A tea dynamic fermentation device

Abstract

The application is a kind of tea dynamic fermentation device, including fermentation box, inside setting up outer tube and inner tube, the outer tube and the inner tube between constitute the cyclone area, the inner tube inside constitutes the falling area, the lower end of the outer tube is installed with the fan, makes the gas in the cyclone area drive the tea to present the vortex shape rising, when the tea rises to the top, falls into the falling area, the outer tube and the inner tube between still be connected with the flow guide pipe, for making the tea slide to the cyclone area, the inner wall of the outer tube still is provided with the convex board, the tea rising process with the convex board collision and occurs position mutation and is dispersed, the application is through the fan with the tangent direction blow into the cyclone area, makes the tea rise under the airflow drive, and falls again in the top, through the flow guide pipe backflow to the cyclone area, forms the closed circulation movement. This process makes the tea change spatial position continuously, avoids the layer environment difference caused by static accumulation, ensures every piece of tea can evenly contact the fermentation environment, thereby significantly improves the fermentation uniformity.

Description

Technical Field

[0001] This invention relates to the field of tea fermentation equipment technology, specifically a dynamic tea fermentation device. Background Technology

[0002] Tea fermentation is a key process in the processing of teas such as black tea and dark tea. Essentially, under suitable temperature, humidity and oxygen conditions, endogenous enzymes such as polyphenol oxidase catalyze a series of biochemical transformations in the substances contained in tea leaves, thereby forming the unique color, aroma and flavor qualities of tea.

[0003] Currently, the most common fermentation method is to pile tea leaves in a closed fermentation box or chamber for static fermentation. While this traditional method is simple and easy to operate, the static piled state, with the bottom layer of tea leaves completely covered by the top layer, creates a significant difference in environment between the bottom and top layers. This unevenness in the internal and external environments of the pile leads to asynchronous fermentation processes within the same batch of tea leaves, easily resulting in uneven fermentation and inconsistent quality.

[0004] To improve the uniformity of fermentation, Chinese patent CN120959308A discloses a tea fermentation device and method. This device includes multiple fan-shaped units inside a fermentation tank for carrying tea leaves, and is equipped with a drive assembly to rotate these units. The tumbling motion of the fan-shaped units aims to agitate the tea leaves, thereby improving the uniformity of the contact environment.

[0005] However, to prevent tea leaves from spilling during the rotation of the fan-shaped unit, the unit must remain closed. This results in a temporary isolation and difference between the internal environment of the fan-shaped unit and the main environment of the fermentation tank during rotation. This periodic environmental fluctuation disrupts the continuous stability of the conditions required for fermentation, affecting the fermentation quality of the tea.

[0006] Moreover, even though the fan-shaped unit as a whole is in motion, the tea leaves inside the unit still exist in a static manner with multiple layers stacked up. The fermentation environment that the tea leaves in different layers of the fan-shaped unit come into contact with is still uneven, and the fundamental problem of uneven fermentation has not been completely solved.

[0007] Therefore, how to overcome the above-mentioned defects has become an urgent problem to be solved by those skilled in the art. Summary of the Invention

[0008] To address the technical problems in the background art, the present invention discloses a dynamic tea fermentation device.

[0009] This invention provides a dynamic tea fermentation device, including a closed fermentation box, which is equipped with a fermentation environment with constant temperature, constant humidity and constant oxygen concentration. The fermentation box is provided with an outer cylinder and an inner cylinder inserted into the outer cylinder. The outer and inner cylinders form a swirling zone, while the interior of the inner cylinder forms a falling zone. A fan is installed at the lower end of the outer cylinder. The fan is used to draw gas from the fermentation chamber and blow it tangentially into the lower end of the swirling area, so that the gas drives the tea leaves to rise in a vortex shape within the swirling area. The height of the swirling zone is configured such that when the tea leaves rise to the top of the outer cylinder, they fall into the falling zone under the influence of gravity, which is greater than the airflow carrying force. A guide pipe is also connected between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder. The guide pipe connects the swirling area and the falling area, and is used to allow the tea leaves that fall to the bottom of the inner cylinder to slide down to the bottom of the swirling area through the guide pipe. The inner wall of the outer cylinder is also equipped with a convex plate, which is used to cause the tea leaves to collide with the convex plate during the upward vortex process, resulting in a sudden change in position and dispersion.

