products. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a grain or feed puffing machine capable of realizing low-temperature puffing and accurately controlling the temperature. SUMMARY

[0005] The present application aims to at least solve one of the technical problems existing in the prior art. To this end, the present application proposes a low-temperature grain and feed puffing machine, which can realize low-temperature puffing of the grain or feed, retain nutritional ingredients, ensure product flavor, and accurately control temperature during the puffing process to ensure stable puffing effect and improve product quality; in addition, functional bacterial liquid can be added to complete puffing with the grain or feed at low temperature, improving the value of the food.

[0006] The present application also proposes a temperature control method applied to the above-mentioned low-temperature grain and feed puffing machine.

[0007] The low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feed according to the present application comprises:

[0008] a machine base;

[0009] a drying assembly connected to the machine base, the drying assembly being used for drying treatment of grains or feed;

[0010] a puffing assembly connected to the machine base and located at the output end of the drying assembly, the puffing assembly comprising a transversely arranged puffing cylinder connected with a feeding pipe for inputting grains or feed into the puffing cylinder;

[0011] a heating assembly connected to the machine base, the heating assembly comprising a first pipe and a second pipe spirally and alternately arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the puffing cylinder in the length direction of the puffing cylinder, the first pipe being connected to a liquid at a preset temperature at one end of the puffing cylinder, and the second pipe being connected to the liquid at the preset temperature at the other end of the puffing cylinder for heating the puffing cylinder.

[0012] The low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feed according to the present application has at least the following beneficial effects: the drying assembly can pre-treat grains or feed to remove excess water, thus creating good conditions for subsequent puffing; the transversely arranged puffing cylinder in the puffing assembly is matched with the feeding pipe, so that grains or feed can smoothly enter the puffing cylinder, ensuring the continuity and stability of the puffing process and helping to improve production efficiency; in addition, the heating assembly spirally and alternately arranges the first pipe and the second pipe in the length direction of the puffing cylinder and connects the pipes to liquid for heating the puffing cylinder, compared with the traditional heating method, this surrounding heating method can more effectively utilize heat, improve energy utilization efficiency, and reduce production cost; in addition, in order to avoid the problem of large temperature difference between the end and the front end of the pipe conveying path, the first pipe and the second pipe are connected to liquid at the preset temperature in opposite directions, which can comprehensively heat the entire puffing cylinder uniformly, so that uniform heating can avoid the phenomenon of uneven puffing of grains or feed due to local high or low temperature during puffing, through accurate control of the heating temperature, it can ensure that each grain or feed particle can be puffed in a suitable temperature environment, better preserve the nutritional ingredients in grains or feed, reduce the damage to nutritional ingredients caused by high temperature, make the puffed grains or feed products not only have good taste and appearance, but also be rich in nutrients, ensure the quality stability and consistency of the puffed products, and meet the needs of consumers for high-quality food.

[0013] According to some embodiments of the present application, the low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feedstuff is provided with a plurality of first temperature detection sensors, the puffing cylinder comprises a plurality of puffing sections connected in sequence in the length direction, the first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the puffing sections and are used for detecting the temperature in the puffing sections, and the machine base is connected with a temperature control assembly for temperature regulation of the puffing sections.

[0014] According to some embodiments of the present application, the low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feedstuff is provided with a plurality of first temperature detection sensors, the puffing cylinder comprises a plurality of puffing sections connected in sequence in the length direction, the first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the puffing sections and are used for detecting the temperature in the puffing sections, and the machine base is connected with a temperature control assembly for temperature regulation of the puffing sections.

[0015] According to some embodiments of the present application, the low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feedstuff is provided with a plurality of first temperature detection sensors, the puffing cylinder comprises a plurality of puffing sections connected in sequence in the length direction, the first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the puffing sections and are used for detecting the temperature in the puffing sections, and the machine base is connected with a temperature control assembly for temperature regulation of the puffing sections.

[0016] According to some embodiments of the present application, the low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feedstuff is provided with a plurality of first temperature detection sensors, the puffing cylinder comprises a plurality of puffing sections connected in sequence in the length direction, the first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the puffing sections and are used for detecting the temperature in the puffing sections, and the machine base is connected with a temperature control assembly for temperature regulation of the puffing sections.

[0017] According to some embodiments of the present application, the low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feedstuff is provided with a plurality of first temperature detection sensors, the puffing cylinder comprises a plurality of puffing sections connected in sequence in the length direction, the first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the puffing sections and are used for detecting the temperature in the puffing sections, and the machine base is connected with a temperature control assembly for temperature regulation of the puffing sections.