[0010] Furthermore, a spiral plate is provided between the outer cylinder and the inner cylinder; The lower end of the spiral plate is provided with an upwardly extending sealing plate to block the lower end of the swirling area; The air outlet of the fan is connected to an air inlet pipe, which is connected to the bottom area of ​​the vortex zone. The spiral direction of the spiral plate is consistent with the vortex direction of the airflow within the swirling region.

[0011] Furthermore, multiple convex plates are provided and distributed at intervals along the spiral path.

[0012] Furthermore, the protrusion of the convex plate is of a slightly curved shape and extends vertically; For two adjacent convex plates, the lower end of the upper convex plate is at the same height as the upper end of the lower convex plate.

[0013] Furthermore, a baffle is installed at the outlet of the guide tube to prevent the airflow in the swirling area from entering the falling area.

[0014] Furthermore, a sleeve is provided between the inner cylinder and the outer cylinder, which is fitted onto the outside of the inner cylinder; An air supply chamber is formed between the sleeve and the inner cylinder; Part of the airflow blown out by the fan enters the air supply chamber; Multiple air holes are provided on the side wall of the inner cylinder, which connect the air supply chamber and the falling area.

[0015] Furthermore, the air holes are arranged at an angle so that when the airflow in the air supply chamber blows into the falling area, it creates resistance to the falling of the tea leaves.

[0016] Furthermore, the lower end of the inner cylinder is higher than the lower end of the sleeve, and the area formed by the height difference between the two constitutes the gas storage cavity; Part of the airflow blown out by the fan first enters the air storage chamber and then flows to the air supply chamber.

[0017] Furthermore, a conical tube is connected to the upper end of the outer cylinder to guide the tea leaves into the falling area; The upper end of the conical cylinder is sealed by a perforated plate.

[0018] Furthermore, the present invention also includes a guide plate; the guide plate has a flared upper end and a funnel-shaped structure; The lower end of the guide plate abuts against the upper end of the inner cylinder; The lower end face of the guide plate abuts against the upper end of the sleeve to block the upper opening of the air supply chamber; There is a gap between the outer side of the guide plate and the inner wall of the outer cylinder.

[0019] The beneficial effects of this invention are: 1. This invention uses a fan to blow constant-temperature, constant-humidity, and constant-oxygen gas tangentially into the swirling zone. This causes the tea leaves to rise in a vortex shape under the influence of the airflow, and then fall into the drop zone at the top due to gravity. From there, they flow back to the bottom of the swirling zone through a guide pipe, forming a closed-loop circulation. This process constantly changes the spatial position of the tea leaves, avoiding the environmental differences between layers caused by static accumulation. It ensures that each tea leaf is evenly exposed to the fermentation environment, thus significantly improving fermentation uniformity.

[0020] 2. The convex plates on the inner wall of the vortex area cause the tea leaves to collide with them during the upward vortex, resulting in a sudden change in position and breaking them apart. This promotes the separation of tea leaves, increases the gap between individual tea leaves, prevents local accumulation, ensures full contact between the airflow and the tea leaves, and improves the homogenization of fermentation.

[0021] 3. This invention achieves automated circulation of tea leaves through the synergistic effect of the outer cylinder, inner cylinder, fan, and guide pipe, eliminating the need for manual turning and reducing operational complexity and energy consumption.

[0022] 4. This invention keeps the tea leaves in a dynamic, suspended, and circulating state, eliminating environmental differences caused by fixed positions inside and outside the pile. During the movement, the tea leaves are uniformly heated, humidified, and exposed to oxygen, resulting in high synchronization of the fermentation process. This leads to consistent color, aroma, and flavor in the final product, significantly improving yield and quality stability. Attached Figure Description

[0023] The present invention will be further described below with reference to the accompanying drawings and embodiments.