[0018] According to some embodiments of the present application, the low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feedstuff is provided with a plurality of first temperature detection sensors, the puffing cylinder comprises a plurality of puffing sections connected in sequence in the length direction, the first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the puffing sections and are used for detecting the temperature in the puffing sections, and the machine base is connected with a temperature control assembly for temperature regulation of the puffing sections.

[0019] According to some embodiments of the present application, the low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feedstuff is provided with a plurality of first temperature detection sensors, the puffing cylinder comprises a plurality of puffing sections connected in sequence in the length direction, the first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the puffing sections and are used for detecting the temperature in the puffing sections, and the machine base is connected with a temperature control assembly for temperature regulation of the puffing sections.

[0020] According to some embodiments of the present application, the grain and feed low-temperature extruder is provided with a conveying cylinder between the drying assembly and the extruding assembly, and the conveying cylinder is provided with a feeding port for feeding functional bacteria solution.

[0021] According to the temperature control method of the present application, the temperature control method is applied to the grain and feed low-temperature extruder of the present application, and the temperature control method comprises the following steps:

[0022] Heating and extruding: liquid at a preset temperature of 50-90°C is introduced into the first pipeline and the second pipeline to heat the extruding cylinder;

[0023] Monitoring temperature: after heating and extruding, the first temperature detection sensor detects the temperature of the extruding section to obtain the temperature value of each extruding section;

[0024] Overall temperature reduction: in the monitoring temperature, if the average value of the temperature values is greater than 90°C, the temperature of the liquid introduced into the first pipeline and the second pipeline is reduced, and / or the flow rate of the liquid in the first pipeline and the second pipeline is increased;

[0025] Local temperature reduction: in the monitoring temperature, the temperature values of each extruding section are compared, and if the highest temperature value minus the lowest temperature value is greater than or equal to 3°C, the straight line module drives the air cooler to move to the center position of the extruding section corresponding to the highest temperature value, and the air cooler is operated to air cool the extruding section.

[0026] The temperature control method has at least the following beneficial effects: in the heating and puffing stage, liquid with a preset temperature of 50-90 DEG C is introduced into the first pipeline and the second pipeline to heat the puffing cylinder, which can meet the demand of low-temperature puffing of the grain or the feed, avoid the damage of high temperature to the nutritional components and flavor of the grain or the feed, and provide sufficient energy for the grain or the feed to complete the puffing process; then, in the temperature monitoring process, the first temperature detection sensor detects the temperature of the corresponding puffing section to obtain the temperature value of each puffing section, which provides accurate data basis for subsequent temperature regulation; when the average value of the multiple temperature values is greater than 90 DEG C, the temperature of the puffing cylinder is lowered in the mode of lowering the temperature of the liquid introduced into the first pipeline and the second pipeline and / or increasing the liquid flow rate, which can rapidly and effectively lower the overall temperature of the puffing cylinder and prevent the grain or the feed from being excessively puffed or the nutritional components from being damaged due to the excessively high temperature; when the difference between the highest temperature value and the lowest temperature value is greater than or equal to 3 DEG C, the linear module drives the air cooler to move to the center position of the puffing section corresponding to the highest temperature value, and the air cooler is operated to air cool the puffing section, which can accurately solve the problem of the excessively high local temperature and avoid the uneven puffing of the grain or the feed due to the uneven local temperature; furthermore, through the comprehensive temperature control method, the temperature in the puffing cylinder can be kept in the appropriate range, so that each grain or feed particle can be puffed in a uniform and stable temperature environment, thereby improving the stability and consistency of the product quality, meeting the demand of consumers for high-quality grain or feed puffing products, and helping to improve the production efficiency and reduce the production cost.

[0027] Additional aspects and advantages of the application will be set forth in part in the description which follows, and in part will become apparent to those skilled in the art upon examination of the following and / or can be learned by practice of the application. BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0028] The above and / or additional aspects and advantages of the present application will become apparent and be readily appreciated from the following description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings in which:

[0029] Figure 1 It is a schematic diagram of the overall structure of the grain and feed low-temperature puffing machine according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0030] Figure 2 It is a schematic diagram of the internal structure of the drying cylinder of the grain and feed low-temperature puffing machine according to the embodiment of the present application;

[0031] Figure 3 It is a flowchart of the temperature control method applied to the grain and feed low-temperature puffing machine according to the embodiment of the present application.

[0032] BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF DRAWINGS

[0033] The base 100;

[0034] Drying assembly 200; drying cylinder 210; telescopic plate 211; stirring motor 220; stirring rod 221; extrusion teeth 2211; hot air assembly 230; hot air pipe 231; frequency conversion fan 232; heating wire 233; second temperature detection sensor 234;

[0035] Expanding assembly 300; expanding cylinder 310; expanding section 311; pushing motor 320; pushing screw 330;

[0036] Heating assembly 400; first pipe 410; second pipe 420;

[0037] Temperature control assembly 500; linear module 510; sliding seat 520; air guide shell 530;

[0038] Conveying cylinder 600; feeding port 610. DETAILED DESCRIPTION

[0039] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail below, examples of which are shown in the accompanying drawings, wherein the same or similar notations represent the same or similar elements or elements having the same or similar functions throughout. The embodiments described below by referring to the drawings are exemplary only, for the purpose of explaining the present application, and should not be understood as a limitation of the present application.

[0040] In the description of the present application, it should be understood that the orientation description, such as the orientation or position relationship indicated by up, down, front, back, left, right, etc. is based on the orientation or position relationship shown in the drawings, and is only for the purpose of facilitating the description of the present application and simplifying the description, and therefore cannot be understood as a limitation of the present application.

[0041] In the description of the present application, several meanings are one or more, and the meaning of multiple is two or more. Greater than, less than, more than, etc. are understood as not including the number, and above, below, etc. are understood as including the number. If the first and the second are described, they are only used for the purpose of distinguishing technical features, and cannot be understood as indicating or implying relative importance or implicitly indicating the number of indicated technical features or the sequence of indicated technical features.

[0042] In the description of the present application, unless otherwise explicitly limited, the words such as setting, installing, connecting, etc. should be understood in a broad sense, and the person skilled in the art can reasonably determine the specific meaning of the above words in the present application in combination with the specific content of the technical solution.

[0043] In the description of the application, the description of the terms "one embodiment", "some embodiments", "illustrative embodiment", "example", "specific example", or "some examples" and the like means that the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described in connection with the embodiment or example are included in at least one embodiment or example of the application. In this specification, the illustrative description of the above terms does not necessarily refer to the same embodiment or example. Moreover, the specific features, structures, materials or characteristics described can be combined in any suitable manner in one or more embodiments or examples.

[0044] In the field of grain or feed processing, puffing technology as an important processing means can change the physical structure and taste of grains or feeds, increase the nutritional value and eating diversity of grains or feeds, and has been widely used in the production of various grain or feed foods. Traditional puffing technology changes the physical structure and taste of grains or feeds, increases the nutritional value and eating diversity of grains or feeds by applying high temperature, high pressure and other conditions to grains or feeds to make the water inside grains or feeds instantaneously vaporize and expand.

[0045] However, traditional puffing technology has been difficult to meet the market demand for high-quality grain or feed puffing products, and high-temperature puffing can cause the loss of nutritional ingredients in grains or feeds, damage the original flavor of grains or feeds, and also produce some harmful substances, affecting the quality and safety of the products. Especially for some grains rich in nutrients, such as whole wheat, oat and other feeds, high-temperature puffing of soybean meal, fish meal and other feeds can cause a large loss of vitamins, minerals and other nutrients, reducing the nutritional value of the products. Therefore, how to ensure the puffing effect of grains or feeds while reducing the puffing temperature and reducing the loss of nutrients has become a research hotspot in the field of grain or feed puffing technology.

[0046] In addition, the existing grain or feed puffing machine has deficiencies in temperature control, and it is difficult to accurately control the temperature during the puffing process, resulting in unstable puffing effect and uneven product quality. Especially in some temperature-sensitive grain or feed processing processes, such as puffing of grains or feeds added with functional bacterial liquid, accurate temperature control is crucial to ensure the activity of the bacterial liquid and the functionality of the product. Therefore, it is necessary to develop a grain or feed puffing machine that can realize low-temperature puffing and accurate temperature control.

[0047] The following embodiments take grains as an example.