[0024] Figure 1 This is a structural schematic diagram of the present invention, in which the switch door is hidden; Figure 2 This is a schematic diagram of the hidden fermentation box of the present invention; Figure 3 This is a schematic diagram of the hidden fermentation box of the present invention, with the air inlet pipe detached from the outer cylinder; Figure 4This is a front view of the invention, which conceals the fermentation chamber, fan, and air inlet pipe. Figure 5 yes Figure 4 Sectional view of AA; Figure 6 yes Figure 5 Enlarged view at point F; Figure 7 yes Figure 5 Sectional view of BB; Figure 8 yes Figure 4 Sectional view of CC; Figure 9 This is a structural schematic diagram of the hidden fermentation box, fan, and air inlet pipe of the present invention; Figure 10 yes Figure 9 Enlarged view of point D in the middle; Figure 11 This is the front view of the outer cylinder; Figure 12 yes Figure 11 Sectional view of EE; Figure 13 This is a bottom view of the outer cylinder; In the diagram: 1. Fermentation chamber; 2. Outer cylinder; 3. Inner cylinder; 4. Swirl zone; 5. Falling zone; 6. Fan; 7. Guide pipe; 8. Convex plate; 9. Spiral plate; 10. Sealing plate; 11. Air inlet pipe; 12. Baffle plate; 13. Sleeve; 14. Air supply chamber; 15. Air hole; 16. Air storage chamber; 17. Conical cylinder; 18. Mesh plate; 19. Guide plate; 20. Air inlet hole; 21. Connecting pipe; 22. End plate. Detailed Implementation

[0025] The present invention will now be described in further detail with reference to the accompanying drawings. These drawings are simplified schematic diagrams, illustrating only the basic structure of the invention, and therefore only show the components relevant to the invention.

[0026] like Figure 1 As shown, the present invention discloses a dynamic tea fermentation device, including a closed fermentation box 1, which is provided with a tea fermentation environment with constant temperature, constant humidity and constant oxygen concentration.

[0027] The fermentation box 1 has a door on one side, and an outer cylinder 2 is detachably placed inside it. Inside the outer cylinder 2, a sleeve 13 and an inner cylinder 3 are arranged coaxially to facilitate the loading and unloading of tea leaves.

[0028] A gap is provided between the outer cylinder 2 and the sleeve 13, which forms a swirling area 4 with the lower end blocked; a gap is provided between the sleeve 13 and the inner cylinder 3, which forms an air supply chamber 14 with both the upper and lower ends blocked; the internal area of ​​the inner cylinder 3 forms a falling area 5.

[0029] like Figure 2 and Figure 3 As shown, a rectangular air inlet 20 is provided at the lower end of the outer cylinder 2, and an arc-shaped air inlet pipe 11 is connected to the air inlet 20. A fan 6 is also provided inside the fermentation box 1, and its air outlet is connected to the outer end of the air inlet pipe 11. The fan 6 draws gas from the fermentation box 1 and blows it tangentially into the lower end of the swirling zone 4, causing the gas to carry the tea leaves upward in a vortex within the swirling zone 4.

[0030] The upper end of the outer cylinder 2 is sealed by a mesh plate 18, the aperture of which is configured so that tea leaves cannot pass through the mesh. When the airflow in the swirling zone 4 flows upward to the top, it flows outward from the mesh plate 18 and re-enters the fermentation chamber 1.

[0031] The outer cylinder 2 is connected to a conical cylinder 17 with a narrowed upper end. When the tea leaves move into the area of ​​the conical cylinder 17, they will gather towards the center under the action of the conical cylinder 17, and the airflow carrying the tea leaves will gradually decrease as the tea leaves rise. When the weight of the tea leaves is greater than the carrying force of the airflow, the tea leaves will automatically fall into the falling area 5.