[0048] Therefore, as Figure 1 and Figure 2As shown, the low-temperature puffing machine for grains and feed proposed by the present application comprises a base 100, a drying assembly 200 connected to the base 100, a drying assembly 200 connected to the base 100 and located at the output end of the drying assembly 200, and a heating assembly 400 connected to the base 100. Among them, the drying assembly 200 is used for drying treatment of grains, and the puffing assembly 300 comprises a transversely arranged puffing cylinder 310 connected with a feeding pipe for inputting grains into the puffing cylinder 310. Further, the heating assembly 400 comprises a first pipe 410 and a second pipe 420 spirally and alternately arranged on the outer peripheral wall of the puffing cylinder 310 in the length direction of the puffing cylinder 310, the first pipe 410 is connected to a liquid at a preset temperature at one end of the puffing cylinder 310, and the second pipe 420 is connected to a liquid at a preset temperature at the other end of the puffing cylinder 310, so as to heat the puffing cylinder 310. It should be noted that the drying assembly 200 can pretreat the grains to remove excess moisture and create good conditions for subsequent puffing, and the transversely arranged puffing cylinder 310 in the puffing assembly 300 is matched with the feeding pipe, so that the grains can smoothly enter the puffing cylinder 310, ensuring the continuity and stability of the puffing process, and helping to improve the production efficiency. In addition, the heating assembly 400 heats the puffing cylinder 310 by spirally and alternately arranging the first pipe 410 and the second pipe 420 in the length direction of the puffing cylinder 310 and connecting the liquid, compared with the traditional heating method, this kind of heating method can make more effective use of heat, improve energy utilization efficiency, and reduce production cost. In addition, in order to avoid the problem that the temperature difference between the end and the front end of the pipe conveying path is large, the liquid at a preset temperature is connected to the first pipe 410 and the second pipe 420 in reverse, which can uniformly heat the whole puffing cylinder 310, so that uniform heating can avoid the phenomenon of uneven puffing of grains due to local high or low temperature in the puffing process, by accurately controlling the heating temperature, ensuring that each grain particle can be puffed in a suitable temperature environment, better preserving the nutritional ingredients in the grains, reducing the damage to the nutritional ingredients caused by high temperature, making the puffed grain products not only have good taste and appearance, but also rich in nutrients, ensuring the quality stability and consistency of the puffed products, meeting the needs of consumers for high-quality food.

[0049] Referring again to Figure 1In some embodiments of the present application, the puffing cylinder 310 is provided with a plurality of first temperature detection sensors (not shown in the figure), and correspondingly, the puffing cylinder 310 includes a plurality of puffing sections 311 connected in sequence in the length direction, and the first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one corresponding to the puffing sections 311 and are used to detect the temperature in the puffing sections 311. The machine base 100 is connected with a temperature control assembly 500 to regulate the temperature of the plurality of puffing sections 311. First, due to the temperature difference between different puffing sections 311 caused by factors such as grain flow, heat transfer, etc., for example, the puffing assembly 300 includes a pushing motor 320 and a pushing screw 330, the pushing screw 330 is rotationally arranged in the puffing cylinder 310, and the pushing motor 320 is used to drive the pushing screw 330 to rotate to push the grains. In some applications, even if the pushing screw 330 mainly plays a role in pushing the grains to make them uniformly distributed in the puffing cylinder 310, but in the process of pushing the grains, friction will occur between the pushing screw 330 and the grains, and between the grain particles, which will consume mechanical energy and convert it into heat energy, thereby increasing the temperature of the grains. For some designs of the helix angle of the pushing screw 330, the grains will be continuously pushed towards the rear end of the puffing cylinder 310 during rotation. In this process, the screw exerts radial and axial pressure on the grains. The radial pressure causes the grains to be pressed against the inner wall of the puffing cylinder 310, and the axial pressure pushes the grains forward. With the continuous rotation and advancement of the screw, the pressure on the grains gradually increases. At the same time, as the pushing screw 330 advances, the space for the grains in the puffing cylinder 310 gradually decreases, and the grains are compressed under the extrusion action of the pushing screw 330. During the compression process, the distance between the grain molecules decreases, and the kinetic energy of the molecules increases, resulting in an increase in temperature. In other applications, the rotation of the pushing screw 330 also has a certain stirring and turning effect on the grains. This allows the grains to be heated more uniformly in the puffing cylinder 310, avoiding the situation where local grains are over-expanded due to long-term exposure to high-temperature areas, or local grains are not fully expanded due to insufficient heating. Through more uniform heating, the grains can better complete the expansion process, improve the consistency of product quality, further optimize the expansion effect, improve production efficiency and product quality, make the production process more controllable, and meet the production needs of different products. In summary, for the temperature difference between different puffing sections 311, a plurality of first temperature detection sensors can accurately perceive the actual temperature conditions in each puffing section 311, achieving fine monitoring of the temperature during the expansion process. This one-to-one monitoring method can accurately capture the temperature changes in each local area, providing reliable data support for accurate control. Second, the temperature control assembly 500 can regulate the temperature of each puffing section 311 according to the information fed back by the first temperature detection sensors.This means that the heating or cooling measures can be flexibly adjusted according to the specific temperature conditions of each puffing section 311, avoiding the impact of excessive or insufficient local temperature on the puffing effect of the grains, and through this fine temperature management, the temperature distribution in the entire puffing cylinder 310 can be more uniform, so that the grains can be puffed in a suitable temperature environment in each puffing section 311, thereby significantly improving the quality stability and consistency of the puffed products, and meeting the strict requirements of large-scale production on product quality.

[0050] Specifically, referring back to Figure 1 In some embodiments of the present application, the temperature control assembly 500 includes a linear module 510, a sliding seat 520, and a cold air machine (not shown in the figure), the linear module 510 connects and drives the sliding seat 520 to move along the length direction of the puffing cylinder 310, and the cold air machine is installed on the sliding seat 520, and the output port of the cold air machine is arranged towards one side of the puffing cylinder 310 and can perform air cooling on at least one of the puffing sections 311. On the one hand, the precise motion control capability of the linear module 510 enables the sliding seat 520 to move along the length direction of the puffing cylinder 310 according to the preset path and speed, so that the cold air machine can perform targeted air cooling adjustment on different positions of the puffing cylinder 310. For example, when a certain puffing section 311 has a temperature that is too high or needs to be quickly cooled, the sliding seat 520 can quickly move to the corresponding position to start the cold air machine for cooling operation in time, effectively solving the problem that the traditional temperature control method is difficult to quickly respond to local temperature changes. On the other hand, this dynamic temperature control method greatly improves the temperature controllability of the entire puffing process, and by flexibly adjusting the air cooling effect at different positions, it can better balance the temperature distribution in the puffing cylinder 310, reduce the phenomenon of uneven puffing of grains caused by temperature fluctuations, and thus improve the pass rate and overall quality of the products. In addition, this design also increases the flexibility and adaptability of the equipment, which can adjust the air cooling position and time of the cold air machine in real time according to different grain varieties, processing process requirements, and other factors, in combination with the preset temperature of the first pipe 410 and the second pipe 420, to detect and feedback the internal temperature changes in the puffing process, and adjust the air cooling position and time of the cold air machine in time to meet diversified production needs. For example, for heat-sensitive raw materials such as apples and bananas, the puffing temperature is usually 60-80°C, and for example, for functional foods such as probiotics and low-fat puffed grains, the puffing temperature is usually 50-90°C.

[0051] Further, as Figure 1As shown, the sliding seat 520 is connected with the air guide shell 530, one end of the air cooler is communicated with the air outlet side of the air cooler, and the other end is provided with an air outlet groove. The length of the puffing section 311 is A, and the width of the end of the air outlet groove in the length direction of the puffing cylinder 310 is B, which satisfies: 0.5*A≤B≤0.75*A, and the effect of air cooling is further optimized. The existence of the air guide shell 530 can effectively guide and constrain the air blown by the air cooler, so that the cold air more concentratedly and stably acts on the surface of the puffing cylinder 310. After careful design, on the one hand, 0.5*A≤B can avoid that the cold air is too concentrated in a small area, causing the local temperature to be too low and affecting the uniformity of grain puffing, on the other hand, B≤0.75*A can avoid ensuring that the cold air can diffuse within a suitable range, better for the puffing section 311 that needs to be cooled, and avoid affecting the adjacent puffing section 311 that does not need to be cooled. In this way, the precision of temperature control is further improved, so that the temperature of each puffing section 311 in the puffing cylinder 310 can be more effectively controlled, providing a more stable and uniform puffing environment for the grain, which helps to improve product quality and reduce product defects caused by uneven temperature, such as insufficient puffing, local burning, etc.

[0052] In addition, it should be noted that another difficulty of low-temperature puffing is the limited killing effect on pathogenic bacteria. For some applications, it is necessary to combine corresponding sterilization measures, for example, for common foodborne pathogens such as Salmonella and Staphylococcus aureus, the time required for 90% inactivation at 90°C is usually several minutes to several tens of minutes. In addition, water activity is also one of the key control elements. If the final product water activity is >0.85, such as not completely dried fruit and vegetable chips, grains, etc., pathogenic bacteria can proliferate in storage.