[0032] The specific structure of the seal at the lower end of swirl region 4 is as follows: Figure 4 and Figure 5 As shown, a spiral plate 9 is provided. The outer wall of the spiral plate 9 is attached to the inner wall of the outer cylinder 2, and the inner wall of the spiral plate 9 is attached to the outer wall of the sleeve 13. The connection is sealed by welding. A sealing plate 10 extending upward is provided at the lower end of the spiral plate 9. The upper end of the sealing plate 10 extends to the lower side of the adjacent spiral plate 9, blocking the lower end of the channel formed by the spiral plate 9. This seals the lower end of the vortex region 4, preventing airflow from leaking from the bottom of the vortex region 4. This ensures that the airflow delivered by the fan 6 is concentrated and guided to the starting part of the vortex region 4 and moves upward along the channel formed by the spiral plate 9, improving the utilization efficiency of airflow energy and the stability of vortex formation. Moreover, the spiral plate 9 itself constitutes the wall structure of the vortex region 4, playing a conveying and guiding role, which can further improve the stability of the vortex.

[0033] like Figure 8-10 As shown, the outer side of the sealing plate 10 fits against the inner wall of the outer cylinder 2, dividing the air inlet 20 into two parts, left and right. The right side of the air inlet 20 is connected to the swirl zone 4. The left side of the air inlet 20 is connected to the interior of the inner cylinder 3 through a rectangular connecting pipe 21. The area where the air inlet 20 connects to the swirl zone 4 is larger than the area of ​​the other part, so that most of the airflow output by the fan 6 enters the swirl zone 4, and a small portion enters the sleeve 13.

[0034] Multiple arrayed air holes 15 are provided on the side wall of the inner cylinder 3. The air holes 15 are connected to the air supply chamber 14 and the falling area 5. The airflow entering the sleeve 13 flows from the air holes 15 to the falling area 5 and blows the falling tea leaves, thereby avoiding the difference between the fermentation environment in the inner cylinder 3 and the fermentation environment outside the outer cylinder 2, which would affect the fermentation quality.

[0035] The air vents 15 are arranged at an angle, with their upper ends located inside the inner cylinder 3 and their lower ends located outside the inner cylinder 3. This allows the airflow to be ejected obliquely upwards, creating an upward wind force. This wind force provides an upward lifting force to the tea leaves, thereby reducing their falling speed and preventing them from being damaged or cracked due to excessive impact. Furthermore, the oblique force exerted by the airflow on the tea leaves also pushes them to shift and tumble horizontally, causing continuous relative movement between the tea leaf layers. This effectively prevents the tea leaves from forming static layers due to free fall within the inner cylinder 3.

[0036] In this embodiment, the lower end of the inner cylinder 3 is higher than the lower end of the sleeve 13, and the area formed by the height difference between the two constitutes the air storage cavity 16. An end plate 22 is provided at the lower end of the sleeve 13 to seal the lower end of the air storage cavity 16. The air storage cavity 16 is connected to the air outlet of the connecting pipe 21, allowing the airflow entering the sleeve 13 to first enter the air storage cavity 16 radially from the sleeve 13, and then flow upwards. The air storage cavity 16 forms a temporary air chamber, which can initially buffer and equalize the airflow, reducing pressure fluctuations that may occur due to the direct impact of the fan 6. Furthermore, the vertical bend in the airflow reduces the airflow velocity, thereby reducing the upward lifting force on the tea leaves, allowing the tea leaves to fall stably.

[0037] The lower end of the inner cylinder 3 is equipped with a cap, and the lower end of the cap is connected to the swirling area 4 through a downwardly inclined guide pipe 7. This allows tea leaves that fall into the inner cylinder 3 to flow back into the swirling area 4 through the guide pipe 7 and move upward again with the airflow. At the same time, the cap also evenly distributes the upward airflow in the air storage chamber 16 to increase the airflow in the air supply chamber 14.

[0038] Because the airflow in swirling zone 4 can easily enter falling zone 5 through guide pipe 7, the tea leaves cannot fall smoothly into swirling zone 4. Therefore, Figure 7 As shown, a baffle plate 12 is provided at the outlet of the guide pipe 7. One end of the baffle plate 12 is fixed to the outer wall of the sleeve 13, and the other end is suspended. The suspended end extends in the direction of airflow movement in the swirling area 4 to block the airflow in the swirling area 4 from entering the falling area 5. The extension direction of the suspended end also guides the airflow to avoid turbulence at the baffle plate 12.

[0039] like Figure 11-13As shown, the inner wall of the outer cylinder 2 is also provided with a protruding plate 8. The tea leaves collide with the plate during the upward vortex, causing a sudden change in position and breaking them apart. This promotes the separation of the tea leaves, increases the gap between individual tea leaves, prevents local accumulation, ensures that the airflow is in full contact with the tea leaves, and improves the homogenization of fermentation.

[0040] Multiple convex plates 8 are arranged at intervals along the spiral path, forming continuous collision points. As the tea leaves rise with the vortex airflow, they collide with the convex plates 8 at different positions in sequence. This continuous collision not only causes abrupt changes in the horizontal position of the tea leaves but also breaks up any potential local accumulations or clumps, ensuring that individual tea leaves are fully separated. This solves the problem of uneven contact environment between different layers of tea leaves in traditional static stacking or simple turning, allowing each tea leaf to be evenly exposed to a constant temperature, humidity, and oxygen environment, achieving synchronous fermentation.

[0041] In this embodiment, the protrusion of the convex plate 8 is of a slight arc shape and extends vertically. The bottom of the upper convex plate 8 is at the same height as the top of the lower convex plate 8 in adjacent pairs. The slight arc-shaped protrusion guides the tea leaves during collision with a smooth curve, reducing breakage or damage caused by violent impacts compared to sharp or right-angled protrusions. It also ensures an effective positional shift when the tea leaves contact the convex plate 8 during the vortex's upward movement. Furthermore, the slight arc shape facilitates smooth airflow along the surface of the convex plate 8, reducing obstruction or turbulence of the overall vortex airflow in the swirling region 4. This achieves tea leaf collision dispersion while maintaining airflow stability and ensuring efficient tea leaf transport. The vertical extension of the protrusion covers the entire vertical path of the tea leaves as they rise in the swirling region 4, ensuring that the tea leaves collide with the convex plate 8 at different heights, avoiding dispersion only at local heights, and improving the continuity and comprehensiveness of tea leaf dispersion throughout the upward movement.

[0042] like Figure 6 As shown, a guide plate 19 is provided at the upper end of the sleeve 13. The guide plate 19 has a flared upper end and a bell-shaped structure. The lower end of the guide plate 19 abuts against the upper end of the inner cylinder 3, and the inner diameter of the guide plate 19 is equal to the inner diameter of the inner cylinder 3. The lower end face of the guide plate 19 abuts against the upper end of the sleeve 13 to block the upper opening of the air supply chamber 14. There is a gap between the outer side of the guide plate 19 and the inner wall of the outer cylinder 2. The flared upper end of the guide plate 19 can effectively catch the tea leaves thrown from the top of the swirling area 4, and use its gradually narrowing slope to concentrate and guide the tea leaves to the upper port of the inner cylinder 3, ensuring that the tea leaves smoothly enter the falling area 5 and preventing the tea leaves from scattering to other positions between the outer cylinder 2 and the inner cylinder 3.

[0043] Compared to existing technologies, the advantages of this embodiment are: 1. This invention uses a fan 6 to blow constant-temperature, constant-humidity, and constant-oxygen gas tangentially into the vortex region 4, causing the tea leaves to rise in a vortex shape under the influence of the airflow. At the top, the tea leaves fall into the falling region 5 due to gravity, and then flow back to the bottom of the vortex region 4 through the guide pipe 7, forming a closed-loop circulation. This process continuously changes the spatial position of the tea leaves, avoiding the environmental differences between layers caused by static stacking, ensuring that each tea leaf is evenly contacted with the fermentation environment, thus significantly improving fermentation uniformity. 2. This invention achieves automated circulation of tea leaves through the synergistic action of the outer cylinder 2, inner cylinder 3, fan 6, and guide pipe 7, eliminating the need for manual turning and reducing operational complexity and energy consumption. 3. This invention keeps the tea leaves in a dynamic suspension and circulation state, eliminating environmental differences caused by fixed positions inside and outside the stack. During the movement, the tea leaves are evenly heated, humidified, and contacted with oxygen, resulting in high synchronization of the fermentation process. The final product exhibits good consistency in color, aroma, and taste, significantly improving yield and quality stability.

[0044] Based on the above-described preferred embodiments of the present invention, and through the foregoing description, those skilled in the art can make various changes and modifications without departing from the inventive concept. The technical scope of this invention is not limited to the contents of the specification, but must be determined according to the scope of the claims.