[0053] The present application dries the grain in front of the puffing assembly 300 by using the drying assembly 200, on the one hand, the drying pretreatment makes the pathogenic bacteria in a dormant or sub-lethal state, reduces their heat resistance, and thus is more easily inactivated in the puffing stage; on the other hand, the drying treatment before puffing can shorten the subsequent puffing treatment time and improve production efficiency. For example Figure 1As shown, in some embodiments of the present application, the drying assembly 200 comprises a drying cylinder 210, an agitating motor 220, an agitating rod 221, and a hot air assembly 230. The agitating rod 221 is rotatably arranged in the drying cylinder 210, and the agitating motor 220 is connected to and drives the rotation of the agitating rod 221. The hot air assembly 230 supplies hot air into the drying cylinder 210. The bottom of the drying cylinder 210 is openable to deliver the grains to the puffing cylinder 310. For example, the bottom of the drying cylinder 210 is provided with an expansion plate 211. After the drying is completed, the expansion plate 211 is retracted to make the grains fall out of the drying cylinder 210. It is easy to understand that the rotation of the agitating rod 221 driven by the agitating motor 220 can fully agitate the grains in the drying cylinder 210, so that the grains can be fully contacted with the hot air. Such an agitation function greatly improves the drying efficiency, because only when the grains are fully contacted with the hot air, the water can be more quickly evaporated from the surface of the grains. At the same time, the hot air assembly 230 provides a stable heat source for the drying process, so as to accelerate the evaporation of the water in the grains. Further, referring again to Figure 2 The drying cylinder 210 is vertically arranged, and the bottom of the agitating rod 221 is provided with extrusion teeth 2211 which cooperate with the inner bottom surface of the drying cylinder 210 to extrude the grains. On the one hand, due to the existence of certain gaps and structures between the grain particles, the internal water in the grains cannot be quickly and effectively removed by the hot air drying alone. In this regard, the extrusion teeth 2211 apply a certain pressure to the grains during the drying process, so that the internal water in the grains can be more easily extruded. In addition, the extrusion function of the extrusion teeth 2211 can destroy part of the structure of the grains and increase the evaporation channels of the water, so as to accelerate the drying speed and improve the drying efficiency. On the other hand, the extrusion process can also pre-crush the grains to a certain extent. In the subsequent puffing process, the pre-crushed grains are more easily heated and expanded, so that the puffing effect is more uniform and sufficient. In addition, the cooperation between the extrusion teeth 2211 and the inner bottom surface of the drying cylinder 210 is reasonable, so that the extrusion function can be effectively realized while the agitating effect is ensured. Such a synergistic effect makes the dried grains have a more suitable water content and physical structure, which lays a good foundation for high-quality puffing products, and helps to improve the taste, nutrient retention rate and appearance quality of the products.

[0054] It should be noted that the temperature during the hot air drying should not be too high, otherwise the nutrients in the grains, such as vitamins and proteins, may be damaged. For some heat-sensitive grains, such as some special grains or organic grains, too high temperature may also cause the grains to be scorched, which affects the quality and taste of the products. Generally, the temperature of the hot air should be controlled within an appropriate range according to the type of the grains and specific requirements. For example, for ordinary rice grains, the temperature of the hot air can be controlled between 50 °C and 80 °C.

[0055] In some embodiments of the present application, as shown in FIG. 4, the drying assembly 200 is provided with a grain feeding assembly 240. The grain feeding assembly 240 is arranged on the top of the drying cylinder 210 and is connected to the bottom of the drying cylinder 210. The grain feeding assembly 240 is used to feed the grains into the drying cylinder 210. The grain feeding assembly 240 can be a simple feeding device, such as a hopper or a feeding belt. The grains can be directly fed into the drying cylinder 210 through the grain feeding assembly 240. In some embodiments of the present application, the grain feeding assembly 240 is provided with a weighing device 241. The weighing device 241 is used to weigh the grains before the grains are fed into the drying cylinder 210. In this way, the weight of the grains can be controlled, so as to control the amount of the grains in the drying cylinder 210 and the puffing amount of the grains in the subsequent puffing process. Figure 1As shown, the hot air assembly 230 includes a hot air pipe 231, a frequency-regulated fan 232, a heating wire 233 capable of generating heat when powered, and a second temperature detection sensor 234 for detecting the temperature at the location where the hot air pipe 231 communicates with the drying cylinder 210. In this way, the heat and air volume of the drying process can be precisely controlled. In some applications, when the temperature is too high, the power of the heating wire 233 can be reduced or the air speed can be increased to remove excess heat; when the temperature is too low, the power of the heating wire 233 can be increased or the air speed can be reduced to increase heat input. This precise temperature control can ensure that the temperature of the hot air during the drying process is stable within a suitable range, avoiding the loss of grain nutrients due to excessively high temperatures or affecting the drying efficiency due to excessively low temperatures.