Claims

1. A dynamic tea fermentation device, comprising a closed fermentation chamber (1), wherein the fermentation chamber (1) is provided with a fermentation environment of constant temperature, constant humidity and constant oxygen concentration, characterized in that: The fermentation tank (1) is provided with an outer cylinder (2) and an inner cylinder (3) inserted into the outer cylinder (2); The outer cylinder (2) and the inner cylinder (3) form a swirling zone (4), and the interior of the inner cylinder (3) forms a falling zone (5). A fan (6) is installed at the lower end of the outer cylinder (2). The fan (6) is used to extract the gas in the fermentation box (1) and blow it into the lower end of the swirling area (4) in a tangential direction, so that the gas drives the tea leaves to rise in a vortex shape in the swirling area (4). The height of the swirling zone (4) is configured such that when the tea leaves rise to the top of the outer cylinder (2), they fall into the falling zone (5) under the action of gravity being greater than the airflow conveying force. A guide pipe (7) is also connected between the outer cylinder (2) and the inner cylinder (3). The guide pipe (7) connects the swirling area (4) and the falling area (5) to allow the tea leaves that fall to the bottom of the inner cylinder (3) to slide down to the bottom of the swirling area (4) via the guide pipe (7). The inner wall of the outer cylinder (2) is also provided with a protruding plate (8), which is used to cause the tea leaves to collide with the protruding plate (8) during the process of rising in a vortex, resulting in a sudden change in position and dispersion.

2. The dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A spiral plate (9) is provided between the outer cylinder (2) and the inner cylinder (3); The lower end of the spiral plate (9) is provided with an upwardly extending sealing plate (10) to block the lower end of the swirling region (4); The air outlet of the fan (6) is connected to an air inlet pipe (11), and the air inlet pipe (11) is connected to the bottom area of ​​the vortex region (4). The spiral direction of the spiral plate (9) is consistent with the vortex direction of the airflow in the swirling region (4).

3. The dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The convex plates (8) are configured in multiples and are distributed at intervals along the spiral path.

4. The dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 3, characterized in that: The protrusion of the convex plate (8) is of inferior arc shape and extends vertically; The lower end of the upper convex plate (8) is at the same height as the upper end of the lower convex plate (8) of the two adjacent convex plates (8).

5. The dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A baffle plate (12) is provided at the outlet of the guide pipe (7) to block the airflow of the swirling area (4) from entering the falling area (5).

6. The dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: A sleeve (13) is also provided between the inner cylinder (3) and the outer cylinder (2) and is fitted onto the outside of the inner cylinder (3). An air supply chamber (14) is formed between the sleeve (13) and the inner cylinder (3). Part of the airflow blown out by the fan (6) enters the air supply chamber (14); The inner cylinder (3) has multiple air holes (15) on its side wall, and the air holes (15) are connected to the air supply chamber (14) and the falling area (5).

7. The dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The air holes (15) are arranged at an angle so that when the airflow in the air supply chamber (14) blows into the falling area (5), it creates resistance to the falling of the tea leaves.

8. The dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 6, characterized in that: The lower end of the inner cylinder (3) is higher than the lower end of the sleeve (13), and the area formed by the height difference between the two constitutes the gas storage cavity (16). Part of the airflow blown out by the fan (6) first enters the air storage chamber (16) and then flows to the air supply chamber (14).

9. The dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 1, characterized in that: The upper end of the outer cylinder (2) is connected to a conical cylinder (17) for guiding the tea leaves into the falling area (5). The upper end of the conical tube (17) is sealed by a perforated plate (18).

10. A dynamic tea fermentation device according to claim 6, characterized in that: It also includes a guide plate (19); the guide plate (19) has a flared upper end and a trumpet-shaped structure; The lower end of the guide plate (19) abuts against the upper end of the inner cylinder (3); The lower end face of the guide plate (19) abuts against the upper end of the sleeve (13) to block the upper opening of the air supply chamber (14); A gap is provided between the outer side of the guide plate (19) and the inner wall of the outer cylinder (2).

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