[0056] In addition, during the hot air drying process, the final moisture content, color, taste, and other quality indicators of the grain can be precisely controlled by controlling parameters such as the temperature, air speed, and drying time of the hot air. In some applications, lower temperature and higher air speed hot air drying is suitable for producing grain products with better brittleness, and in other applications, higher temperature and lower air speed drying will result in lower moisture content of the grain product, but may have some impact on color and taste.

[0057] Further, in some embodiments of the present application, as shown in Figure 1 As shown, a conveying cylinder 600 is provided between the drying assembly 200 and the puffing assembly 300, and the conveying cylinder 600 is provided with a feeding port 610 for feeding functional bacteria liquid, such as improving the nutritional value of the grain, increasing special flavor, or imparting specific health functions to the product, etc., bringing more possibilities to grain processing, especially suitable for grain puffing product production that requires the addition of functional bacteria liquid. It can be understood that the addition of functional bacteria liquid during the conveying process can ensure that the bacteria liquid is evenly distributed on the surface of the grain, and the design of the conveying cylinder 600 can ensure that the grain has sufficient time to fully contact and mix with the bacteria liquid before entering the puffing cylinder 310, avoiding the occurrence of local bacteria liquid concentration being too high or too low.

[0058] Referring again to Figure 3 According to the temperature control method of the present application, it is applied to the grain and feed low-temperature puffing machine according to the embodiments of the present application, wherein the temperature control method comprises the following steps:

[0059] S100, heating puffing: a liquid with a preset temperature of 50-90°C is introduced into the first pipe 410 and the second pipe 420 to heat the puffing cylinder 310; optionally, the temperature of the liquid is 70°C, and the puffing treatment time is 25 minutes.

[0060] S200, monitoring temperature: after heating and puffing, the first temperature detection sensor detects the temperature corresponding to the puffing section 311 to obtain the temperature value of each puffing section 311;

[0061] S310, overall temperature reduction: in the monitoring temperature, if the average value of the multiple temperature values is greater than 90℃, the temperature of the liquid flowing into the first pipe 410 and the second pipe 420 is reduced, and / or the flow rate of the liquid in the first pipe 410 and the second pipe 420 is increased;

[0062] S320, local temperature reduction: in the monitoring temperature, the temperature values of each puffing section 311 are compared, and if the highest temperature value - the lowest temperature value ≥ 3℃, the linear module 510 drives the air cooler to move to the center position of the puffing section 311 corresponding to the highest temperature value, and the air cooler is operated to air cool the puffing section 311.

[0063] According to the temperature control method of the embodiment of the present application, in the heating and puffing stage, the liquid with a preset temperature of 50℃-90℃ is flowed into the first pipe 410 and the second pipe 420 to heat the puffing cylinder 310, which can not only meet the demand of low-temperature puffing of grains and avoid the damage of high temperature to the nutritional ingredients and flavor of grains, but also provide sufficient energy to make the grains complete the puffing process. Then, in the monitoring temperature process, the first temperature detection sensor detects the temperature corresponding to the puffing section 311 to obtain the temperature value of each puffing section 311, which provides accurate data basis for subsequent temperature regulation. When the average value of the multiple temperature values is greater than 90℃, the overall temperature reduction is performed by reducing the temperature of the liquid flowing into the first pipe 410 and the second pipe 420 and / or increasing the flow rate of the liquid, which can rapidly and effectively reduce the overall temperature of the puffing cylinder 310 to prevent the grains from being over-puffed or the nutritional ingredients from being damaged due to the excessively high temperature. When the difference between the highest temperature value and the lowest temperature value is ≥ 3℃, the linear module 510 drives the air cooler to move to the center position of the puffing section 311 corresponding to the highest temperature value, and the air cooler is operated to air cool the puffing section 311. This local temperature reduction method can accurately solve the problem of excessively high local temperature and avoid the uneven puffing of grains due to the uneven local temperature. Furthermore, through this comprehensive temperature control method, the temperature in the puffing cylinder 310 can be ensured to always remain in a suitable range, so that each grain particle can be puffed in a uniform and stable temperature environment, thereby improving the stability and consistency of product quality, meeting the demand of consumers for high-quality grain puffing products, and also helping to improve production efficiency and reduce production cost.

[0064] Other configurations and operations of the temperature control method according to the embodiment of the present application are known to those skilled in the art, and will not be described in detail here.

[0065] The embodiments of the present application are described in detail above with reference to the drawings, but the present application is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and various changes can be made within the knowledge of those skilled in the art without departing from the spirit of the present application.

Claims

1. A low-temperature extruder for grains and feed, characterized in that, include: Base; A drying assembly, connected to the base, is used for drying grains or feed; An extrusion assembly is connected to the base and located at the output end of the drying assembly. The extrusion assembly includes a laterally arranged extrusion cylinder, which is connected to a feed pipe to input grains or feed into the extrusion cylinder. A heating assembly is connected to the base. The heating assembly includes a first pipe and a second pipe that are spirally and alternately wound around the outer peripheral wall of the puffing cylinder along its length. The first pipe is through which liquid at a preset temperature is introduced at one end of the puffing cylinder, and the second pipe is through which liquid at the preset temperature is introduced at the other end of the puffing cylinder, so as to heat the puffing cylinder. The puffing cylinder is equipped with multiple first temperature detection sensors. The puffing cylinder includes multiple puffing sections connected sequentially in the length direction. The first temperature detection sensors are arranged one-to-one with the puffing sections and are used to detect the temperature in the puffing sections. The base is connected to a temperature control component to regulate the temperature of the puffing sections. The temperature control component includes a linear module, a sliding seat, and a cooling fan. The linear module is connected to and drives the sliding seat to move along the length of the puffing cylinder. The cooling fan is installed on the sliding seat, and the output port of the cooling fan is arranged facing one side of the puffing cylinder and is capable of air cooling at least one of the puffing sections. The linear module enables the sliding seat to move along the length of the puffing cylinder according to a preset path and speed, allowing the air cooler to adjust the air cooling at different positions of the puffing cylinder.

2. The low-temperature extruder for grains and feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The sliding seat is connected to an air guide shell. One end of the air cooler is connected to the air outlet side of the air cooler, and the other end is provided with an air outlet groove. The length of the puffing section is A. In the length direction of the puffing cylinder, the width of the end of the air outlet groove is B, satisfying: 0.5*A≤B≤0.75*A.

3. The low-temperature extruder for grains and feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The puffing assembly also includes a pusher motor and a pusher screw. The pusher screw is rotatably disposed inside the puffing cylinder, and the pusher motor is connected to drive the pusher screw to rotate in order to push the grain or feed.

4. The low-temperature extruder for grains and feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: The drying assembly includes a drying cylinder, a stirring motor, a stirring rod, and a hot air assembly. The stirring rod is rotatably disposed inside the drying cylinder. The stirring motor is connected to and drives the stirring rod to rotate. The hot air assembly supplies hot air to the drying cylinder. The bottom of the drying cylinder can be opened to convey the grain or feed to the puffing cylinder.

5. The low-temperature extruder for grains and feed according to claim 4, characterized in that: The drying cylinder is arranged vertically, and the bottom of the stirring rod is provided with extrusion teeth, which cooperate with the inner bottom surface of the drying cylinder to extrude the grain or feed.

6. The low-temperature extruder for grains and feed according to claim 4, characterized in that: The hot air assembly includes a hot air duct, a frequency-modulated fan, a heating wire, and a second temperature sensor. The heating wire is energized and can generate heat. The frequency-modulated fan can adjust the air speed. The air outlet of the frequency-modulated fan is connected to one end of the hot air duct, and the other end of the hot air duct is connected to the drying cylinder. The second temperature sensor is used to detect the temperature at the connection point between the hot air duct and the drying cylinder.

7. The low-temperature extruder for grains and feed according to claim 1, characterized in that: A conveying cylinder is provided between the drying component and the puffing component, and the conveying cylinder is provided with a feeding port for adding functional bacterial liquid.

8. A temperature control method, characterized in that: Applied to the low-temperature extruder for grains and feed as described in claim 1; The temperature control method includes the following steps: Heating and puffing: Liquid with a preset temperature of 50℃~90℃ is introduced into the first pipe and the second pipe to heat the puffing cylinder; Temperature monitoring: After heating and puffing, the first temperature detection sensor detects the temperature of the corresponding puffing section to obtain the temperature value of each puffing section; Overall cooling: If the average of multiple temperature values ​​is greater than 90°C during temperature monitoring, the temperature of the liquid flowing into the first pipe and the second pipe is reduced, and / or the flow rate of the liquid in the first pipe and the second pipe is increased. Localized cooling: In the temperature monitoring, the temperature value of each puffing section is compared. If the highest temperature value minus the lowest temperature value is ≥3℃, the linear module drives the air cooler to move to the center position of the puffing section corresponding to the highest temperature value, and runs the air cooler to cool the puffing section.

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